It's winter in Pang...

The snow is here to stay. This is the one road out of town. It goes 3.6km to the north, ending at a quarry. The locals like to drive out to the quarry "just to get away from town", while a fair number of transplanted kalanuks use the road as their dog-running path. I've observed a fair number of folks driving to the quarry and back, having the dog chase the vehicle. I guess they didn't want to get exercise themselves?



On my wanders the previous day, I spotted a nice couloir that looked as though it would be a fun boot-pack up. The storm we had at the beginning of the week deposited only 10cm of snow, but the winds were blowing 50-70km/h for 2 days. It was enough to sufficiently load the chute up so that it avalanched. The large debris piles at the base and the crown lines that I saw higher up (up to 1m) indicated it was a good size 2 slide.



Higher up in the couloir. Worries of a dangerous sliding layer were diminshed, knowing that the chute had been cleaned out during the storm.



Looking back down the couloir. I wish it had a nice 2m base, with 20cm of pow-pow ready to ski...



This is Pangnirtung at mid-day, when the sun is at its highest point in its daily arc. As you can see, the town will be heading into the shadow next week. Yeehah...

Randomness on a Saturday

There are many dogs in town, and very, very few of them are the genuine Inuit sled dog. At some point in Pangnirtung's history, someone brought in a very "randy" corgy-type dog, and the species has been altered forever.



The genetic blend does make for cute puppies, though.



Jonah, a young artist up the street from me, carving early in the morning.



Jonah is not considered a master carver. That is an honour bestowed upon artists who have been carving for a certain length of time and have produced some amazing sculptures. Jonah is well on his way to getting that status if he continues on his path.



I ran up Mt Duvall after puttering away in town. Nice to get out and stretch the legs.



The sun is getting lower, and in a couple of weeks, the mountain above Pangnirtung will block the sun from it, leaving it in the dark until February 14, Valentine's Day.



Kind of neat looking down on the ocean from 700m up. Note the coastal shelf that is completely exposed at low tides. Pang has tidal variations of up to 7m, making you plan your schedule accordingly when heading out on the ocean.

Night scenes in Pangnirtung

We've been getting some great northern lights the last few nights. The full moon is lowering their intensity, but I'm not going to complain about it.



More lights above the cemetery in Pangnirtung.



The hopping night life in Pang...woo.

Last Foot Patrol

Andrew Maher and I spent a week going through the Public Safety gear and program in Pangnirtung. The old gear, including the lovely cherry helmets, were retired...



Andrew hiking into the park for the first time.



Heading up the Weasel River.



Andrew hiking along the Weasel River, under the watchful gaze of Thor.



Looking south, down the Weasel River valley.



The three official languages of Nunavut.



Arctic hare (Okalik) near Summit Lake.



Reflection in Summit Lake.



Heading back south.



Crossing Half-Hour Creek, once it has started to freeze. Do note the difference in water levels here, with the levels that we experienced in mid-August.



An ermine. This guy was extremely hard to photograph, as he was bouncing everywhere, holding still for less than a tenth of a second.



The hiking season really is over once the fiord starts to freeze. The last 4 km of Pangnirtung Fiord now has ice forming up, and in a couple of months, it will all be locked up and good for snowmobiles to travel on.

Trip with parents

The sand dunes near Windy Lake. This sand accumulates from the fierce north winds that hammer this area in the winter.



Mom and dad in front of a newly-dusted Thor Peak.



Mom has an aversion to suspension bridges. This one, according to her, was not too bad because it didn't bounce too much. Good to know.



Cribbage with dad. Mom always amused by our card-playing antics.



Once again, back at the Arctic Circle with another crew.



Big rockslide off of Odin peak. The debris came within 100m of the trail.



Rock slide off of Odin Peak.



Dad crossing Turnweather Creek. The rivers were much lower at this point in the season, early September.



Back at the Overlord Warden Cabin, waiting for our boat ride back to Pangnirtung.



Boating back to Pang.

Second through-patrol

First night at North Pangnirtung Fiord was spent bouldering. We managed to put up some highball problems and find the ultimate location for skipping rocks.



Bryan on patrol near Owl River.



The dreaded hummocky ground that makes hiking in the northern half of Akshayuk Pass less enjoyable than the southern portion.



Long-distance runners, Ray Zahab and Chuck Dale, during the first stage of their Canada Trails run. They were planning on running Akshayuk Pass, then the East Coast Trail in Nfld, and finishing on the West Coast Trail in BC, all in 10 days. When we saw them here, at June Valley, they were 34 km into the 97 km trail and Chuck was looking punched already. Ray simply stated that this was way harder than running across the Sahara Desert, which he did the previous year by running ~80km per day. Not sure how the other trails went, but Ray finished in 27 hours and Chuck in 31. They had originally told us that they were hoping for 12 hours. I know the hummocky and boggy north section slowed them considerably.



A stunning, 1200m face located across the Owl River from the June Valley Shelter.



Bryan, GPS'ing another notable point along the trail.



Hiking south along the Owl River.



Looking along the Owl River near June Valley.



At long last, we could see Asgard.



Asgard and company in the central portion of Akshayuk Pass.



Stoked to see the gorgeous peaks of Cumberland Peninsula.



The warden position isn't all glory...



Man, do I ever want to come back and climb that thing. The left skyline of Asgard is roughly where the Scott route goes. The dividing line of sun/shade on the NE portion is roughly the line of "Line of Credit", a route by Sean Easton et al.



Bryan hiking in the moraines between Glacier Lake and Summit Lake. The Highway Glacier is in the background.



The one time that sun hit my bare legs all summer...



Another river crossing, this time the Norman River.



Bryan GPS'ing an Inuit gravesite in the park.



The view of Thor Peak from a side trip up the Northumbria drainage. We came within 75m of the summit of an unnamed peak, but had to bail due to a rapidly approaching storm and the lateness of the day. We got hammered by nasty winds and rain halfway down. I had to be convinced by Bryan to head down near the top. At the point that the weather crapped out, I was thanking him for his good decision.