Sailing from Grand Marais to Greenland, Minnesota Arctic adventurer tries a new tack

Minnesota adventurer Lonnie Dupre has pulled sleds on skis from Canada to the North Pole and run sled dogs across the Northwest Passage. He has climbed northern mountains alone in the coldest depths of winter. Now, he is attempting to trek back to the Arctic in a new way.

Dupre departed late Thursday afternoon from his home base of Grand Marais by sailboat on a 6,000-mile expedition to Greenland.

He and his adventure partner, Pascale Marceau, expect to take six months to get there in a 36-foot, specially designed sloop named Nord Hus (North House). Its steel hull is insulated with foam — built for the icy waters they’ll navigate along the way.

“In terms of miles and time frame, this [adventure] is a whole different cat,” Dupre said.

Dupre, 63, has a deep history of exploring Greenland. Between 1997-2001, he and friend John Hoelscher became the first people to round the island’s 6,500 mile-perimeter, by kayak (in summer) and sled-dog team (in winter).

In 2022, he returned to visit Inuit villagers he’d befriended and to investigate the effect of climate change on the country and its people. He produced a short film, “AMKA,” that delved into issues such as melting permafrost that had undermined the foundation of houses and receding glaciers that have altered the country’s coastline.

Like his affinity for Arctic climes, Dupre said adventure is never far from his mind. He has had the Nord Hus for three years and began sailing two years ago. He said he has longed to travel by boat to the Arctic like celebrated polar explorers Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary.

“The newness and learning about all things out of my comfort zone are interesting and good for the mind and body,” he said.

During the trip, Dupre and Marceau will sail with a rotating crew of two to three U.S. and international adventurers, some with deep marine experience, who will come aboard and exit at different points. Safety is paramount, Dupre said.

“We’ve given ourselves a lot of contingencies,” he added. “We are not forced to travel every single day. We’ve allowed for storms. ... It is not any kind of performance-based expedition.”

Their itinerary includes visiting Inuit friends in Greenland villages; helping science by doing colony counts of auks, a flightless seabird, and sea mammal observations; and placing supply depots for a 2026 ski-pulk sled expedition. He will post trip updates online on his social media accounts. (Check lonniedupre.com.)

Dupre’s latest immersion in the wild will be a different order than in 2015 when he made the first-ever solo January climb of Mount McKinley, also known as Denali — the highest mountain in North America. But there are parallels.

“When you go to these places and when you come back, they enter your heart,” Dupre said.

Dupre declined to comment on President Donald Trump’s talk of taking over Greenland.

As for the journey, Dupre expects the coldest conditions from the outset across Lake Superior. Sailing a leg from Two Harbors to Grand Marais in late March encased the deck in an inch of ice, he said. In addition to the insulated hull, the boat is outfitted with a dependable heater and heavy-duty sails to handle stormy weather.

Beyond Superior, the crew will sail through other Great Lakes (Huron, Erie and Ontario) before entering the St. Lawrence River and then the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Quebec, Canada. Newfoundland will follow and, later, northwestern Greenland.

Marceau has made winter mountain ascents with Dupre and was on the cultural trip to Greenland in 2022.

Exploring by sail is new for her, too, and that is part of the allure. She describes the adventure as an investment of “courageous curiosity.”

“There are never any guarantees, and for this one we aren’t sure we’ll fall in love with sailing,” she added. “So it takes courage to forge ahead on something so daunting.”