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.

Climbing trip...hah!

Welcome to Baffin, Dan. Hope you like the two weeks that we have mosquitos in this area!



Dan was absolutely punched at this point of day one. He had a crying baby on his front, a monster 90 lb pack on his back, and a new appreciation for hiking before having kids. The kinks got worked out after this day and things were much smoother the rest of the trip.



A lemming near our 2nd camp.



Hard to imagine that everyone's hands were as small as this.



Cold, glacial-fed water for washing...nothing more needs to be said.



Breadablik emerging from the clouds.



We were up at 3am to climb the Swiss Route on Asgard, starting from Summit Lake. We never fully saw the route that morning, as rain showers accompanied a low cloud ceiling. This was the best weather we saw for the 3 days we waited at Summit Lake. Needless to say, with time running short, we had to bail on the hopes of climbing Asgard. Definitely a bummer!



This was the most we saw of Asgard for the 3 days we were up near it, waiting to climb.



Heading down the Caibou Glacier after bailing on Asgard.



Cinquefoil.



Dan, Alice, and Koby (in Alice's jacket) crossing Half-Hour Creek.



Jen and Joy coming across Half-Hour Creek. You know Jenisn't too concerned with the current when she's screaming from the temperature of the water. The glacier feeding the creek is a kilometre up the slope.



A happy mother and daughter after the crossing.



Mushrooms and moss on Baffin.



After scrapping the Asgard plans, we headed south and climbed Thor Peak. We had hoped to climb the super-exposed south ridge (5.9), but changed our plans as the rains just wouldn't go away. We ended up nearly circumnavigating the peak until finding a line up the NE face, which went at 4th class for several pitches. The rain eased up just when we needed it to, and the clouds lifted enough for route-finding. A bit of tricky navigation saw us get up the thing.



On top of Thor Peak.



The vertical drop off the west side of Thor is 1100m from the summit to the base of the cliff face, 1400m from the summit to the river. To peer over the edge was like walking out on an airplane's wing. Frightening how big the exposure was!



Looking over at Asgard while descending from Thor. I'll have to come back for that one!



There are a few hardy bees in the Arctic. They are often found huddled in flowers, trying to use what little warmth is captured by the plant to warm themselves up, then scurrying to the next flower and repeating the process. Not an easy life.



Arctic Circle. Everyone needs to have this shot when hiking this trail.



Going for a polar bear dip. Nice nose plug, Dan...



We came across a local Inuk who was successful in his last hunt. This is a walrus skull with most of the flesh off of it. The hunter was boiling the remaining flesh off, then hoping to sell the skull to someone. He was talking about $1000. We turned and walked away.



Boiling the big guy.