Lisel's Fabulous Arctic Adventure: February 2013

Saturday 23 February 2013

Flying around the North

Planes are little.
You could just reach over an tickle the pilots.

February 20th, 2013

Sunrise: 9:50 am

Sunset: 6:26 pm

Temps: -29'C - -31'C

In this post, I offer some pictures and mildly humourous reflections on my experiences flying in northern NWT.

I have taken small aircraft to a handful of locations in the Arctic and Sahtu, flying with Aklak Air and North-Wright Airways. These planes have between 6 to 12 seats, and often flown by surprisingly young pilots.

For more info on these companies and their fleets, see http://www.aklakair.ca/ and http://www.north-wrightairways.com/

Landing strips are simple. Flat ground appears to the main prerequisite,
although this landing in Ivvavik was bumpy due to good sized rocks.

Pilots sometimes pull out maps. Others do paper work, in mid-flight.
Planes apparently fly themselves.

"Pogo sticks" can help prevent planes from falling over when parked.
Yes, you read that right.

Planes can get flat tires too.

Toilet paper is a resourceful way to plug up holes in the plane.

Some photos courtesy of Amie Hay. Thanks!

Monday 11 February 2013

Ice road Dietitian: Part 2

Sign on the frozen river's edge.

February 11th, 2013

Sunrise: 10:28 am

Sunset: 5:48 pm

Temps: -20'C - -31'C

Oh, February. It's still cold, but the days are quickly getting longer. When I returned from my Christmas holiday, the sun had just risen from its month-long Winter rest. Now, a mere 5 weeks later, the sun is up for over 7 hours per day!

Standard local transportation.

The Mackenzie River delta is still very much frozen solid. This, combined with the increasing daylight, makes for easy travelling. Locals take their "snowmachines" out, well, almost anywhere.

Me? I drove to Aklavik.

In a truck.

(You thought this skidoo and "boggan" was my sweet ride, didn't you?)

A view from the ice road: Aklavik and the Richardson Mountains.

My work brought me to Aklavik, a predominantly Gwich'in and Inuvialuit community of about 600 people. Aklavik is situated on the western side of the Mackenzie delta, opposite of Inuvik.

It is accessible year-round by plane, by boat in the summer and by ice road in the winter.

So Aklavik: Mountains, frozen river and frozen boats. And a dog.

What I particularly enjoyed about this hamlet was its proximy to the mountains.

Here you can see the Richardson Mountains in the not so far distance.

These are the same mountains that I see from my apartment in Inuvik, gazing towards which I have seen countless colourful sunsets.

Clearing the road.

The trip to Aklavik had been less than stellar, due to flat light, fresh snow, and driving winds. Due to poor visibility, I drove at geriatric speeds, with the utmost of concentration to keep my position on the road.

In contrast, the drive back to Inuvik was infinitely more enjoyable. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and everything was sparkling with fresh glittering snow.

Junction.

The drive across the delta, between Aklavik and Inuvik, is between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, depending on the conditions and the weight of the driver's foot.

At times I forgot what this northern highway actually was - a frozen river channel - but certain vistas reminded me. What a strange feeling!