Today we fly from Vancouver to Edmonton to meet our tour group prior to our charter flight to the Arctic tomorrow morning. In the past 24 hours our planned cruise through the North West Passage has fallen apart due to heavy ice remaining in Victoria Strait. Our embarkation aboard the Akademik Ioffe had originally been at Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island, on the western side of the historic passage, but this had been changed to farther north in Resolute. The Ioffe and several other ships had been unable to travel south through late season ice so many plans were upset by capricious nature.
The transit of the fabled passage, and the visits to these historically significant sites had been the primary lure for us in this trip. We had anticipated cruising up the coast of King William Island, visiting remnants left by the Franklin Expedition and following in the footsteps of the 19th century explorers. But just as Franklin found in 1847, nature had other plans.
Heavy ice in the Arctic seems counterintuitive in the days of global warming, but in fact is a logical result of the current era of climate change. Winters are somewhat drier and snowfall is less these days. The Arctic ice that does form has much less fluffy insulating cover, and the cold dark days give it time to freeze deeper and deeper. This season's first year ice is taking its time melting because it's twice as thick as it should be. Ice is pushed south by wind and current, creating an impenetrable barrier between east and west. It appears an ice free Arctic is not on the cards just yet.
Our flight to Edmonton is clear and beautiful. We follow the Fraser River from its mouth, cross over the origin of the Thompson into the Rockies where we chart the Columbia heading south and then the North Saskatchewan from its origin in the mountains. Edmonton is abuzz with the Fringe Festival, the Marathon, and the beginning of the World Triathalon Finals, but we choose bikes from the concierge and cycle along the river valley. Although we can fly between cities with ease, the lure of travel along the original water routes of the voyagers is irresistible.
In the evening we meet with many of our tour group, and the One Ocean staff confirm that ice continues to hamper any transits of the Passage. We will leave for Resolute at 6 am.
 |
| Kinbasket Lake, created by flooding above the Mica Dam. |
 |
| The Rockies with the Columbia River ahead. |
No comments:
Post a Comment