Russell Glacier

Russell Glacier is a Scenic Lookout in Greenland

Russell Glacier is where you can walk right up to the Greenland Ice Sheet. An outlet of that vast ice cap, it lies in the Qeqqata Kommunia region of western Greenland, reached by a rough track from Kangerlussuaq. The ice rises tens of metres above a barren, wind-scoured foreland, and now and then a chunk calves into the meltwater river below. In summer the surrounding tundra fills with muskoxen, reindeer and Arctic wildflowers. Most visitors come on a half-day tour from Kangerlussuaq, a former US air base whose long gravel road makes this one of the easiest glaciers to reach in the country. That old airfield town has another claim to fame. At around 67°N just above the Arctic Circle, it enjoys some of the most stable, cloud-free weather in Greenland, and a reputation as one of the best places in the country for the northern lights. Come a clear autumn or winter night, the aurora dances over the ice with barely a glimmer of light pollution to spoil it.