The founder Pentti Kronqvist
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- Category: The Museum
Pentti Kronqvist was born in Vaasa 20th of June 1938. When he was two years old, he moved to Fäboda in Jakobstad. Already as a young boy he started to explore the ice in Fäboda during winters. Skiing and sports have followed Kronqvist though his life. As young he participated in competitions in running and skiing, to mention a few. As an adult, Kronqvist worked at the fire department in Pietarsaari for 34 years, in 1994 he retired. He has special training as a paramedic and rescue diver.
His first expedition took place in 1971. On the map (belov) you can see expeditions that Kronqvist has made on Greenland. The members of the expedition team in 1971 were Erik Pihkala, Christer and Peter Boucht. Pihkala needed a fourth man for the expedition and he was recommended to contact Kronqvist, since Kronqvist was considered to be in excellent condition and dared to face challenges. Being trained as a paramedic, was also a pro. Pihkala contacted Kronqvist, and that was the start for Kronqvist’s Arctic adventures. The expedition in 1971, was done without any larger problems; Kronqvist mostly describes it as a hike in the mountains.
In 1973, it was time for next expedition. Kronqvist travelled together with Christer Boucht to Baffin Island in Canada for hiking. During that trip, they got to experience more of the power of Mother Nature, the wind was about to tear down their tent already the first night.
Christer Boucht wanted a grander challenge, so he started to plan to ski from Thule Airbase in Greenland to Grisefjord in Canada. Kronqvist was an obvious member of the team, and as a third man they chose Hans Koivusalo from Vaasa. In 1976, they started the expedition. They left the Thule airbase on skies companied by two Inuits with dogsleds. This was the first contact that Kronqvist made with Thule-Inuits. Because of the thin ice on the Smith sound, the team was forced to go further north to find safe ice to cross. This resulted in the trip becoming 200 km longer than planned. The total length of the expedition ended on approximately 800 km. The last 400 km Kronqvist describes as incredible ruff since they were running out of food and strength. In the end they realized that they were in big trouble – they had problems keeping themselves warm and dry and their power was running out. They were lucky because they met Canadian RCM-police that took them to Grisefjord. After surviving that trip they were all thinking – never ever again!
But never say never - one year later Kronqivst was planning to go on another expedition to the Arctic’s. In the summer of 1977, Kronqvist and Christer Boucht visited the Thule area, their mission was to make a film for the Finnish television.
Already the same year Kronqvist started to plan the next adventure that he came to carry out in 1981. In May that year, Kronqvist led the expedition “Finsk-Norsk Transgrönland expedition”, the Finnish and Norwegian expedition crossing the glaciers of Greenland. The team members were Seppo Salomäki (Pietarsaari) and the brothers Arild and Kjell Bronken. The team traveled 600 km on skies, which took them 26 days. That made them the fastest team that had ever crossed the glaciers at that time.
During the past years, Kronqvist has made a pocketful of trips back to Greenland to visit friends that he has made during his trips. For instance, Kronqvist travelled in 1984 with Vladimir Goichman to the Thule-area in northern parts of Greenland. Ha has also done trips to other areas in the Arctic’s, in 1990 he made a trip to Svalbard together with Carl-Gustav Eriksson and Goichman.
Kronqvist has held exhibitions about the Thule-Inuits in Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, France and about 15 exhibitions in Finland. Kronqvist is also a popular speaker; he has held about 100 lectures. Kronqvist and Nanoq have during the years got a lot of honorary medals and distinctions. Among others Kronqvist is a honorary member of the Finnish Arctic Club, the club also keeps its annual meetings at Nanoq. In the Finnish- Greenlandic association “Uppik”, Kronqvist a member of honor, as well.
