After a morning spent kayaking and hiking, our Quark expedition leader announced that operations would shift to supporting flightseeing Uummannaq Fjord all afternoon (July 17, 2024).

Ultramarine is the only ship in Quark Expeditions’ fleet equipped for flightseeing. It took about four hours to to provide every paying passenger the opportunity for a 15-minute flight from the upper deck, up and over Uummannaq fjord to the edge of Greenland’s ice sheet and back. Steve and Steve piloted the two twin-engine Airbus H145 helicopters.

Four+ hours was a long stretch for all of the expedition staff to be tasked with providing some kind of support for the flightseeing operation. It was also a long stretch for passengers to spend aboard ship with all public deck areas closed, due to safety regulations. Ultramarine was not full during our sailing of the Gems of West Greenland itinerary. If I remember correctly, we had about 120 passengers aboard. The Ultramarine can carry up to 199 passengers. If sold out, simple extrapolation suggests a flightseeing operation might take up to 6 hours!

Waiting

We knew from the mandatory flightseeing safety briefing the previous day that we’d be doing a lot of waiting around. Fortunately, passengers with balconies off their cabins were not prohibited from using their balconies.

We had a balcony off our cabin. So once we knew our group would be called within about 15 minutes, we dressed according to the instructions given at the mandatory safety briefing. Drysuit over a base layer, then parka, then PFD. The drysuit and PFD were in case the helicopter goes down over water. The parka was in case of emergency set down on land. With all those layers, we started to warm up quickly. So keeping cool on our balcony helped. Plus, we could photograph the helicopters coming and going.

Staging Area 1

When our group was called, we headed to staging area 1 – the Panorama Lounge on deck 7. There, we were subdivided into smaller groups of 7, reflecting 6 seats in the passenger cabin plus the co-pilot’s seat. We ended up with one member of our kayaking group in our flightseeing group. Plus a couple of pilots, who were very keen to go up in an Airbus H145.

Staging Area 2

In due course, our smaller group was called to staging area 2 – a small studio at the aft of Deck 7 that doesn’t appear on the online deck plan for Ultramarine. This was the same space used for our kayaking group’s mandatory briefing the day before. In this space, there was a rough mock-up of the Airbus H145 cabin, with a number assigned to each seat.

Mr GeoK and I were assigned to seats 4 and 6. The good thing about these assignments is that we were on opposite sides of the cabin. The bad thing? We were both facing the same direction. It’s possible we’d have come away with a broader mix of photographs had we been facing in opposite directions.

Also at this stage, expedition staff checked our PFDs, drysuits, etc., to be sure everything we securely fastened and tightened appropriately.

Staging Area 3

The final staging area was the aft hallway of Deck 7. We all lined up against the wall in seat order.

Then we watched while a group of passengers came down the stairs. They were just back from flightseeing. No one looked happy. For many people, this would have been their first time up in a helicopter. Sure, some would have felt stress or motion sickness. But everyone? I figured something else must be going on. But after handing over their hearing protection headsets, they were ushered along, so we had no chance to ask.

We headed up the stairs to the helicopter deck, where we waited in another line to board the helicopter. Then we buckled in.

Flightseeing

This is me, about a minute after takeoff. We’ve done helicopter excursions before, so I was excited, without any trepidation.

Here I am about 90 seconds later, after I realized why everyone looked not happy coming off their flights.

Why the difference? It was so HOT in the cabin…like a sauna, especially with all the mandated layers on!!! I know, definitely a “first world” problem. 😉 I really felt for the pilots, though, who were working in those conditions for so many hours!

Views of Uummannaq Fjord

Two things struck me as we gained elevation over the fjord. First, the water is beautifully turquoise, thanks to suspended rock flour particles. This was particularly evident as we flew over a melting iceberg. Second, it drove home the fact that Uummannaq Fjord is a LARGE fjord system, with many arms and fingers. In fact, it’s the second largest fjord system in Greenland, after Kangertittivag fjord on the east coast.

Views of Outlet Glaciers off Greenland’s Ice Sheet

Once we flew up one of the draws where an outlet glacier has retreated partway up the slope, the viewed opened up to reveal the edge of Greenland’s Ice Sheet.

It was early enough in the season that the ice was still covered by a blanket of the past winter’s snow. The temperature was high enough that we spotted mini-avalanches and pools of turquoise melt water below. And everywhere, rugged valleys and ridges, revealed as the Ice Sheet shrinks.

Returning to Ship

The most striking thing about the view as we returned to the ship was Uummannaq Island. The mountain’s granite and gneiss peak rises sharply from sea level to about 1,170 meters – three times the height of One World Trade Center (the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere).

And just like that, we were back aboard. As soon as we’d handed off our ear protectors, we headed back to our cabin to get out of all those hot layers. Once word spread about how hot the cabin was, some passengers went in just their underwear under their drysuits, and enjoyed the flighseeing a little more because they were more comfortable.

Aside from the overheating, it was truly amazing to get an aerial glimpse of Greenland’s rapidly melting Ice Sheet. This was a true privilege, and the rugged valleys between the shoreline and the edge of the ice and snow drove home just how much the glaciers have already receded. We saw with our own eyes one of the reasons the United Nations has declared 2025 as International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.

One final note: The helicopters were put into operation again later in the trip, for the additional cost heli-landing excursion. Participants were helicoptered to a pre-selected location where they had time to explore, accompanied by Quark Expeditions team members. After about an hour, they were picked up by the helicopters from the same location, and returned to Ultramarine. We had already paid extra for kayaking and mountain biking, so opted not to sign up for a heli-landing.