Thursday July 18th, 2013 - Off the west coast of Greenland

The past three days have been a whirlwind of activity! As I last left off, we were entering our last day of introductory activities and events in Ottawa before heading off to start our ship-based portion in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.

The two days in Ottawa serve a lot of purposes. They provide a framework for the Arctic and its issues, allow for staff and students to get to know one another and bond, and finally, to allow luggage and other lost items to catch up to the arrived students.

On the itinerary was a visit to the estate of William Lyon Mackenzie King in Gatineau Park, as well as an aerial rope obstacle course and zip-line. The estate was nice; it was a unique look into the individual that was our longest-serving Prime Minister. But what wasn't so nice, was this rope course.

Now don't get me wrong. The course itself appeared to be well built, and the staff were superbly-trained and diligent about safety. But this was most definitely a physical activity, and I was no where near up for it. Put simply, I couldn't complete it. It wasn't the height, dangling 20 feet or so off the ground felt very safe with the many ropes holding us in place. But combined with the extreme heat (+42 degrees Celsius humidex) and my poor physical shape, there was no way I could have come close to finishing. It was so exhausting, I could barely keep standing.

Regular readers of this blog know that I regularly comment on the strenuous hikes and physical activities that take place on the average SOI trip. But this was different. On SOI hikes, when I reached the limit of my endurance, I could stop and turn back. On the ropes course, with people ahead of and behind me, there was no option for that. And to make matters worse, I never even got to do an actual zip-line. Guess I'll keep that on my bucket list!

Wednesday morning meant flight day. As our flight left at 7:30am, wake-up had to happen before 4am. Get the students up, get them on to buses and into the airport, where they had to collect their luggage and go through regular check-ins and security. Somehow, we got everyone and everything on board.

Now having said that, I can finally tell everyone about our special VIP this year. It's nice to have someone come along on expedition who has a bit of "public persona" cachet behind them. In 2010, CBC lead news anchor, Peter Mansbridge, joined us for a few days. This time around we're lucky enough to have Stephane Dion, former leader of the federal Liberal Party and a Minister of the Environment, joining us. He joins 40-some other great and talented staff coming along on expedition. I may not agree politically with his party, but there's no doubt he provides a unique perspective to our students.

We arrived in Greenland with little problem, and before long, we were zipping along the waves toward our floating classroom, the Sea Adventurer. As I recall, I think I mentioned I had travelled with this ship during the Arctic 2011 expedition (although back then it was called the Clipper Adventurer). Climbing back on-board was like visiting an old haunt. It was like I never left. What made me feel even more welcome was recognizing a few of the crew who were onboard two years ago, like Richard and Jane. I've been told that all the crew were looking forward to having SOI, and it definitely made us feel right at home.

And with that, and a seasick patch, we were off. Making our way down the fjord away from Kangerlussuaq, we had a first dinner, briefing and finally collapsed into our beds for a much-needed sleep.

Today was our first landing in Itilleq Fjord, the same spot as our last landing on Arctic 2012. It was a great day for shore activities, with a little mist and a chilly breeze blowing through. As usual, we had a diverse range of sessions for students to choose from; water sampling with dip nets, song-writing, creative writing, traditional sewing, to name just a few. I chose to follow along with glaciologist, Eric Mattson. He had discovered a patch of snow still on the ground here in Greenland, even in the middle of July. Together with a number of students, he conducted experiments on the snow and explored the many facets of this Arctic necessity.



For the afternoon, it was off to the community of Itilleq itself. This small town has only a population of 100 people, so dumping off the entire SOI contingent meant that for just a few short hours, we more than doubled up the population. Students were given an opportunity to explore the community, visit the fish factory (the main resource for many of Greenlandic towns), meet the townspeople and walk around the area. As with all SOI community visits, this will be a memorable stop for the students, as they get to see first-hand what it's like for the peoples who inhabit the Arctic regions to live and work here. There was even an impromptu (and somewhat crowded) soccer game that broke out, along with some Inuit throat-singing and other traditional songs and dances.

It's been five days and as typical for an SOI expedition, the students have bonded very quickly. It's quite amazing how 85 students, who have never met and are from very different backgrounds, mesh so rapidly. It's a testament to the program and philosophy of SOI that this happens.

So tomorrow is a visit to the community of Ilulissat, again, another stop from last year's expedition. It was an interesting visit then, and I anticipate it will be an interesting visit this time around.

Monday July 15 - SOI Arctic 2013 - Day 3

Well, it’s been a very busy couple of days for me here in Ottawa! Friday, I (obviously) arrived safe and sound in Ottawa. As mentioned in my last post, I was supposed to immediately pick up two students arriving from northern Canadian communities (through Edmonton), but as is very common with flights from some of these communities, there were delays and they wouldn’t be getting in until Saturday. So Friday was spent with some much-needed getting organized and low-key activities to build up energy for the days to come.

Saturday rolled around, and in came some of the students. Throughout the day, we slowly picked up three students here, two here, four here… until we finally ended up with 10 students. Nine of them were from northern towns – and one from Switzerland. Ah, SOI diversity was beginning to shine in all its glory! Our early Swiss student – Lucie – appeared to suffer from little jet lag despite arriving at what I would imagine would be near a normal (teenager) bedtime back home.

For us, the adventure was getting started to the Parliament Buildings, for their amazing evening light show Mosaika. I had seen this show last year, and this year didn’t disappoint as well. A sea of humanity covered the grounds of our nation’s seat of government, and through it all, I managed to meet up with a student from my 2011 trip, Gordon from Iqaluit. Gordon and I had a great talk – he’s preparing to start his career by joining Canada’s armed forces this fall, and I couldn’t be prouder of his decision and for even such a short period of time, having had a chance to get to know this amazing and dedicated young man, and I wish him all the best for his future. He even took a few moments to greet the small group of SOI2013 students and pass on some good advice for them as they begin their big adventure.

Then came Sunday, in all its student arrival glory. My assignment – a simple one. Go to the Ottawa airport and stay there all day, greeting students getting off the planes, finding their luggage, and sweeping them out to an eagerly-waiting shuttle driver outside the terminal for transport to Carleton University. Seems simple. I arrived at 7:30am, and right away our first students of the day trickled in. Luggage. Shuttle. Back inside. Another flight. Luggage. Shuttle. Inside. International arrivals. Students. Shuttle. To domestic. Students. Luggage. Shuttle. Domestic again. Students… oh crap, an international flight is getting in. Students get luggage while I’m off to international. Students. Gather other students. Oh crap, luggage for one student didn’t make it. Shuttle. Back inside, more international – yes Mr. Customs, this student is with me and will be leaving Canada at some point (let’s leave out the part about going to Greenland and then BACK to Canada for simplicity’s sake), whatdoyoumeanthatMontrealflightisarrivingearly!..shuttle…luggage….domestic…international…luggage….shuttle…domestic…three domestic flights and one international, no shuttles, luggage delayed…. Ahhhhhh!!!

And I volunteered for that. Willingly. And I would do it again and again and again. Because I get to see all these excited and energetic students first and be the first smiling person they see as they begin one of the most memorable experiences of their young lives. If any SOI staff are reading this – never, ever, take me off of doing this important task. Never.

And then everyone was here. Well, almost everyone. A few missed flights. Some lost luggage. But the team… the SOI family… was home.

And that brings me to today. It was a day of getting to know one another – some introductory education sessions. Some breakout icebreaking activities. Food. Trips to Parliament Hill – this time in the day time with guided tours. And on cabinet shuffle day, too. There was a buzz in the air… or it may have been the sound of taxpayers’ money getting flushed down the drain in the Senate chamber…

Then we were off to the Canadian Museum of Nature’s collection facility (and head office for Students On Ice) in Gatineau, Quebec. This is my third or fourth visit to this facility, and as a museum nerd, it’s a bit like museum porn. The students were fascinated by dinosaur fossils, plant samples, DNA testing and whale skeletons – I was fascinated by the storage system.

Here’s a picture from the fossil collection storage – rows and rows of knowledge.

And then back home to Carleton for supper, more education programs and evening activities. Another typical whirlwind of an SOI day complete.

So I sit here in my dorm room, yawning away. It’s time for sleep – tomorrow we are off to two activities I’ve never done before – a visit to the estate of Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. Then (of course) a hike. Picnic lunch. And in the afternoon – a zip-line ropes course. I never done one before so this could be… interesting…

If I have time to update tomorrow, I will. But it’s an early night, as we have a 4:30am wake-up call on Wednesday for our flight to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and our home for the following 10 days – the Sea Adventurer!

 

Thursday July 11, 2013 - SOI Arctic Expedition 2013 - T minus 1 day

So this time around, I promised I’d talk a bit more about what I know about the students on this year’s Arctic Expedition. Anyone who has heard me talk about SOI (which is anyone who will listen), knows that it’s the students that make this whole experience what it is. They are the most diverse, engaging and passionate group of young men and women I have ever had the privilege to come across – and I haven’t even met this year’s bunch!

Their diversity makes each expedition unique and special. In my first four years, the interactions were different – from being Uncle Mike one year, to the DangerKatz in another – if there’s one thing for certain, it’s that no two years will be the same.

Ok, some straight up numbers. Over 80 per cent of the students on SOI expeditions are sponsored, whether it be Prince Albert of Monaco, to various Inuit and First Nations community organizations, to great causes like the Leacross Foundation – just to name a few.

Forty per cent of the students are from Northern communities. This year, there are students representing Pond Inlet, Grise Fiord, Gjoa Haven, Kuujuaq and many others. They are joined by other students from most provinces in Canada… but Manitoba, sadly, is not. My first two expeditions had a Manitoba student in each, but the next two did not. This year, as far as I can tell, also does not have one. This, to me, is a serious gap for us, as we are most definitely a polar province. But for a Manitoban student to go, some organization or company will need to step up and hopefully sponsor one – any takers?

And of course, we’ve got students from across the world as well. The U.S. is well-represented, with students from Washington DC, New York City, Houston, Rhode Island and Tennessee. The Tennessee students are usually the ultimate “fish out of water” expeditioners – often completely unprepared for the experience ahead of them, but completely ready to embrace every minute of it.

Internationally, we’ve got students coming from Switzerland, Norway, Greenland, and Monaco, along with other countries probably – it’s just not clear from their bios. These 80 students and about 40 staff will make up our little family for the next two weeks.

Friday is coming up pretty fast – the bags are ALMOST packed (everything fits!) and I think I’m ready to go. My flight arrives in Ottawa at 1:12pm – and the first two students arrive at 1:49pm! No rest for the wicked – it’s GO time!

Monday July 8th, 2013 – SOI Arctic Expedition 2013 - T minus 4 days

Adventure is worthwhile in itself.

Amelia Earhart

Four years ago, I put this quote in my very first blog as I had arrived in Ottawa to start my first Arctic expedition with Students On Ice. I look back on those first few entries, and indeed the entire expedition, with a bit of whimsy and nostalgia – I had no idea what was about to happen, and was literally a wide-eyed tourist jumping into an adventure feet first. It was a whirlwind of emotions and experiences that left me a little bit stunned, quite a bit amazed… and a LOT exhausted. But I knew one thing - I wanted to experience this adventure again.

And so I did… in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

And here I am, preparing for my FIFTH Arctic expedition with Students On Ice. I am honored and privileged to once again be involved with this great organization and this year’s voyage looks to be as exciting and action-packed as all the others. Of course, with four days left to go until I leave for Ottawa, there’s not much to describe just yet. Unless you want to hear the finer details about my packing, which probably isn’t that interesting. What I’m packing this year is quite different than what I packed in 2009 – experience and practicality have taught me some lessons about what I personally need to bring versus what SOI recommends . In the end, it all fits… hopefully.

There have been some changes to the SOI program this year. Of course, each and every expedition with SOI has been different and varied in many ways – itinerary, ship, staff and naturally, the students. But this year marks a somewhat different path for the SOI educational program. For starters, our amazing and diverse group of field staff will be conducting a series of TEDx-style sessions called “Arctic Hour”. These will take place numerous times throughout the expedition and will replace the lecture-style talks from previous years. A heavier focus will be on experiential and interactive workshops… which pleases me greatly, as that’s where I feel I can play a part. And of course, there will be the “usual” zodiac runs, shore landings, and community visits. I definitely invite you to check out the expedition website at www.studentsonice.com/arctic2013.

In reviewing our expeditionary staff bios, I’m surprised at how few “veterans” are coming along this year. Of course, there are a plethora of new faces to join with us – and that is definitely one of the highlights of each expedition. This year, I’m noticing a definite swing to staff with political and economic backgrounds – a former Assistant Deputy Minister for Environment Canada, current President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council of Canada, a CEO of an Arctic mining company, a policy advisor for the International Development Research Centre – just to name a few. But science isn’t being ignored – we have a paleobiologist, botanist, oceanographer, glaciologist, a couple of geologists amongst many others. Geographers, historians, musicians, photographers and artists also dedicate their time. And of course, there are educators of all stripes and backgrounds.

Our itinerary is also unique. After two full days exploring Ottawa and getting to know one another, we fly off to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, where we board our floating home for almost two weeks. This year we are back on the ship we sailed with in 2011, although she’s been renamed the Sea Adventurer. After we set sail, we visit numerous stops along the west coast of Greenland, before heading across the Davis Strait to sail the Northwest Passage! This will be the farthest north I’ve travelled yet, as we wind our way along the north edge of Baffin Island, all the way to Resolute, Nunavut! From there we fly out to Iqaluit, where we drop off many of our Northern students, and then back home to Ottawa.

As usual, it’s a whirlwind itinerary, and it will change – guaranteed. Ice, weather, and any other factor can change our course or delay things. But one thing is for certain – it’s certain to be a worthwhile adventure!

Next blog: the best part of an SOI expedition – the students!

For anyone who’s wondering if I’m still alive – the answer is yes… although barely. Today really tested that boundary… but more on that later. Let’s see if I can wrap up what’s been happening in the past week.

Since our amazing and somewhat-famous (I hear) escapade with the Coast Guard, we finally set sail up the east coast of Baffin Island aboard our floating classroom, the Akademik Ioffe. We spent the first day really getting acquainted with our new home – it’s a world class icebreaker but it’s no first-class cruise ship. She’s well-fitted with comfy cabins, a top-of-the-line dining room, comfy lounge and a cozy library. The only downside is the lack of a room big enough and practical enough for our big all-hands briefings – the only space that comes close is this claustrophobic and improperly seated presentation room on the first deck. But enough about the ship…

The east coast of Baffin Island provided me with a bit of a missing puzzle piece. On my 2009 expedition, thick ice prevented us from going as far north on our itinerary as planned. Naturally, we made up for it with different stops, but I always wondered what those missing places were like. This year, I found out, with stops at Monumental and Lady Franklin Islands and Sunshine Fiord. Both were beautiful sights, of course… our cruise around Lady Franklin Island provided us with a few good polar bear sightings. And Sunshine Fiord with its majestic cliffs led us to a perfect landing spot – and an infamous SOI hike.

Avid readers of my blog will know what these SOI hikes can be like. The never-forgotten “short” hike in Auyuittuq National Park, the gruelling and exhausting trek to the bird cliffs of Diana Island, just to name a few. So it’s with a bit of experience that I headed out on this one at the tip of Sunshine Fiord. Aaaannnd… it wasn’t so bad. Did I make it to the top? Nope. Did I kill myself trying? Nope. Was I disappointed? Nope. In the end, I saw some amazing sights, talked to some fellow expeditioners and ended things off without having to drag myself into a zodiac. Now THAT’s how you do a hike.

Our final stop in Canada was a community visit to Qiqitarjuak, a small hamlet of about 500 people. Again, regular readers will know that community visits are usually the highlight of our expedition – they provide the human side of the scale, as compared to the natural side. And Qid did not let us down. Almost the entire town came out to greet us with warm and friendly welcomes at the dock, and a lively and vibrant celebration in town. There was throat singing, square dancing, taste-testing (whale, clams and char), and lots and lots of happy children, students and adults. It was chaotic and fun-filled and no one wanted to leave.

But Greenland awaited us, and we set sail across the Davis Strait with our eyes on this exotic land.

And then came the seasickness.

Now I’d patched myself up from the moment I stepped foot on the ship, not wanting to have any sort of heavy swells sneak up and catch me unawares. And for the first few days, calm seas prevailed and many of the students (and some staff) began to think themselves immune to the ocean’s effects. And admittedly, the open seas were pretty tame compared to what I’ve experienced on previous voyages. But nevertheless, the rocking and rolling of our vessel caused some upset stomachs and for most of the day, students could be seen lolling about with green gills. I’m happy to say that most of the effects slipped past me, and I once again praised the almighty Patch. I even managed to present one of my activities to a great group of about 13 students.

Our arrival in Greenland was to a small inlet called Disko Bay. For some reason, the name titillated me the entire time, and I walked around the ship singing and dancing to Staying Alive. Hmmm… perhaps the Patch was having some adverse affects…

Anyhoo, our first stop was a small village called Qeqetarsuaq. Sound familiar? It should… it sounds very similar to the town we had just left before crossing the Davis Strait, and was a nice link between the two countries. But where the Canadian Qiq overwhelmed us with a sea of welcoming humanity, Greenland Qeq was quiet and sleepy. That’s not to say we weren’t welcome. But arriving early on a Thursday morning probably meant not a lot of townsfolk were rushing out to greet us.

I could have stayed in Qeq for days, exploring the different nooks and crannies of this beautiful little village. I snoozed for a bit on a rock down by the coastline, with majestic icebergs slowly lumbering past me. We checked out the local museum, spent some time figuring out the exchange rate between Danish krone and the Canadian loonie, and all in all had a truly enjoyable time.

Which brings me to today’s adventures, but I’m afraid that will have to wait for hopefully another blog entry. The eyelids are heavy and the bunk is calling me. Good night everyone!

Greetings from Iqaluit, Nunavut! It’s been a hectic, but rewarding couple of days here in the nation’s newest territorial capital. Since my last check-in, we hopped aboard our chartered flight (thanks to the generous support of major SOI sponsor, First Air… we love First Air!) that flew us direct from sweatily-oppressive Ottawa to the cool and drizzly Iqaluit. It was quite amusing to see many of the much-underdressed students, including our two Tennessee boys – Derrick and Kevin, make a quick bee-line for the terminal. We were immediately bussed to our home for the next two days – the dormitories of Arctic College. The accommodations were definitely a bit sparser than what many were used to, but it was warm and the people welcoming. For the rest of the day, we were treated to some presentations and introductory games. The highlight for me was seeing a former SOI alumnus from 2010 – a great guy named Jonathan Alexander. Big Jon was a memorable student for me – quiet and introverted at the start of the expedition, yet Mr. ChattyPants by the end. And now, at only 18, he’s a Conservation Officer at some local parks and has serious plans to take studies in Environmental Technologies. He remembered me right away and it was obvious that SOI had a positive and continued influence on his young life, and it’s a great source of pride that I played a small role in it. After a good night’s sleep, it was a mad morning of student-staff Speed Dating (nothing creepy, just a way for all the students to get to know all the staff), followed by a great presentation on the Arctic by our resident polar explorer and expert, David Fletcher and the former president of ITK, an Inuit socio-political organization, Mary Simon. But being in the dorms for 24 hours was getting a little claustrophobic, so it was time to hit the town.

First up was one of the most surreal experiences of my four expeditions. As mentioned last entry, we have a bit of an ice problem in Frobisher Bay. It’s decided to stick around longer than usual, and the entire bay is packed with a dense collection of “bergy bits” – relatively small chunks of ice ranging from large trucks to small houses. Normally floating in the water, we arrived to find that hundreds of them had been temporarily stranded on the ground by Iqaluit’s famous tide. By walking through the muck for about half a kilometre, we were able to walk amongst these bits of ice, take amazing photos and videos and carefully climb aboard the smaller flat ones to truly become Students ON Ice. It was like walking through an alien forest of icy-blue “vegetation”, and will definitely rank high on the list of unique opportunities that only SOI karma can create. As I said to fellow staffer, Eric Mattson – “I’d cross that off my bucket list… if there was any remote way that my imagination could come up with adding that to my bucket list in the first place!” We then toured the Museum and Visitor Centre, and the Nunavut Legislative Assembly – both of these places I had been to before when visiting here at the end of 2009 Arctic. Then it was off to visit Matty McNair’s dog yard. Matty is a well-known explorer in her own right, having travelled by dog sled to both poles of the Earth. Her beautiful dogs were a highlight for me, but a slight tinge of homesickness coursed through me as I thought of my own dogs and cats I left back home. Although well looked after, some of them are elderly, and I can’t help but worry about them and miss them. So now, after an evening of some music, presentations and planning, we are preparing for tomorrow. I can tell you that one huge hurdle has been overcome – our ship, the Akademik Ioffe, has made it to port, thanks to the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Terry Fox. Major hurdle #2: how to get 120 people and thousands of pounds of luggage through the dense sea ice to safely get aboard our floating classroom. Stay tuned!! UPDATE: August 1st – We had a great launch event today at Sylvia Grennell Park, with well wishes by Inuit elders and the premier of Nunavut. But despite all the good SOI karma we could muster, the ice just didn’t co-operate. Instead of Students On Ice, we’ve become Students Stuck In Ice. Spending another night in Iqaluit!

Arctic 2012: Day 2-4 Ottawa

Hmm, no comments to my last blog post - not a good sign that anyone's following! Oh well, if there's no one out there listening to my blathering, that's alright by me. It's just fun to type. So as expected, there was no way to keep up the daily blogging. Not that Days 2 & 3 weren't busy - just not blog-worthy. We had the same six students the entire time. They consisted (did I mention this last blog?) of northern Arctic students who did not have passports and would have taken weeks to get them done from their home towns. By coming to Ottawa, they could be done in days. But in the meantime, they had to be entertained. Our days consisted of: tours of the Canadian Museum of Nature, trip to the Carleton U pool, shopping at Byward Market and Rideau Centre, and the best of all - a trip to Gatineau Park and Meech Lake beach. Mini-Chris was there... see attached picture! But the best part of the pre-expedition chaos is the meet and greet of the students (and staff). My entire day today was spent at the airport, cheerfully holding the SOI sign to hundreds of people as they filed off of aircraft, looking for the 3 dozen or so somewhat terrified teenagers as they madly search for some familiar sign that they are in the right place. And all in all, things went smoothly. One lost luggage, one missed flight, and one cranky Canadian customs agent. Seriously, why let one student pass from the same town, with the same documentation, doing the same expedition... but then detain the other. Senseless. Oh well. Everyone made it and everything is good. We had our first briefing, conducted our first bed check, and we now look forward to tomorrow's departure for the capital of Nunavut, Iqualit. But the days ahead have some interesting... hurdles. SOI leader Geoff Green reports that Frobisher Bay (in which Iqualit lies) is socked in with pack ice. An unusual situation considering sea ice overall is rapidly diminishing. But it also creates a problem for our vessel, the Akademik Ioffe. A strong ice-breaker in its own right, the ice is simply too thick to safely traverse. However, Geoff reports that our very own Canadian Coast Guard may swoop in to the rescue and escort our vessel safely to harbour. And as for getting out - well, that's the part that remains to be seen. Flexibility is the key! To wrap up, I thought I'd list off some of the diverse group of students I met today. I hope to tell you more about them in the days to come, but here's taste of the international flavour we have. Brendan from Newfoundland, Danno from Saskatoon, Isabella from Iceland, Julian from Germany, the group of 6 from Russia, Malaika from India, Ivalu from Greenland, Derrick and Kevin from Tennesee, Michela from Ottawa, Rosemary from California. There's dozens more and we'll meet more tomorrow as we meet up with the students gathered in Iqualit. It'll be a long day, and I hope to have some sort of communication in Iqualit, so I hopefully will blog once from Iqualit. But if I can't get things to here, be sure to check out the expedition home page at www.studentsonice.com/arctic2012 !! Good night from Arctic Mike and his ever-smiling partner in crime, Mini-Chris!