Ice Bound in Taloyoak
An ArcticQuest 1832 news item
Written by Dom Mee
- 2 Aug 2004
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I am glad to say that the team have all arrived safe and well in the frozen North! Thanks to the exceptional kindness of David Totalik, Father Hugo and Sister Dorisa, the team have been given shelter at the Catholic mission - for which we are eternally grateful.
The ice is much worse than we anticipated for the time of year and the Inuit Elders say it is the worst they have ever seen in summer. As a result Taloyoak is currently iced in with no viable way out to sea. All the major inland lakes are also still frozen including Krusenstern Lake, by which we had hoped to travel to our base camp at Thom bay.
We are currently reevaluating our situation and tomorrow Baz and I will continue to recce alternative routes with the use of quad bikes. We shall keep you updated on our findings.
The Canadian Rangers have been a great support and provided us with the benefit of their wealth of knowledge of this region. Sgt. Abel in particular has been most helpful with our expedition. We have received a wonderful welcome by the people of Taloyoak and the team are learning a great deal about the inuit culture past and present and survival in the harsh arctic environment.
We will be beginning our route through the tundra in the next few days and, all being well, you will receive our next update 'from the sharp end'.