NORTHWEST PASSAGE 2024

FOLLOW ARNE, BJORN, TROND, LINDA, BIRGER, ELISABETH, MARTHE & KATHINKA

Gjoa Haven

Vi forventet at det skulle være kaldt og langt. Regnet med motbør noen dager og medvind andre dager.
Vi var alle spente på om vi kom til å gjennomføre, da det er små marginer på at noe kan gå feil (eks gnagsår, forfrysninger, utstyr som ryker og skader).

Du kan forbedrede deg godt, men det kan fortsatt skje noe som gjør at vi ikke ville komme helt frem. Det du bekymrer deg for før turen er ikke det som skjer.
Problemer møtte vi, men vi løste dem underveis. Det er bare å ta dem en for en.

Vi så fram til å være ute på tur så lenge. Og mange av våre ønnsker for turen ble møtt. Vi fikk nordlys og utrolig vakre soloppganger og solnedganger. Vi fikk til og med se en delvis solformørkelse. Skruisen var som å gå gjennom en skulpturpark, men tvilte også på om vi ville komme oss ut av denne labyrinten. Vi møtte Moskus okser som gjorde at vi måtte endre kursen, og vi så isbjørnspor og revespor.
Alle har fått en ny rett på reportoaert - Arnes nudler. Og Amundsens dilemmas har gitt oss gode diskusjoner i alle lunsjpausene.

I Gjøa Havn har alle vinket og ønsker oss velkommen. Vi har følt oss som en attraksjon der vi har gått på ski med våre pulker gjennom gatene.
Møtet med hotellet og en dusj etter 21 dager ute var magisk. I dag har vi vært på museet og på kjøpesenteret.
Det er fortsatt et uløst mysterium i gjengen - ingen har vedkjent seg å være den som plasserer badeender i soveposer, skisko og lommer.

Vi sitter her nå med enorm stolthet, tilfredshet og glede over at alt har gått så bra!

Takk til Kathinka for solid, stødig og profesjonell guiding. For ei bra dame å være på tur med.

Takk til Ousland backoffice for å ha sendt oss det gode været Og Marte for god hjelp, og godt selskap. Vi ønske deg lykke til på tur tilbake til Cambridge Bay.

day 21 (20,5)

We have arrived 🥳🥳🥳

The team has arrived in Gjoa Haven, all in good shape and high spirits!

We did almost 4 pulls and 12,8 km today in beautiful weather and hardly any wind.

We have now feasted on pizza and sodas and celebrated Swedish midsummer!

A full report will come tomorrow.

Kathinka & the Silver fox crew

Day 20

We can see Gjoa Haven!!!!!
We have had an amazing day today with sunshine from clear skies and just a little bit of wind. The night was cold so the skiing is crisp and nice. 

We have seen 2 packs of muskox and skied 24 km in one hour less than normally today. 
Now we are camped on the beach before the last ocean crossing in towards Gjoa tomorrow. 

Kathinka & the Silver fox crew

day19

Another eventful day on the tundra. Today we saw a pack of muskox. We have had a wind full day, but we got it from the side. So it was good for navigation. The sun has been out and shining its lights on us. 

Now to our Easter mystery!
The team is trying to solve this mystery before we reach Gjoa Haven. 
We keep finding Easter chicks in random places. Most of them have been found in our sleeping bags. 
Who places them there????
We have a theory that the Easter Bunny lives here in the North West passage, Santas closest neighbour?
Could it possibly be him???

Ww now have 35 km to Gjoa Haven. 

Linda, Birger & Kathinka

Gratulerer med dagen 15/4 til Emma!

day 18

Today started with a little sun, but soon turned into clouds and low visibility. We entered onto land and had our break number 2 when a Canadian Ranger came over from the radio station to say hi. He had ski-dooed to the North Pole 2 times. Cool guy!
We then proceeded towards Gjoa in a fairly straight line. 
We have done 26 km today, and the tundra is covered by a good layer of snow this year and is looking beautiful. It was a joy skiing across it today. 
The evening ended with a land party in the big tent where we shared the bottle of Tur Aquavit from Arne. 
Good night, only 57 km to Gjoa now. 

Kathinka & the Silver fox crew

day 17

Record day!!!
Today we have been flying across the sea ice despite whiteout conditions. The teams navigation skills have improved significantly and we are super proud of our progress today - 28 kilometres!
We are now only a couple of kilometres from land. Looking forward to seeing some ptarmigans, foxes and muskox. 
So this is our last camp on the polar ocean for now. 

Linda, Birger & Kathinka and the Silver fox crew

day16

Another warm day on the polar ocean!
Global warming is real!!!!!!!!!
We have decided to speed up our pace, and when we decide something we do it, today we did 24 km. Land is only 28 km away. 
Birger read us all a poem during lunch and we all got a piece of his home made Bear bread. 
This might be our last camp on the ice, the ice has treated us well this year. 

Elisabeth, Kathinka & the Silver foxes

Photo: both sides of tentlife

day15

Sunshiny morning with a bit of a wind from the side. Some pressure ridges for the first few pulls, and then flat ocean. 
We enjoyed Tronds surprise for lunch!
Bodies are getting tired, but the scenery is feeding us with the strength to carry on. 
Picture: we are following Roalds route, just the opposite way. This is approximately where we are now. 

Kathinka, Elisabeth & the Silver foxes

Day 14

Today started off with pretty bad visibility, but both Linda and Elisabeth nailed the navigation anyway!!!
The sun came out for a few pulls mid day, but the winds have been constant all day. 
After lunch in the lunch tent Birger found his straight navigation too!!!

So from here we hope for a straight path to Gjoa Haven. The ice was nice for most of the day but towards the end we got back into some rough patches. 

Kathinka & Elisabeth & the silver foxes

Day 13

We can see again!

We had good visibility most of the day today, so we proceeded to set a new record for distance, 24 km! We have also past the 200 km mark, so today is a day for celebration.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are hoping for clear skies and fair winds and another good day for skiing. Heading east again tomorrow.

Kathinka, Elisabeth & the Silver fox crew

day 12

Hello from the North West passage!
We made it through the hopefully roughest pressure ridges - and are now camped on the east side of Byrde Island. 
We have been practicing navigating in low visibility feeling our way through our skies. 
Today has been warm and humid. 
The team is starting to feel the work and the need to be efficient in camp in order to get enough rest. Great learning!
Looking forward to another day of skiing tomorrow - we will be heading east!

Some history:
Food supply list for a 70 day dogsled trip according to Peder Ristvedt, crew onboard Gjøa:
30 grams Butter
200 gram chocolate 
300 grams bread 
200 grams pemmican 
25 grams vegetable 
25 grams pea flour 
5 grams blueberries 
5 grams sugar 
5 grams coffee 
5 grams salt/pepper 
Total 800 grams per person per day 
Ammunition 30 shots pr gun. 

Kathinka & Birger & the Silver fox crew

day 11 - solar eclips day

Sunshiny morning but then the clouds came in. But not until we had seen the solar eclipse!
The first 2 pulls we had good ice conditions, after that we were battling the ice for the rest of the day. Did 16km, but only 12 of them were in the right direction. Flat light makes it difficult to see good routes too. 
But the scenery is amazing and spirits are high!

Some history:
During Roalds journey through the NWP he was in contact with many Inuits. Barter trading was common, Roald and his crew could offer needles and knives - and the Inuits could offer clothing and food. 
Picture: Peder Ristvedt in his Inuit outfit 

Kathinka & The Silver fox crew

day 10

Another day in paradise!
Today we have been practicing navigating in a straight line, it was a success. Until we got back into the pressure ridges and all we could do was try to find a way through. Also a success. All in all a great day!
And last night we had stars and northern light (aurora borealis) over the tents!

Kathinka & the Silver Fox crew
Happy Birthday to my mom yesterday

dag 9

Wow! 
Sunshine and little winds again!
We have had a half day of rest and then crossed the rest of the island. We are currently camped 2,5 km from the sea ice. So tomorrow we will begin our crossing of Queen Maud Gulf. This is a stretch known for its pressure ridges. We will try to make a mental map of the ice from a view point on the island before descending down into the labyrinth of ice.  

Some history: 
In August 1905 Roald Amundsen and his crew had spent 2 winters in Gjoa Haven. They pulled the anker to continue their search for the North west passage. Going NW they were successful in finding the way to Cambridge Bay. 
In Roalds dairy he writes on the 17th of August 1905:
“This is an important day in polar expedition history, the missing link in the North West Passage has been discovered “

Kathinka & the Silver fox crew

DAY 8

Another great day on the Arctic Ocean! We are being spoiled with great weather!
As expected we got into some crazy ice formations just before getting to land at Jenny Lind Island. Beautiful!
Bjorn has been telling us the story about Jenny Lind for the last few lunches. A very entertaining story. (Probably coming completely from his imagination).
After last pull and in camp we had a get together in the big tent with Arnes surprise and a little Aquavitt, we all learned something, Arne is a guy full of great stories and wisdom.! 
Camp is now set on land. 

Kathinka & the Silver fox crew

DAY 7

The weather Gods are with us!

Beautiful sunny day today as well, but with a cold draft from behind. Today the ice has been fairly flat and easy, only one small obstacle. The team has done a great job and we are now only 14km from Jenny Lind Island, a milestone for us. Looking forward to setting foot on land for a day again. 
Happy birthday to my brother Runar today!

Kathinka & the Silver Foxes

Day 6

Another magnificent day!
Wind from behind and high speed from the get go. We had 2 pulls before we hit the crazy ice. And it took us 3 pulls to get trough it, beautiful ice sculptures all around us and excited smiles all around!
The sun was shining and so were we!
The last part of the day we had good flat ice again. 22,2 km today, and happy with our progress. 
For lunch today Marthe served us all hotdogs from a thermos with buns an all! We all agreed that was a great surprise! Marthe rules!!!

Day 5

What a glorious day!
Just a little wind today, and a nice and warm start. Super excited guide today - loving every minute of the day - hoping my excitement rubbes of on the rest of the team. I think it did
We have been staying close to shore to try to find flat ice, but we can now see what awaits us soon as we will now head offshore. And there are some huge pressure ridges on the horizon, but that is a battle for tomorrow. 
Good night!
Kathinka & the Silver Fox team

DAG 4

A little warmer today but still head wind. So we are all covered up in full expedition gear! Heading out on the polar ice in high spirits, we have had some sunshine and some clouds. Some sastrugi and some small pressure ridges. 
Kathinka’s mattress was flat last night, but is now fixed! 
Maittak is 55 kg of full on power - looks like he is loving life on the ice with the team. 
Tomorrow we plan on starting one hour earlier to get one more hour of skiing. 
Hope you got April fooled by someone today!

Kathinka & the Silver fox team

Day 3 - Theme of the day: cold

It has been a fresh day for the silver foxes (the ginger wolf don’t seem to mind) with winds and temperatures dropping to -30. We’re starting to understand how Børge and Mike could spend two hours brushing snow every day on their last North Pole expedition - moisture freeze instantly and keeping the frozen stuff in check is key.
The team had its longest day so far today. 
We had a massive sun halo and b-sun/sundogs when skiing, which was beautiful!
Tonight we’re camping at the outskirts of the polar ocean. 

Cheers from kathinkas silver foxes🦊

DAY2

The night was cold-34! But our sleeping bags were warm. 

Boiling water took longer than usual so we were of a little late today. But we still did our planned 7 pulls. We went from the bay and up onto land, we have to cross over a piece of land to get to the big polar ocean! Everyone is super excited to get out there!

Tonight is our last night on land for a while. 
We have had some sun today, but the clouds came in in the afternoon. 
Spirits are strong and the team happy!

Kathinka & The silver fox team

Day 1, Today was the day!

The team enjoyed a proper breakfast together before finishing the last logistics and heading out on the ice. Sun is shining, the team is smiling and the temperature is chilly.

The team started out from Cambridge Bay around 1330, and did 9,2 kilometres in four hours. We were happy to discover that, so far, things seems to work. Now we can let the stressful preparations go and just enjoy being out in this cold and historic landscape. However, we still need to stay vigilant as ever, and everyone looks out for frostbites and polar bears.

Our newest team member, the lovely ginger muscle-bunt Maittuq danced along the line and identified garbage hidden in the snow, which the team picked up and will deliver to a bin in Gjoa Haven. He also helped dig down to the ice so we could properly secure his leash.

It is a fresh -28*C in the tents, and the sun has yet to set.

Now the team will enjoy dinner, our new tent decorations, hot chocolate and (hopefully) nice and toasty sleeping bags.

Final day in Cambridge Bay!

We started the day with a cup of coffee and another good breakfast!
After breakfast we headed back to the store for more food, everyone had gotten their own list, so first we went and got most at one store and then we got the rest at the other store. With everyone happy with their shopping - the bill was much longer than Kathinka🤣

The rest of the day we have been busy packing, packing and packing!
We made a nice last dinner and then went to our rooms for some fine tuning of the sleds and some privacy. The last privacy for a long while.

Now the team should be ready to get going tomorrow. Spirits are high and building!
It will be a cold start, but the wind is not too bad.

GO TEAM SILVER FOX🤙🏻

Settling in at Cambridge Bay

Today started with Birger offering coffee in bed to all who wanted! Then he made us all breakfast with eggs and bacon - we are spoiled! Thank you 🙏🏻

During the day the team has set up and packed the tents ready with floors and poles. Made breakfast for the expedition and tested the MSR stoves.
Marthe & Kathinka has been all over town talking to the owner of the dog we are bringing, the local authorities and picked up gear from our storage unit.

Elisabeth and Linda was dinner chefs, and made pizza. With some engineers helping with the stove.
All team members have done their share today!
Sleds are starting to come together 👍🏻

Kathinka & The Silver Fox team

CAMBRIDGE BAY - COUNT DOWN

In Yellowknife a TV station came by to document our preparations to the trip (see attached video 😀). Today we also flew from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay, where we will put on skis and start the trip. Enjoy the video 😀😀 Linda, Birger and the Silver Fox Team

SATURDAY / YELLOWKNIFE

Last day in Yellowknife for now, tomorrow morning we set the course north to Cambridge Bay finally.

The day started with a walk to Overlander Sports to pick up some supplies for the expedition and then some last minute shopping. Arne, our very own number 1 Silver Fox got himself a beautiful new ruff on his jacket - made from a local Silver Fox 🤩

We ended the day with the best Fish & Chips in town at Bullock’s Bistro.

Kathinka & the Silver Fox team

‘Dagen i dag’ 🫡 YELLOWKNIFE DAY 2

Waking up to great sunny weather and the first day with the group complete. 

We went to see the Northern Heritage Museum where we met up with a fantastic museum guard. The exhibition taught us lots about the Inuit culture, fishing, and hunting. We saw the trapping of musk rats, a 55 mill-old tree root that still would catch fire, the royal mountain police and how they would ride the sled smoothly and we saw the tradition of building boats from moose skin.

Later we went for coffee to help our jetlags. Followed by a nerve wreaking inspection of our equipment. We all passed … hurray 😀

Elisabeth & the Team

Yellowknife

Most of the team, Bjørn, Trond, Arne, Birger, Linda and Kathinka, met at Oslo airport on Friday morning to start the long journey to Northern Canada. We met up with Marthe in Copenhagen and got on the plane to Toronto. We all stayed a night in Toronto.

Today we flew further north to Yellowknife, and arrived here with all our bags by lunchtime. The team has been out checking out town and we will all meet for dinner tonight. Our last team member Elisabeth is arriving late tonight, so we will see her first ting tomorrow.
Everyone is excited to be here in the land of Helge Ingstad, close to the Great Slave Lake. Hoping for some Northern Lights tonight.

Kathinka & the All Norwegian Team

WHATSAPP, LAST CALL

Last call before everybody head for the airports. Ingrid called in earlier in the day to say that the doctor had stopped her from going due to a meniscus injury in her right knee. Best wishes, Ingrid!
For the others it is the frantic countdown :-)