The Arctic - Baffin Island Traverse, April 2002
"Baffin Island is an Arctic wilderness of jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys, steep-walled fjords and eternal glacial ice. Located inside the Arctic Circle, this powerful landscape reflects the Inuit belief that time is infinite and unending."
This year's adventure was chilly - 10 days in temperatures significantly colder than your average domestic freezer! We crossed Baffin Island on foot, towing our own sledges (pulks) which contained all the food and equipment we would need to survive for 10 days, including tents. The journey, 140 miles long, took 7½ days. We walked from Pangnirtung to Broughton Island inside the Arctic Circle in the Inuit territory, Nunavut, Northern Canada.
- Warmest temperature: -15°C
- Coldest ambient temperature: -30°C
- Coldest with wind-chill: -47°C
- The average domestic freezer operates at -15°C
TOP TIP: If you ever do anything like this, put everything you want to take into your freezer first - if it freezes solid, breaks or stops working, don't take it!
Why?
Preliminaries
Getting there
Days 1 and 2 - sunshine and beautiful ice
Day 3 - wind, toilet paper and sand storms
Days 4 and 5 - Thor Peak and Summit Lake
Days 6, 7 and 8 - -47°C and the skidoo rescue
A taste of the traverse
