Saqqaarsik

Overview

This is a interesting hike if you ever find yourself spending a day in Qaqortoq, Greenland.

The city has a population of about 3,500 and the buildings are all gaily painted. The official website for Qaqortoq has a hiking trails map which I have attached as a link, but it does not have any details on how one should approach this summit. One approach is to hike up to the town soccer field which can be reached as described below. From the NE corner of the field, you can find a faint trace of a trail heading up a gully in a NE direction.

Qaqortoq is an Inuit word meaning “the white place”. That description probably is true much of the year, but on July 6, 2010, they had one of their unusual sunny days and we made the most of it climbing to Peter's cairn and then doing Saqqaarsik.

Getting There

Qaqortoq is a fishing village and most visitors arrive by water. There is a heliport that provides transport from Narsarsuaq Airport the only international airport in Greenland. There is also a ferry (Arctic Umiaq Line A/S or Arctic Umiaq (AUL) ) that operates on a route from Ilulissat-Narsaq.

Red Tape

There does not appear to be any problem with hiking across the hillsides in Qaqortoq.

Route description

To reach the summit, starting from the town pier, take the following streets…go to the visitor center (N of the pier); turn right (E) and follow Vatikanbakken street E and NE; take a right on Sanatorievej street; take the first left onto Ringvej street and continue to the soccer field.

From the NE corner of the soccer field, go NE up the drainage to the ridge top. This is the same route used to climb Peter’s cairn, but instead of turning right at the ridge top you can continue in a northerly direction across a valley for about a mile to the base of Saqqaarsik. It is a pleasant cross country hike of about which descends about 400’ in elevation before regaining it to the false summit at 1,080’. From there another 15 minutes will get you to the true summit which is about 1,260’. Attached is a route drawn on a photo of the mountain.

An alternative route can be used to descend heading west after reaching the valley floor at the base of the mountain. This will take you into the edge of town where the trail map show the trail that heads around the large lake north of town.

External Links

Qaqortoq hiking trails

Images

View Saqqaarsik Image Gallery - 4 Images