caption. An eratic, deposited in the terminal moraine of a large glacier at the confluence of Stuart Valley and Walker Arm.
Prior to leaving, Baffin Island was a dream. Upon returning home and reflecting on the trip, Baffin Island is a place where dreams come true. I have never visited a more arresting landscape. I have never been anywhere and felt so remote, and so completely reliant on my own capacities and that of my team’s. In short, I have never been anywhere like it – and from research and experience, it would seem there is no where else quite like it for skiing on the planet.
The trip was the subject of the second episode in the second season series of A Skier’s Journey, sponsored by Arcteryx and Goretex [for last years episodes, see: Kashmir, La Grave, and Freshfield Icefield] . The team was Chad Sayers, Tobin Seagel, Marcus Waring, Jamie Bond, and myself. I spent the majority of my time shooting video with the episode in mind, though I did make an effort to do still photography as much as possible. Below are some images and captions that shed some light on the trip, though you’ll have to wait until the episode launches in the fall to get a better taste!
Our starting point – the remote Inuit village of Clyde River, Nunavut. Population: 500. Clyde River, like nearly all towns in Nunavut is not connected by roads. It has an air strip with regular flights in and out, and boat traffic can reach it during the ice-free summer months.
Seal hunt.
Locals in Clyde River.
The dotted line marks the route of our 6hr, cold [-30c], and bumpy snowmobile/komatik ride from Clyde River to Sam Ford Fjord and Walker Arm, and return. Part of the route passes over low lying land, while half the route travels through fjords on the frozen sea ice. Sea ice, that would become our platform for our camps, and moving from couloir to couloir up and down the fjords.
Our camp, dubbed “Camp Paradise” tucked into the side of a bay in Walker Arm. On the right stands the Walker Citadel, containing two of the highest cliffs on the planet, at over 4,000ft tall. Placed next to Yosemite’s famous El Capitan, the Walker Citadel would rise more than 1000ft taller. To give a sense of scale, it was 1.2km to the base of the big wall [on the right], while it was 2.5km to the head of the bay [to the left].
If anything were to go wrong and a rescue be required, the 6hr snowmobile ride would likely be the fastest, if you could get a local Inuit via satellite phone with any haste. The nearest helicopter would have to fly nearly 800km from Iqaluit, if there was one available. Most likely, the RCMP told us, a rescue helicopter would have to come from Halifax, nearly 3000kms away. Needless to say, we were out there, and getting ourselves in a situation requiring a rescue was to be avoided.
The walls of Walker Arm in Sam Ford Fjord. Each day we would walk by these juggernauts en route to the couloirs that hide between each face.
Old polar bear tracks – the snow around the imprint carved away by wind action. We never did see a polar bear, even though we were told by locals that would would see one, without doubt.
Couloirs were the principal ski objective for our trip. Side by side, world class couloirs run between 2000-4000ft granite walls, spires, and caverns. It is always difficult to judge distances on the ice, and lengths of couloirs in the fjords because of the massive character of the adjacent rock walls. Here a couloir splits at 1000ft and carries another 1200ft+ both ways, making for a beautiful double objective.
The Polar Star couloir. Over 4000ft of 35-55 degree skiing. We didn’t make it to the top of this gem, as snow conditions didn’t permit safe passage. Fortunately there were many other couloirs we did get to safely ski in full, some with excellent snow, others with not so good snow.
The group hanging above yet another amazing couloir, 3000ft below. Several days later I roped in and dangled my feet off the cliff, shooting the guys in the couloir from nearly a kilometer straight above.
Lake ice – likely 8-10ft thick but incredibly clear.
Saying goodbye to Sam Ford Fjord and making our way back to Clyde River. ‘Komatiks’ are the sleighs hitched to the snowmobiles and carry both passengers and gear, or seals etc. They are very efficient for transport, but incredibly uncomfortable to ride in when bumping across the wind hammered snow pack and ice for 5 or 6hrs – especially when it is -30c [like the ride in - the ride out was a more reasonable -15c].
