Topnaar skis for Greenland adventurer

THE sand dunes of the Namib Desert, a pair of skis owned by the Topnaar community and an East German rest-camp owner are the unlikely ingredients in a Swakopmunder’s preparation for a gruelling expedition across the icy plains of Greenland.

In April or May, Kobus Alberts will join three other adventurers on a 550-kilometre skiing expedition from the east coast to the west coast of Greenland. For 27 days, each member will be towing a sleigh with equipment and food.Alberts’s aim is to raise funds for the Afri-Leo Foundation.With the biggest challenge of his life only months away, Kobus Alberts came across unexpected support when he met Henrik May, an East German skiing expert, whose family has run the Sophiadale rest camp outside Swakopmund for the past six years.”We didn’t know of each other’s existence until someone in Germany read on the Internet about my plans and contacted Henrik,” said Alberts.Before their meeting, Alberts was left to his own devices with a pair of borrowed skis that a French visitor once gave to the Topnaars to help them walk across the dunes.”He is getting the hang of it,” said May about his student’s progress.”He won’t become an Olympic skier before his expedition, but what he learns here will make the challenge much more manageable.”For the purpose of getting fit, the sand dunes offer the ideal training ground, said May, who has adapted the Topnaar skis to make them more suitable for training on sand.”The sand gives more resistance than ice, therefore Alberts will get a better workout here; on the ice it will seem like gliding.He might even have a hard time to stop.””It is amazing how fast one can move on skis in the dunes,” he said and walked effortlessly to the top of a steep dune before anyone could say “prove it”.May has been a keen skier since the age of four and achieved success in many international competitions.He now offers ski training and guided trips at Sophiadale and hopes to represent Namibia in winter sports in the near future.All costs of the Greenland expedition will be borne by the team members.”It is an expensive trip,” said Alberts.”We’ll fly to Iceland first, from where there are no commercial flights to Greenland.”Although an anonymous donor has already made a substantial contribution to the Afri-Leo Foundation, financial support for the expedition is slow in coming.”People think it is a pipe dream that will never become a reality,” Alberts said.”One man even told me that he would not contribute to someone’s vacation in Greenland.”Contributions can be made to Afri-Leo Charity Walks, Standard Bank, Swakopmund branch (code 082172), Namibia, account number 142640050.For 27 days, each member will be towing a sleigh with equipment and food.Alberts’s aim is to raise funds for the Afri-Leo Foundation.With the biggest challenge of his life only months away, Kobus Alberts came across unexpected support when he met Henrik May, an East German skiing expert, whose family has run the Sophiadale rest camp outside Swakopmund for the past six years.”We didn’t know of each other’s existence until someone in Germany read on the Internet about my plans and contacted Henrik,” said Alberts.Before their meeting, Alberts was left to his own devices with a pair of borrowed skis that a French visitor once gave to the Topnaars to help them walk across the dunes.”He is getting the hang of it,” said May about his student’s progress.”He won’t become an Olympic skier before his expedition, but what he learns here will make the challenge much more manageable.”For the purpose of getting fit, the sand dunes offer the ideal training ground, said May, who has adapted the Topnaar skis to make them more suitable for training on sand.”The sand gives more resistance than ice, therefore Alberts will get a better workout here; on the ice it will seem like gliding.He might even have a hard time to stop.””It is amazing how fast one can move on skis in the dunes,” he said and walked effortlessly to the top of a steep dune before anyone could say “prove it”.May has been a keen skier since the age of four and achieved success in many international competitions.He now offers ski training and guided trips at Sophiadale and hopes to represent Namibia in winter sports in the near future.All costs of the Greenland expedition will be borne by the team members.”It is an expensive trip,” said Alberts.”We’ll fly to Iceland first, from where there are no commercial flights to Greenland.”Although an anonymous donor has already made a substantial contribution to the Afri-Leo Foundation, financial support for the expedition is slow in coming.”People think it is a pipe dream that will never become a reality,” Alberts said.”One man even told me that he would not contribute to someone’s vacation in Greenland.”Contributions can be made to Afri-Leo Charity Walks, Standard Bank, Swakopmund branch (code 082172), Namibia, account number 142640050.