On a recent climbing trip to Greenland, Mike Libecki, Angie Payne and Ethan Pringle discovered a new route up a massive rock tower. With just three days to go until their boat arrived to pick them up, they decided to give it a go. It turned out to be a fantastic route and the short film below chronicles taht adventure, complete with nights spent bivvying on tiny rock ledges.

The video has it all. Beautiful landscapes, dramatic climbing and a big payoff at the end with the first ascent of a 3000-foot (914 meters) rock-face competed over about 60 hours. Excellent stuff and a nice look at what goes into a big wall climb.

The Journey | Three Whole Days from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

A British adventurer passed away last Saturday while attempt an unsupported crossing of Greenland with two friends. The three men lost their tent in the high winds of a massive storm and were left completely exposed to the elements. The incredibly cold temperatures, high winds and snowy conditions all contributed to the fatality. The other two men suffered severe frostbite and shock.

Philip Goodeve-Docker and his companions, Andy Norman and Roan Hackney, were just two days into a planned 30-day crossing of Greenland on skis. Their journey would have covered 400 miles (643 km), but they had barely gone anywhere before they were hit by a "Piteraq", the local name for deadly blizzards that often occur on the landmass.

The three men were stranded by the storm last Friday and immediately called for help when they lost their tent. But a rescue team was miles away and the blizzard made it impossible for them to arrive on the scene any earlier than Saturday. By the time the SAR team reached the three men, Goodeve-Docker  had already frozen to death. His companions were evacuated to the closet hospital where they are being treated for their exposure and shock. They are expected to make a full recovery.

This is more sad news for the adventure community, but a sobering reminder of just how bad things can go at times. Particularly when traveling in some of the coldest, harshest environments on the planet. Greenland is quite the polar challenge and this was an expedition that Goodeve-Docker had been looking forward to for some time.

My condolences to Phillip's friends and family, and hopefully Andy and Roan will make a speedy recovery.

There may be a lack of explorers heading to the North Pole this year but that doesn't mean there won't be some big adventures in cold places this spring. Take for example the Greenland Run which as the hame implies will feature endurance athletes running across the massive landmass that is Greenland.

On April 15, Jukka Viljanen and Greg Maud will set out from Isortoq on the east coast and begin running towards Kangerlussuaq on the west. Their journey will take them across the Greenland icecap, covering a distance of approximately 620 km (385 miles). Along the way they'll battle plenty of snow, ice, high winds and temperatures as cold as -30ºC/-22ºF as they attempt to become the first people to run across the country. A support crew that includes polar explorer Jens Erik, two mushers and dogsled teams will follow along. The entire expedition is expected to take 15-20 days to complete.

If Jukka and Greg's names sound familiar it is probably because you've read about some of their other adventures here in the past. They ran across the Kalahari Desert together back in 2010 and both have completed similar feats of endurance in the past. Last year, Jukka also ran across the Sahara Desert for instance, and he has taken part in marathons in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Greg is an Everest summiteer, topping out in 2007 and in 2011 he competed in the legendary Marathon des Sables, a 250km (155 mile) ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert of Morocco.  Check out their full resumes here.

The two runners have conducted training sessions in Lapland in preparation for the demands of this run. They also intend to make daily blog posts along the way as well, sharing updates from the trail. They're still about five weeks away from setting out, so they're currently still preparing for their adventure. Expect more updates once they get underway.

Greenland's official tourism website has debuted some beautiful short videos designed to entice us to come visit that amazing country and if the one below is any indication of what to expect, I'm ready to go right now! This video shows off a bit of the spectacular kayaking that is possible there, while the others in the "Rough. Real. Remote." series lure you in with images of biking across the ice caps and Greenland Village. They are all fantastic and well worth a look. If you hadn't considered Greenland as a destination in the past, you likely will now.

Kayaking in Greenland - Rough.Real.Remote. from media.gl on Vimeo.

While our attention has been firmly locked on the Antarctic over the past month or so, at the other end of the planet one team is already venturing north, above the Arctic Circle. These explorers have set their eyes on the North Pole, but not for this year. Instead they are busy setting out supplies for an epic expedition to take place next year. 

Beginning in late 2013, veteran explorers Alex Hibbert and Justin Miles will embark on an expedition to the North Pole in the dead of winter and along a new route. The two men plan to cross the frozen Arctic Ocean, reaching the Pole from Greenland, something that has never been done before. And once they reach 90ºN, they intend to make a return trip back to where they started, covering 1900 miles (3057 km) in the process. They call their expedition the Dark Ice Project, as they'll be traveling in nearly complete darkness for most of the way.

The boys are currently in Qaanaaq, Greenland where they are getting ready to start the first phase of the project. They plan to set out on Friday on a three month long journey that will take them into the arctic, where they will stash several supply depots for the full expedition next year. They'll also use this time to assess their gear and test the pace of their travel, two very important factors for their success in the full journey in 2013-2014. This first phase will end in March and cover approximately 900 miles (1448 km). If all goes according to plan, they'll have cached 160 days worth of food in a depot located in the Nares Strait. 

Both phases of the Dark Ice Project are incredibly ambitious and demanding. Traveling through the Arctic in the winter, where temperatures routinely drop to -50ºF/-45ºC and the sun never shines, will take its toll on Alex and Justin. It should be interesting to see how they fare in this test phase before taking on the full expedition next year.

Get updates from Alex on his Twitter feed to follow along in the days ahead. Good luck guys!

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In 2013 a team of polar explorers that includes the likes of Ben Saunders, Martin Hartley and Alastair Humphreys is planning on making an unsupported round-trip South Pole expedition that will cover more than 1800 miles (2896 km). Preparing for such a journey is never easy, particularly since it is difficult to locate a place that can replicate the kind of conditions that you'll find in the Antarctic.

Greenland is one such place as it offers up plenty of snow and ice, not to mention sub-zero temperatures and high winds. Last year the three men spent two weeks in Greenland training for their South Pole expedition. The short film below was shot during that outing and serves as a great example of the efforts that polar explorers go through to get ready for the rigors of the trail. The video is 20 minutes in length and beautifully shot. I hope you enjoy it.

Greenland from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

© Bob Strong / Reuters
Jakobshavns Glacier , Greenland