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MAY/JUNE 2018

Canadian Geographic Trapped. Days in tent
dives into expeditions Wind screaming like angry wraith
Wish I had a book
T
This simple haiku published on the Enduring Ice project’s expedition log marked
the sixth excruciating day that an extreme windstorm had trapped members of
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s 2017 Expedition of the Year at the
north end of the Kennedy Channel on eastern Ellesmere Island.
In desperation, Stephen Smith, Diana Kushner, Christopher Horvat, Michael
Dillon and Bryce Dillon, who were just days from fi nishing their 33-day scientifi c
research and documentary fi lm project, made an attempt at escaping “Arctic jail”
that evening. They paddled their kayaks into fi erce headwinds for an hour and had
made it just two kilometres when powerful gusts whipped swells of black water
into frothy whitecaps. Faced with a losing battle against the wind, the team sur-
rendered and set up camp in a nearby river valley.
That hardship paled in comparison to the environmental threats revealed by the
unstable ice pack that expedition members encountered every step of the way. Read
their compelling story about dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice and the epic tales of
the fi ve other expeditions funded by the Society in 2017 in the upcoming May/June
issue: RCGS Explorer-in-Residence Jill Heinerth’s sub-zero dives along the coasts of
Baffi n Island, Labrador and Newfoundland; Adam Shoalts’ solo trek along the Arctic
Circle; John Dunn’s 70-day skiing and hiking marathon across the Boothia Peninsula
and Somerset Island; Dianne Whelan’s cross-Canada traverse of the entire 24,410-
kilometre Great Trail; and Dave Pearson’s source-to-saltwater voyage from British
Members of the Enduring Ice expedition Columbia’s Monarch Icefi eld to the Pacifi c Ocean, 100 kilometres downriver. TOP: ENDURING ICE; BOTTOM: ADAM SHOALTS
make their way across Arctic sea ice near It’s an adventure-fi lled issue sure to spark your own explorations this summer.
Ellesmere Island (top). Adam Shoalts
paddles the Mackenzie River during his Subscribe or renew today at canadiangeographic.ca/subscribe or by calling 1-800-267-0824.
Trans-Canadian Arctic expedition (above). The May/June 2018 issue hits newsstands in April.

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC 81