Circumpolar Musings: Tourism

Visas hamper tourism to Russian Arctic

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:51:04 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 8 March 2013) -- The national park “Russian Arctic” could have had 20-25 000 more tourists if it had been easier to get a visa and if there had been a border-crossing point on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, the park’s administration says according to the web site travel.ru. The national park lacks every kind of infrastructure, but this is precisely what the tourists come to experience. The Russian settlements of Svalbard are other places that many foreign visitors would like to visit if it was easier accessible. Norwegian hotels on Svalbard are visited by nearly 80.000 people every year, with an annual growth of 10 percent over the last years. Meanwhile, the Russian settlements of Barentsburg and Piramida draw less than 2500 people annually. The niche of Arctic winter tourism is booming as the world opens its eyes for the combination of winter, ocean and northern lights, and tourists are willing to pay a high price to experience the untouched nature. Russia has big plans for developing tourism in the Arctic. The national park “Russian Arctic” was established in 2011. It includes the northern part of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island and covers almost 1,5 million hectares of territory. The Russian Federal Tourism Agency is planning to develop a brand that can help promote the Russian part of Svalbard as a tourist destination, as BarentsObserver wrote.

Village profile: Akureyri – Bustling with life

Amanda Graham — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:05:15 GMT

(Iceland Review) -- As the largest town outside the capital region, Akureyri (pop. 17,000), is the industrial and service capital for North Iceland as well as a center for culture and education with strong historical roots and numerous tourist attractions. The Artists’ Alley is the town’s cultural center and one of its most colorful attractions. The alley is literally crawling with bohemians and art lovers during the annual Summer Art Festival from mid-June to the end of August. Akureyri has fostered some of Iceland’s most beloved writers and their spirits greet visitors in their homes-cum-museums, and at the local Folk Museum visitors can learn about the town’s history since Helgi magri (“the skinny”) settled there in the 9th century. The Akureyri Theater, the only professional theater outside the capital region, is also worth a visit.

Russia to welcome tourists on ice-covered Franz Josef Land

Amanda Graham — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:57:21 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 12 April 2012) -- Russia is planning to launch a tourism project on the Franz Josef archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Russian security chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Thursday. “We want to use it [the archipelago] for tourism purposes in the very near future,” Patrushev, the head of the Russian Security Council, said during an international conference dedicated to security and cooperation in the Arctic held in the northern Russian city of Murmansk. One of the most remote and rugged Arctic landscapes in the world, Franz Josef Land is located to the north of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a total area of some 16,230 square miles. The islands are almost uninhabited, except for several hamlets built by Russian settlers. Patrushev, along with a group of foreign participants in the conference, visited the archipelago on Wednesday. He said it was the first time foreigners have set foot there. Environmentalists say the move will not damage the unique Arctic ecosystems, as high costs of $15,000-$20,000 per person and a short tourist season lasting from mid-July to mid-September, will serve as a natural limit for the number of visitors. “This is quite a normal occurence. This summer we will organize a similar tour for our supporters with stops at the Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. This would be a predominantly sea cruise with minimum time ashore. Tourists would mainly watch bird colonies or, for example, walrus breeding grounds from the ship,” Mikhail Stishov, a WWF Russia coordinator for Arctic conservation projects, said.

No more pilot-free sailing around Svalbard

Amanda Graham — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:10:28 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 21 February 2012) -- To ensure safety at sea in the vulnerable fjords of Svalbard Norway is establishing a system for compulsory pilotage on the Arctic Archipelago. Compulsory pilotage in the fjords of Svalbard is an issue that has been discussed for many years. Many of the fjords on Svalbard are quite dangerous with strong torrents and narrow fairways. The decree on pilotage will be put into force gradually. Already this summer, vessels going to the Svea coal mine will need to have a pilot onboard. From 2013 all passenger vessels with a length of 150 meters or more, which means all larger cruise vessels, will need a pilot when going into one of the fjords on Svalbard. Compulsory pilotage will come fully into force from the sailing season of 2014. All boats longer than 70 meters and all passenger vessels longer than 24 meters will then need to have a pilot when entering one of the fjords. Smaller boats used for tourist cruises and day trips can apply for exemption from the compulsory pilotage if the navigator on board has a Pilot Exemption Certificate, Svalbardposten writes.

Russian Arctic to be made tourist attraction

Amanda Graham — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:50:24 GMT

(TASS via Voice of Russia, 20 January 2012) -- A tourist zone will be created on the premises of the Russian Arctic National Park in the north of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago and on the islands of Franz Josef Land. According to local officials, the construction of helicopter pads and harbors to receive cruise vessels will begin this summer. Former polar stations and deserted military bases will be transformed into tourist centers and virgin territories will be open only for research. The Russian Arctic, the northernmost nature reserve in Eurasia, is home to the biggest colonies of birds and rookeries in the Northern Hemisphere. It is populated by polar bears, Greenland whales, white seagulls and other Red Book species.

Chinese developer livid at Iceland's rejection of resort

Amanda Graham — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:07:58 GMT

(Reuters, 27 November 2011) -- A multimillionaire Chinese developer is livid at Iceland's rejection of his plan to build a sprawling resort, saying it reveals western "hypocrisy and deep prejudice". Foreigners also wrongly assume Chinese companies automatically have ties to China's military, Huang Nubo said in comments published in Chinese media on Sunday. The Iceland government on Friday rejected a bid by Huang to buy 300 sq km (186 sq miles) on the island nation because it did not meet legal requirements on foreign ownership. Some commentators had said the plan raised questions over regional security because of Iceland's strategic location in the Arctic where a number of nations are competing for resources, suggesting that Huang could be a surrogate for Chinese expansionism. "I'm not buying land, I'm investing in tourism infrastructure," Huang said in an interview with Sina Finance, an online news service. "The difficulties that Chinese enterprises encounter are numerous, like the view that state-owned enterprises represent your country, that whatever your background is you're a military business and touch on national security." ... "The denial reflects the unjust and parochial investment environment facing private Chinese enterprises abroad," he told the [China Daily] newspaper. Huang had agreed to pay 1 billion Iceland krona ($8.3 million) to buy Grimsstadir farm in northeast Iceland, where he planned to build a golf course, hotel and outdoor recreation area. But Iceland's Interior Ministry said on Friday that the deal did not meet legal requirements for land sales to companies outside the European Economic Area, including that company directors must be Icelandic citizens or permanent residents for at least five years, and that 80 percent of shares in purchasing firms should be held by Icelandic citizens.

Russian youth group sets camp on North Pole, waits for helicopters

Amanda Graham — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:04:54 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 22 April 2011) -- A Russian youth group has reached the North Pole after covering more than 100 kilometers on skis, the president of the Polyus Expedition Center, Irina Orlova, said on Friday. The group seven young men and women between 16 and 18 years old, along with their adult guides Matvei Shparo and Boris Smolin, were delivered to 1 degree latitude from the North Pole and skied 111 kilometers (almost 69 miles) for seven days to reach their goal. "They have set up camp on the Pole," Orlova told RIA Novosti. She said that the group should be picked up on Saturday and taken to the Russian Barneo Base by helicopter if weather permits. "If the weather is good, then helicopters will take the youths and the adults to Barneo tomorrow," Orlova said. The seven youths from Russia's Chuvashia, Orlov Region, Omsk, Cheboksar, Perm Region, Vologda Region, and Moscow were chosen among 50 candidates vying for the chance to ski to the North Pole. The expedition was organized by the charitable foundation Priklyuchenie Club (Adventure Club) and the Russian Ministry of Sports and Tourism under the auspices of the Russian Geographic Society, as well as the Association of the North Pole Expedition Center Polyus.

Alaska Natives gain tourism foothold off beaten path

Amanda Graham — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:21:30 GMT

(Rachel d'Oro/Anchorage Daily News, 3 April 2011) -- Alaska Natives have established a solid foundation in the state's tourism industry, captivating visitors with their dances and songs, their art and a history as varied as the tribes themselves. Much of the cultural boom is found at cruise ship ports, Alaska's large cities and points along the state's minimal road system. But travel experts say independent travelers are increasingly venturing to isolated villages to experience life with descendants of the continent's first inhabitants on their ancient grounds, a trend that could be confirmed by a summer visitor survey planned by the Alaska Travel Industry Association. Whatever the venue, Alaska Natives represent an "authentic experience" for many travelers, said association president Ron Peck. "Yes, they come to see the beauty that is Alaska," he said. "But the truth of the matter is, as they come here, they want to be more experiential. They want to learn about these cultures."

New walls for old fortress

Amanda Graham — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:43:27 GMT

(Barents Observer, 22 February 2011) -- The Northernmost fortress in the world, Vardøhus Fortress, will get much-needed repairs. The walls around Vardøhus Fortress in Norway’s easternmost town of Vardø are in bad shape and are about to fall out. The Ministry of Defense has now decided to allocate NOK 6 million to rebuild the walls, Finnmarken reports. The parts of the wall that are in bad shape will be taken to pieces and rebuilt, using the same rocks. The work will take place in April-October 2011. "It is important to preserve our historical monuments for the coming generations," says Minister of defense Grete Faremo. "Our fortresses are an expression of our national identity." Vardøhus Fortress is located in Norway’s easternmost town, Vardø. The first fortification here was built around 1300, when Norway was in conflict with the Russian Republic of Novgorod. The current star shaped fortress was erected in 1738.

Arctic cruise companies merge

Amanda Graham — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:21:00 GMT

(Nunatsiaq News, 21 February 2011) -- Adventure Canada, the Mississauga, Ont.-based adventure travel company, has taken a majority stake in a new partnership with Makivik-Corp. owned Cruise North Expeditions, Cruise North announced last week. Cruise North Expeditions said it would will continue to offer Arctic cruises “with the cultural content and Inuit staffing that has become a trademark of Cruise North Expeditions.” The merger comes after both companies suffered unexpected crises last year. The Clipper Adventurer, operated by Adventure Canada, ran aground Aug. 27 east of Kugluktuk, after running into an underwater cliff. ... The Cruise North web site shows its 2011 cruises will continue to use the Clipper Adventurer’s sister ship, the Lyubov Orlova, which also had a rough season in 2010. The Lyubov Orvlova was waylaid in St. John’s in June after inspectors found problems with a mechanical piping system, The Lyubov Orlova was in port for 15 days, before being cleared by inspectors last July 9. But that was too late for Cruise North’s first trip of the season, an 11-night trip from St. John’s to Kuujjuaq, via the Labrador coast. Canadian officials then seized the Lyubov Orlova Sept. 24 because its Russian owner, Oleg Uliyanchenko, alleged to owe more than $250,000 to Cruise North. More than 50 Russian and Ukrainian crew members were also owed more than $350,000 in wages. After being stranded in St. John’s for more two months, they finally left in December. Starting in 2012, Adventure Canada and Cruise North Expeditions continue plan to offer joint cruises with Inuit staff, itineraries and programs specially designed to bring benefit and opportunity to the people who call the Arctic home, the Feb. 16 news release says. Cruise North Expeditions was founded in 2005 by Makivik and, since then, the company earned a place on Conde Nast Traveller’s prestigious “Green List” for its “environmental efforts and commitment to helping preserve Inuit culture through tourism.”

Northern tourism marketing campaign gets $3.5M

Amanda Graham — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:34:20 GMT

(CBC News, 11 February 2011) -- A new campaign to sell Canada's North as a year-round tourism destination has received a $3.5 million from the federal government. Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the four-year funding in Whitehorse on Friday, saying the money will be for a pan-territorial marketing campaign to market the North to southern Canadians as a "unique and dynamic place to visit." Aglukkaq said the campaign builds on the success of Northern House, a cultural venue that showcased Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon to visitors at last year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver. "This investment today is new money to further market the three territories, so that the three territories can reach [their] full potential within this area," said Aglukkaq, who is also the Conservative MP for Nunavut. The funding comes from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and will go to the Pan North Consortium, which consists of government and tourism officials from each of the three territories. The consortium was behind the Northern House project, as well as the "Look Up North" pan-northern marketing campaign during the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

Finland to assist Russia on Arctic tourism

Amanda Graham — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 09:44:41 GMT

(Thomas Nilsen/BarentsObserver, 11 January 2011) -- A delegation from Russia’s Arctic Yamal Peninsula is in Finland this week to discuss the plans for active tourism cooperation. The plan is to create an Arctic tourism centre in the city of Salekhard, the capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, reports Voice of Russia. Finland has over the last decades created massive winter tourism in Lapland, and the delegation from Yamal will study the Finnish experiences.

Prince Harry to join Army veterans in North Pole trek

Amanda Graham — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:13:17 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/BarentsObserver, 14 January 2011) -- Prince Harry of Wales plans to join four wounded British Army veterans when they attempt to trek 320km from Russia to the North Pole in March. The men were all injured on the front line in Afghanistan. The British charity “Walking With The Wounded” aims to get the badly injured servicemen across the polar ice cap, unsupported, BBC reports. The final expedition names have now been announced, together with news that Prince Harry - third in line to the throne and patron of the charity - intends to go with them for part of the way. The team’s Polar Guide will be Norwegian Polar explorer Inge Solheim. The expedition starts from the Russian ice camp of Barneo in late March, the expediton’s web site reads. Before this, the team will spend one week on Svalbard for acclimatization. The team plans to spend 20-25 days on the 320-km-long trek to the North Pole.

Snow hotels appear all over the Barents Region

Amanda Graham — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:46:35 GMT

(Thomas Nilsen/BarentsObserver, 1 December 2010) -- Snow hotels and even snow villages are under construction at nine locations in the Barents Region. November has been extra cold this year and the first snow hotel has already welcomed its first overnight guests. The Jukkasjärvi snow hotel in northern Sweden opened two weeks ago with 60 rooms, a month earlier than previous winter season. The Jukkasjärvi hotel also has a large main hall, an ice bar and a special designed snow- and ice entrance. More than 50 people – ice and snow sculptors, lighting designers and others were involved in the construction of the near 600 square meter building. Snow hotels are also under construction in Kirkenes and Alta in northern Norway. In Finnish Lapland four snow hotels will be open this winter. The Lainio Snow Village Hotel has in addition to 20 igloos and seven ice suits also a snow-restaurant and Europe’s largest ice-bar. Three other snow hotels are located near Kemi, in Ylläs and just south of Saariselkä. This winter season’s largest snow- and ice construction will however be at the Levi ski-resort in Finland. Opening on December 17th, Europe’s largest ever ice-sculpture village will open. Named “Wonderworld of Ice” it will contain ice huge sculptures of buildings lighted with special colours LED-lights. The ice-models are well-known sights from China and other parts of the world, including the Beijing Olympic Stadium, a labyrinth and a Pagoda of ice are the most recognisable examples of architecture. Sixty professionals are currently building Levi’s Wonderworld of Ice. In Kirovsk on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, another snow village are under construction. The fairytale-look snow constructions include both buildings and activities for children, including a large number of slides, reports GTRK Murman. The snow village will also get a real theatre with a large screen. An ice-sculpture festival will be arranged in late January. The southernmost snow hotel in the Barents Region will be opened in the village of Kononvskaya in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Last winter season was the first time this snow hotel was built, decorated with many fascinating ice-sculptures and designed specialities.

High-end tourist attractions lure people to Sweden's North [mp3]

Amanda Graham — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:13:52 GMT

(Tom Sullivan/Radio Sweden, 15 November 2010) -- Depopulation is a growing problem across Sweden. The far north is particularly affected as the population ages, fewer babies are born and young people leave. A major mineral find is often seen as the last hope for dwindling communities to hold onto their young people. Yet the region boasts other natural resources – an unspoilt wilderness, the Northern Lights, a unique indigenous culture, and one of the longest skiing seasons in Europe. And unusual, high-end tourist attractions may be one way of attracting more people to the region. [Listen to the item online from the title link or it's the last item in the show mp3 file here.]

Saami experience Nunavut in Cambridge Bay

Amanda Graham — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:50:50 GMT

(Jane George/Nunatsiaq News, 9 November 2010) -- When Jan-Erik Henriksen and Nina Hermansen, Saami from northern Norway, went ice fishing with Anna Kaotalok, Jerry Puglik, Doug Crossley and David Omilgoitok at Kitigak Lake near Cambridge Bay earlier this month, the two Saami found the excursion familiar — but also different from what they’re used to back home. First, the fishing was different because the lake fish were much larger than in Norway, the two Saami said. Secondly, the weather was much colder than they see in northern Norway at this time of year. And you wouldn’t see a herd of muskox wander by back home, either, Henriksen and Hermansen said. But, at the same time, jigging through the ice felt familiar to them, because Saami also survived for thousands of years by fishing — and herding reindeer — in the Arctic regions of northern Europe. Henriksen and Hermansen, who teach at Finnmark University College in Alta, Norway, arrived in Cambridge Bay on Oct. 27 to learn more about Nunavut and Nunavut Arctic College’s programs. Finnmark University College offers bachelor of arts degrees in social work and a masters degree in social work through UArctic, whose north2north exchange program, along with Norway’s Saami parliament, sponsored the two instructors’ trip of one week in Cambridge Bay and another week in Yellowknife. During a visit to one of the community’s schools, where Henriksen gave a presentation about Saami, he was reminded of his own youth in the 1970s when none of his teachers were Saami — a situation that has now changed, he said. Today in Norway, home to about 80,000 Saami, there are Saami teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, dentists and other professionals.

Stranded Nunavut cruise ship passengers rescued

Amanda Graham — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:44:01 GMT

(Globe and Mail, 30 August 2010) -- The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen have rescued the passengers of a cruise ship that ran aground on an uncharted rock in Nunavut's Coronation Gulf. The MV Clipper Adventurer became stranded around 7 p.m. MT Friday while making its way from Port Epworth to Kugluktuk. Efforts by the crew to dislodge the vessel during high tide on Saturday were unsuccessful. All 118 passengers, as well as the crew, are safe and unharmed, cruise operator Adventure Canada said. Company CEO Matthew Swan described the ship as "completely stable." "There is a list of about 4.5 degrees to the port side, but there doesn't seem to be any damage that we can detect." He said skies were sunny and waters calm for the last two days, so a lot of people just relaxed on deck. The Amundsen was dispatched to the scene from the Beaufort Sea. Coast Guard spokeswoman Theresa Nichols said the passengers were transferred to the icebreaker beginning Sunday around 4 p.m. ET and that it was completed in later in the evening. "All of the passengers were transferred to the Amundsen," she said. "They're all in good health." The Clipper's crew is expected to remain on the idled ship for now, she said, adding that there has been no pollution, such as oil, spilled in the water because of the incident. Swan said he didn't know what might be done to free the ship. Nichols said any decisions on assistance for the vessel will be made by Transport Canada. The icebreaker was taking the tourists to Kugluktuk and they will be flown to Edmonton.

Walkers complete 650-km trek across Iceland

Amanda Graham — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:26:20 GMT

(Iceland Review, 19 July 2010) -- Three women who embarked on a 650-km trek across Iceland 30 days ago will complete their journey today when they walk the remaining 35 kilometers to Fontur, the outermost point of Langanes peninsula in northeast Iceland. “The atmosphere is great and the journey has been amazingly successful. Some parts were more difficult than others but it becomes easier when we think back on it as often happens,” one of the walkers, Kristín Jóna Hilmarsdóttir, told Morgunbladid. Her traveling companions are Anna Lára Edvardsdóttir and Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir. “What stands out is to have waded the powerful Thjórsá river up to our waists—we had to get help crossing it,” Hilmarsdóttir described. “We also met [Finance Minister] Steingrímur J. Sigfússon on the Öxarfjardarheidi heath. He’s from this district and was the first to walk this path called Steimgrímsstígur,” Hilmarsdóttir said. “He had heard about our journey and as we were were walking across the heath a car drove in our direction and stopped. It was Steingrímur asking if we were the great walkers. It was nice talking to Steingrímur,” Hilmarsdóttir said. The three women began their journey on Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland and walked across the country’s interior to the northeast.

New direct flight to Chukotka, to the white nights, dog and reindeer sleds

Amanda Graham — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:48:39 GMT

(Russia Info, 19 May 2010) -- The air carrier of Yakutia has opened a new direct regular flight Moscow Ц Anadyr Ц Moscow. This route provides new traveling possibilities for the residents of Chukchi Autonomous Area (Chukotka) and for the tourists who choose eco-tours on dog sleds and thrill seekers who wants to research this northern exotic land as well. The flight is carried out from this Wednesday, May19 from the Moscow international airport of Vnukovo, which provides different possibilities for transit flights. The service takes place on the modern aircraft of Boeing 757-200 on Wednesdays (Moscow - Anadyr) and on Thusdays (Anadyr - Moscow). The trip time amounts to 8 hours.

Fry and Mortensen help promote Iceland

Amanda Graham — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:59:29 GMT

(Iceland Review News, 21 May 2010) -- British actor Stephen Fry and Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen have agreed to participate in an initiative to promote Iceland as a travel destination to counteract negative coverage of the volcanic eruption in the international media. An interview with Mortensen has been posted on the website inspiredbyiceland.com and Fry tweeted about Icelanders through a Twitter site of the same name, Fréttabladid reports. The project is part of an ISK 700 million (USD 5.4 million, EUR 4.4 million) marketing initiative launched by Icelandic tourism companies and the government of Iceland. Advertisements will be published in widely in European media outlets and the plan is to have other world-famous celebrities participate in the project. See Viggo Mortensen is inspired by Iceland on Vimeo and also IceNews, "Stephen Fry and Viggo Mortensen support ‘Inspired by Iceland’."

The Current: Arctic re-imagined

Amanda Graham — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:08:17 GMT

(Chris Wodskou, The Current/CBC, 24 February 2010) -- We started this segment with a clip from Glen Gould's The Idea of North for CBC Radio. The Olympics in Vancouver have proven to be a bit of a disconnect for a country such as Canada. Until yesterday, we failed to deliver a suitably wintery setting for the games. Rain, fog, spring-like temperatures. None of that is out of the ordinary for Vancouver. But it hardly befits a country that proudly calls itself The Great White North. And consider the omnipresent Inukshuk ... Inuit iconography being used to illustrate our connection to the north at a celebration of ice and snow in one of Canada's balmiest microclimates. But then, the Canadian Arctic is getting balmier too. All those contradictions got The Current's Chris Wodskou wondering what it means to be an Arctic nation in a time of climate change. We aired his documentary, Arctic Re-Imagined. *** Due to copyrights issues regarding music in this documentary we can not make this item available as a podcast but you can listen online off our website at: www.cbc.ca/thecurrent - click on Past Shows and February 24, 2010. Sorry for the inconvenience. ***

Nunavut college explores creating tourism program

Amanda Graham — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:45:07 GMT

(CBC News, 27 January 2010) -- Nunavut Arctic College is about to study and develop a unique cultural tourism and hospitality program for the territory's communities. The college is receiving just over $40,000 in federal funding to work on the program, which would build on Nunavut's strengths in the cultural and arts sectors and help boost local economies. The funding, which is being administered by the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, will allow the college to work with other Nunavut organizations towards developing curricula for the program, agency director Hagar Idlout-Sudlovenick told CBC News. Nunavut Arctic College will use the funding to collect information about similar programs in the circumpolar world, said Cindy Cowan, the college's director of academic studies. "We may be doing some research ... in Norway and Finland, and looking at what that the circumpolar indigenous people are doing with their universities in terms of cultural tourism," she said. "Then phase two will be another proposal. I'm not sure who we would be going to, but we'll find a partner who will assist us in actually writing some of the courses."

1908 Arctic expedition photos on eBay

Amanda Graham — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:10:46 GMT

(UPI, 11 January 2010) -- New Haven, CT - A Connecticut man said he hopes to get up to $8,000 on eBay for a rare find in his attic — 85 photographs from a 1908 expedition to the Arctic. Francis Boucher of New Haven said the photo album, which had been passed down to him by his parents, spent years in a trunk in his attic until he stumbled upon it about two weeks ago and decided to research its origins, The New Haven (Conn.) Register reported Monday. "This time, I started really looking at their historical value," he said. "I was surprised and kind of excited. It's one of those things you stick in a box and forget about." "The book documents Harry Whitney's expedition with the Inuit Eskimo to the north and south of Etah (Greenland), along the Arctic frontier and overwintering in Annoatok," he wrote in an e-mail announcing his auction. "The images portray what real big-game hunting and survival in the wilderness was all about, making today's reality TV look like child's play." The auction had reached a high bid of $1,612 as of Monday evening.

Bags lost, thousands of tourists freezing in Lapland

Amanda Graham — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:04:41 GMT

(YLE, 30/31 December 2009) -- Over the past couple of weeks, around 20,000 visitors arrived in Lapland without their bags. Often the luggage has shown up just as they were leaving. "We've had to take care of customers' lost luggage issues the whole time. It's natural that they would turn to us for help," says receptionist Arja Haapakorva from Rovaniemi's City Hotel. "Thankfully Rovaniemi's tour operators came to the rescue, and provided warm overalls to our freezing customers." Temperatures in Lapland have dropped below -20 degrees Celsius while the luggage fiasco has been going on at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Sports outfitters in Lapland have made a killing selling shivering visitors complete kit, from long underwear to parkas and everything in between. "When you have nothing, it's understandable that you buy everything," says Hanna Uusitalo, a salesperson at City Sport in Rovaniemi. For other visitors, the lost luggage is even more serious that being literally caught out in the cold. ... At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 bags were orphaned at the airport. There are still 100-200 bags stranded at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but these should be delivered by the end of the week. Finnair blames the baggage pileup on the snowy conditions. However, luggage-handling union representatives point the finger at staff shortages due to layoffs. At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 bags were orphaned at the airport. There are still 100-200 bags stranded at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but these should be delivered by the end of the week. Finnair blames the baggage pileup on the snowy conditions. However, luggage-handling union representatives point the finger at staff shortages due to layoffs.

Port of Akureyri shows off beauty of North Country

Amanda Graham — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:14:27 GMT

(Icelandic Tourist Board/Dateline Iceland – January 2010, 28 December 2009) -- They say you can’t take a bad photograph in Iceland. Sure, we suppose it might be a bit dark if you leave the lens cap on, but otherwise, between the incredible scenery and a sun that usually sits low in the sky (this extended “magic hour” avoids harsh, washed out images), you can’t go wrong. New to IcelandTouristBoard.com is a stunning slide show of cruising images from Akureyri and the North Country.The Port of Akureyri is Iceland's second largest port after Reykjavík. In recent years the port has become a popular cruise destination, bringing thousands of visitors to the area each summer. In fact, this year, Akureyri was voted Europe’s third best destination by customers of Princess Cruises, one of the largest cruise ship companies in the world. Akureyri, with a university, several museums, fine dining and a lively nightlife, is the capital of the north and gateway to untold outdoor activities. As you can see from the slide show, you’ve got your golf, your puffins, tolting horses, your cruise ships with their midnight buffets (in the summer daylight, of course), even tourists in shorts (thankfully in white, not black socks). Be forewarned: one look at this slide show and you might have an irresistible urge to book a cruise yourself. To see the show, log on here: http://icelandtouristboard.com/photo_gallery_akureyri/

Churchill is known as the polar bear capital

Amanda Graham — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:14:40 GMT

(Fred Bruemmer/Montreal Gazette via Ottawa Citizen, 23 December 2009) -- There are three places in the north where, at the right time of year, you are nearly certain to see polar bears: Wrangel Island, north of Siberia, very hard to reach; the ice fields near Svalbard, the archipelago far north of Norway, by chartered yacht, okay if you have lots of dough; and our own Churchill, Man., which rightly calls itself "the polar bear capital of the world." It is the choice of an amazing number of people whose dream is to see a polar bear. During the famous "bear season" - about six weeks in late fall and early winter - hundreds of these magnificent animals congregate in the Churchill area. It is the largest concentration of polar bears in the world. Last year more than 10,000 tourists came to Churchill for that marvellous adrenalin-surge nearly all experience when they see their first "wild" polar bear. The thrill and fascination are understandable. These bears are special. They are huge, white, powerful. They are the iconic animals of the Arctic. A long-term study carried out by the zoologist Desmond Morris showed that the polar bear is one of the world's 10 "most popular" animals. The greatest love of our 2-year-old grandson is his plush polar bear pal called "Po". When he visits us, Po comes along and Owen falls asleep with the bear cuddled in his arms. The sad thing is that when Owen and your children and grandchildren grow up, they probably will no longer be able to see polar bears in the wild. By then, if present climatic trends continue, there may be only a few small pockets of polar bears left in the remotest regions of the far north. In many languages, polar bears are called "ice bears" - "Eisbär" in German, "isbjørn" in Danish. It's an apt name. They are the highly specialized seal hunters of the circumpolar ice. The equation, consequently, is simple and fatal: no ice, no ice bears. Global warming is causing the polar ice to recede rapidly. In 2007, for the first time in memory, the normally ice-choked Northwest Passage was ice free in summer. Very good for shipping. Very bad for ice bears.

Tromsø: One of the best places to spend Christmas

Amanda Graham — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:25:44 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 23 December 2009) -- The American travel magazine Travel and Leisure has selected Tromsø, Norway, as one of the world’s best towns to spend Christmas. “The snowy city island of Tromsø offers unparalleled views of the northern lights and a chance to say you’ve been to the North Pole—well, the Arctic Circle, anyway—for Christmas. Plus, there’s dogsledding, great food, and a mountaintop cable car. Here, “day” is just a couple hours of twilight blue”, the magazine writes on its web pages. Tromsø is only beaten by Taos in New Mexico, USA and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and ranked before famous places like Key West, Chicago and Vienna.

Radio Documentary: Inuit Voices, Victorian Spectacle, and the Diary of Abraham Ulrikab (circa 1880)

Amanda Graham — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:29:42 GMT

(BatteryRadio via Arctos Canadensis, 11 December 2009) -- Battery Radio - web site of Chris Brookes, radio producer of Abraham’s Diary (in two parts). The late 19th century saw the rise of scientific racism in Europe, and those who flocked to the zoo exhibit expected to gape at “exotics” from some “primitive race”. What they found instead were Labradorimiut who spoke three languages, played German hymn tunes on violin, and who were keeping their own ethnographic notes on the “uncivilised” Europeans. Tragically, both families died of smallpox, but not before Abraham Ulrikab wrote his impressions of the trip in a remarkable diary. Based on the book: “The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab: Text and Context,” edited and translated by Hartmut Lutz (University of Ottawa Press). Parts 1 and 2 of the documentary first aired on the CBC radio program “Ideas” on Nov. 30 and Dec. 01, 2009. You can listen to Parts 1 and 2 on-line (at Abraham’s Diary), or click on the tab below on Arctos Canadensis for Part 1.Link to source

Space tourism to take off in Kiruna

Amanda Graham — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:08:27 GMT

(The Local, 12 December 2009) -- If all goes to plan, billionaire Richard Branson’s spaceships will take off with tourists on board in 2012 – from Kiruna in the far north of Sweden. “Space tourism sounds like science fiction, but we are talking about only a number of years into the future,” Johanna Bergström-Roos, from the Esrange space centre in Kiruna, told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Earlier last week, billionaire Richard Branson paraded his company Virgin Galactic’s specially designed tourist ship ‘SpaceShipTwo’, which will take tourists out into space. Virgin Galactic, has selected two 'spaceports', from where tourists will be able to launch into space. One of the spaceports is in New Mexico, while the other is the Sweden Spaceport, in Kiruna. If all goes according to plan, space tourists may be flocking to Kiruna within several years. “Virgin Galactic has its spaceport in America and will commence their first flights there in 2011. When they have been operating for half a year, it will then be time for the European market, and they’ll then come to us,” Bergström-Roos told Dagens Nyheter. In an earlier interview with TV4, Branson said that space journeys from Kiruna could be a reality by 2012. “We would love to send up people in a rocket so that they get to experience the northern lights from space. Sweden has been very welcoming and very enthusiastic about this project, so I am hopeful that fairly soon after we start our space programme from New Mexico we can start up in the north of Sweden.”

Turf farm hotel proposed for Thingvellir

Amanda Graham — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:18:28 GMT

(IcelandReview, 9 December 2009) -- Four historians have presented their ideas for a turf farm hotel to the parliament’s Thingvellir committee, a living museum where tourists can travel up to 1,000 years back in time. The historians have founded a company to execute their idea, called Stórsaga. The historians are especially interested in the area Skógarhólar, which currently has facilities for horseback riders passing through Thingvellir. In addition to the turf farm, they are keen on building a small church, cowshed, smithy and a parliament camp, Morgunbladid reports. During the day, tourists can observe how the Icelandic settlers lived and at night the area would be used to accommodate tourists. That way, people can experience how Icelanders used to live for centuries. “We want to present history to travelers in a new way. The traveler comes to a place where he or she can buy accommodation and food which was available 1,000 years ago and understand what it was really like to live in Iceland from the settlement to the 20th century,” said one of the historians, Svava Lóa Stefánsdóttir.

Opinion: Mary Simon, an ideal choice for the next GG

Amanda Graham — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:16:15 GMT

(John Baglow/The National Post, 4 December 2009) -- A little bird tells me that a worthy replacement may have been found for Michaëlle Jean, Governor-General of Canada, now in her last year of office. According to an influential Conservative insider, Mary Simon, currently the President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, would be an "ideal choice." Simon was ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 1994-2003, and also served as Canadian ambassador to Denmark, 1999-2001. She sat on the Joint Public Advisory Committee of NAFTA's Commission on Environmental Cooperation (1997-2000), and chaired the Commission from 1997-98. She was the Chancellor of Trent University from 1995 to 1999. Simon has played many other roles in her career, including serving on the Nunavut Implementation Commission. She has been showered with honours—everything from the Order of Canada to the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. And throughout her many years of public service, she has been a powerful voice for Aboriginal rights in Canada and elsewhere. And she blogs! An ideal choice indeed.

Polar bears make Churchill an arctic treat

Amanda Graham — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:11:27 GMT

(AnnArbor.com, 21 November 2009) -- The accommodations are spartan, and for some, the scenery may qualify as ‘bleak,’ but the opportunity for polar bear viewing in Churchill, Manitoba, located on Hudson Bay, is unparalleled. Depending on your situation, you might also get some outstanding food. The accommodation that I stayed in, called the Tundra Lodge, consisted of five very large enclosed wagons hitched together, with metal grate decks between them. The place often shakes; high frequency shaking resulted from people walking down the hall or sometimes from strong wind gusts. Wider sways in the entire structure came when bears relieved their itches by use of the wheels and frames of the wagons. And on one occasion, the shaking came from a crude but ultimately successful attempt to repair the drain pipe from the kitchen sink using only a front-end loader, since it was too dangerous to get out of a vehicle to perform repairs on the exterior of the lodge. Churchill is called the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and if you get there at the right time of year, it exceeds all of the expectations that hang on this name. The reason why it is the polar bear capital stems from the habits of polar bears coupled with the physical site of Churchill. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals. For about four months of the year, there is no ice on Hudson Bay and the bears do not eat. However, they know that because the fresh water that flows into the shallow bay from three rivers near Churchill raises the freezing point of the water, this is the first place to freeze in the fall and thus the first place where food becomes available. So Churchill is the place where the polar bears gather in anticipation of prey, and the tourists gather in anticipation of polar bears, with a small number of other arctic creatures thrown in—arctic fox, ptarmigan, snowy owl, and arctic hare, all of which in my experience required greater luck for a sighting compared to the polar bear. The northern lights can also often be seen there.

Greenwich woman returns to Arctic Circle to help build frozen hotel

Amanda Graham — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:59:02 GMT

(Lisa Chamoff/News Times, 19 November 2009) -- For the past five years, Mary Gibbons has poured her energy into a building that is literally destroyed after a few months, and then painstakingly rebuilt from scratch. She wouldn't have it any other way. On Saturday, Gibbons will make her now-annual trip from Greenwich to Jukkasjärvi, a small village about 160 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, where she will serve as one of four project managers for the Icehotel. Each winter, over the last two decades, a new hotel is designed and built out of thousands of tons of ice from the Torne River. It melts back into the river come spring. Gibbons, 55, joined the building crew at the Icehotel in 2005 after watching a television program on similar igloo-like accommodations built from ice and snow. At the time, she was recently divorced and still healing from the deaths of one of her sons and her father. After e-mailing the chief architect her story, she took a leave of absence from her job as a ceramic tile designer and headed to work in below-freezing temperatures. Gibbons has built frozen furniture for the hotel's bar, wielding chain saws to sculpt the ice, and upholstering the pieces in reindeer skins. Watching people actually sit on the chairs she helped create is a wonderful feeling, Gibbons said.

Polar bears and narwhals in the Arctic: Wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen's Polar Obsession

Amanda Graham — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:46:57 GMT

(Telegraph, 16 November 2009) -- These images are taken from a new National Geographic book called Polar Obsession by extreme wildlife photographer Paul Nickle [sic, Nicklen]. [There are some different pictures in this collection from the Nicklen gallery noted below. Book at Chapters.ca, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, or National Geographic. ]

Icebreaker trapped in Arctic ice, 105 passengers safe

Amanda Graham — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:26:26 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 16 November 2009) -- VLADIVOSTOK - A Russian icebreaker with 105 passengers on board has been trapped in ice during a cruise in the Arctic, a Russian Far East marine cruise official said on Monday. The Captain Khlebnikov will need to wait one or two days to resolve the situation, and the official said the passengers are in no danger. "The icebreaker's crew is waiting for the weather to change and then the ship will resume its course. This will require one or two days. The passengers are in no need of assistance," the spokesman told RIA Novosti. Most of the passengers on board the icebreaker are Brits. A film crew from the BBC is also on board filming material for a documentary called Frozen Earth.

A photographer's polar obsession

Amanda Graham — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:12:37 GMT

(NPR, 13 November 2009) --Today on All Things Considered, host Melissa Block speaks with National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen about his new book, Polar Obsession. Listen here. How many people can say with nonchalance, "I've had good friends of mine ... eaten by grizzly bears"? Paul Nicklen can, for one. He's a National Geographic photographer who was raised in Canada's Arctic and has spent the past 20 years documenting extreme polar regions. Nicklen had a unique childhood. He grew up in a small and remote Inuit community on Baffin Island with no radio, no TV and no telephone. His idea of fun included lying in blizzards until his body went numb, building sleds and tending pet seals. It was a secluded youth -- and to anyone else, a bit extreme. But to Nicklen, it was as idyllic as childhood gets. "I was taking care of dog teams by the time I was 5," he tells NPR's Melissa Block. "It's just a completely different world, and ... I fell in love with it." So it makes sense that his idea of fun today includes many of the same things: extreme temperatures, exploration and animal friendships. After a brief stint at the University of Victoria to earn a biology degree, Nicklen made a prompt return to Canada's Arctic, where he began a career as a nature photojournalist. "As I got to be older, as a biologist and photojournalist," he says, "I realized that these are the tools I can now use to protect the place that I fell in love with as a kid."

Books review: The final meltdown

Amanda Graham — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:17:40 GMT

(Simon Kuper/Financial Times, 13 November 2009) -- Sara Wheeler is such a seasoned Arctic traveller that one winter she towed her baby son around Lapland on a sled. In The Magnetic North, her wonderful account of her journeys through the region, she wonders if her children will “talk to their children’s children about the Arctic as my generation speaks of black-and-white television and tinned spaghetti”. They almost certainly will. It’s no coincidence that four weighty books about the region are being published at once. The old Arctic is dying, and a new, perhaps more habitable one will replace it. These books are not warnings against climate change: it’s too late for that. Rather, taken together, this quartet is at once a requiem for the old Arctic and a fearful welcome to the new one. Glyn Williams’s Arctic Labyrinth and Peter Nichols’s Final Voyage are partial histories of the old, frozen Arctic. Wheeler’s odyssey and Alun Anderson’s After The Ice chart the new, melting Arctic and the incipient “cold rush” for its oil and gas. There are hundreds of billions of dollars buried in those thawing seabeds. As the Arctic defrosts, the region may finally join the rest of civilisation, Anderson suggests, even though he doesn’t like the idea. The Arctic was always a scarcely habitable wasteland. “Twelve months of winter, and the rest is summer,” one traveller tells Wheeler. The region’s empty landscape makes you understand your own insignificance, Wheeler says, and it draws misfits and misanthropes. When she asks a fellow Arctic addict, “What keeps you here?”, the reply is: “It’s not what’s here. It’s what’s not here.”

Prince Charles takes home Inuit Ranger sweaters for sons

Amanda Graham — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:28:35 GMT

(AFP, 10 November 2009) -- OTTAWA - Canada's prime minister on Tuesday gave Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, two red sweaters and caps worn by Inuit Rangers to take home to his sons as souvenirs of his visit. "Your Highness, as you know we're very proud of our Rangers and our Rangers program," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, flanked by four Rangers in the drawing room of the governor general's mansion. They are "a great group of people who patrol our vast Arctic territory," he said, adding the sweaters and caps symbolized Princes William and Harry's honorary membership in the Arctic guard. "I hope they fit," quipped Prince Charles. "One-size fits all," interjected Harper's wife Laureen. The prince and his wife Camilla arrived in Canada on November 2 for a 10-day visit—his 15th tour of this former British colony and her first look into her family's roots. So far during their 10-day trip, they have visited Canada's oldest English settlement in Cupids, Newfoundland, which celebrates its 400th anniversary next year, and the home of famed Arctic explorer Captain Robert Bartlett in Brigus. They also toured Vancouver's 2010 Olympic Village and Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, built in 1835 for Camilla's great-great-great-grandfather and former prime minister of the united Province of Canada, Sir Alan MacNab. On Tuesday, the couple met with Governor General Michaelle Jean, as well as Canada's opposition leader Michael Ignatieff and Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who gave them an Inuit sculpture and a collection of Quebec films on DVD.

Kleist: Our common but differentiated responsibilities

Amanda Graham — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:57:38 GMT

(Countercurrents.org, 3 November 2009) -- Greenland is moving along a development path calling for new industries to be introduced to increase our economic independence. Like other countries at the bridge of industrial development, Greenland will travel to Copenhagen to draft a new agreement that will reduce emissions while at the same time taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities of countries and OCTs [overseas countries and territories]. ... We all inhabit the same globe, and we all must make an effort to curb climate change now. Reducing global emissions of greenhouse gasses and leaving a green planet for future generations is one of the biggest challenges faced by world leaders today. But while facing the challenges of global warming we must also see that countries at the bridge of industrial development find room to meet the needs and aspirations of their populations bringing them at level with people in the industrialised countries. In December 2009 the world meets in Copenhagen to draft a new agreement that hopefully will lead to a reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gasses, while at the same time taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Juneau's Banghart named state's chief museum curator

Amanda Graham — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:24:06 GMT

(Pat Forgey/Juneau Empire, 5 November 2009) -- Bob Banghart of Juneau has been named chief curator of the Alaska State Museums, Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux announced this week. Banghart had been curator of exhibitions, responsible for the multi-level eagle tree at the entrance of the Alaska State Museum in Juneau and other exhibits. In Banghart's new job, he will oversee exhibits at that museum, the state's Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, and traveling exhibitions, grant programs and technical assistance for other museums throughout the state. Banghart went to work as curator of exhibitions at the Alaska State Museums in 2007, following 20 years with his own Juneau-based museum planning and design consulting firm. He has a bachelor's degree in art and design from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Banghart will supervise a permanent staff of 15, a seasonal summer staff and an operating budget of about $1.7 million, according to the state Division of Libraries, Archives & Museums. Banghart said he's looking forward to working on a new unified campus in Juneau for state library, archives and museum institutions. The Legislature has appropriated $7.5 million for the SLAM project's planning and design. The new, expanded building would more fully serve statewide constituents and offer Juneau residents and visitors more exhibition and research space, Banghart said.

Icelandair delighted as Lonely Planet rate Iceland top destination for 2010

Amanda Graham — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:02:18 GMT

(IceNews, 4 November 2009) -- The Lonely Planet travel guide has recently released the Best in Travel 2010 book, the publisher’s fifth annual collection of the world’s best journeys, destinations, and experiences for the coming year. The guidebook presents the top ten countries, regions, and cities to visit, chosen by Lonely Planet’s global team and Iceland is at the top of the list for 2010. Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. It has published over 500 titles in 8 different languages with annual sales of six million guidebooks as well as TV programs, a magazine, mobile phone applications and websites. The Icelandic airline company, Icelandair, is very happy at Lonely Planet ranking Iceland number one in the top ten money-saving vacation destinations in northern European for 2010. Over the past year, the previously expensive holiday destination has become the face of the economic crisis but consequently, due to the current exchange rate, has allowed travellers and tourists to holiday in Iceland at a much lower price. “You’ve always wanted to explore this magical, mysterious land, explore volcanoes and ice caps and bathing in hot springs? Then 2010 is your year,” states Lonely Planet. With all this positive exposure the coming year will surely be a busy and exciting one for Icelandair, flying people in from all 25 of their gateways across Europe, the USA and Canada, providing safe and reliable air travel for all who wish to visit the land of fire and ice in 2010.

Travel: Slice through miles of remote snowscape on Sweden's Kings' Trail

Amanda Graham — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:40:21 GMT

(Eliza Wilmerding/Dallas Morning News, 1 November 2009) -- ABISKO MOUNTAIN STATION, Sweden - Twelve miles into Sweden's King's Trail, we find our rhythm and tune in to the arctic snow. This singing powder is so dry you could swim in it and not get wet. There's no chance of it sticking to your skis – or to itself. (My snowball looked like a mass of sparkling confetti.) And in a few days, thanks to a drop in air temperature, we'll ski through reflective ice crystals tumbling out of the clear blue sky.We'd found our frozen world. It was everything that we could ask for.When my fiancé was offered a job in southern Sweden weeks before our fall wedding, we jumped at it. I'd read of Swedes lacing up their skates and carving down frozen canals or ski touring across the countryside outside their doors. We could live like that.Reality struck when we flew into perpetually spitting rain, then winter darkness and more rain. Searching for rubber boots in a Gothenburg shoe store, I met a fellow American. She asked if I'd be around through the winter. I nodded."You poor dear," she said. "Last year, we went crazy and had to go south for a break."For most people, it's a no-brainer to head to the tropics for winter vacation. We're wired differently. We like snow more than sand or saltwater. We went north to find a frozen world.

Inuit-owned Cruise North adds Greenland to 2010 Arctic itineraries

Amanda Graham — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:12:58 GMT

(CP via Google, 21 October 2009) -- KUUJJUAQ, Que. - Inuit-owned and operated Cruise North Expeditions is adding Greenland to its roster of Arctic itineraries for 2010. With two departures - one from Iqaluit, Nunavut, on July 23, the other from Kuujjuaq, Que., on Aug. 6 - the two-week tours aboard the company's 122-passenger vessel are "expedition cruises in the truest sense of the word," Cruise North says. The itinerary includes Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park and several stops at communities on Greenland's west coast. Inuit guides will be on board. Prices start at US$5,295. Kuujjuaq is a 2 1/4-hour flight from Montreal. Cruise North Expeditions, launched in 2005, is a subsidiary of Makivik Corp., an investment company born of the James Bay and Northern Quebec land claims agreement of 1975. Makivik also owns First Air and Air Inuit.

Essay: Listen to the North ... a southern model just isn’t working

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:14:25 GMT

(John Ralston Saul/Literary Review of Canada, 1 October 2009)** -- ... This essay focuses on the Arctic. But the larger context is that we are a northern nation. Two thirds of our country lies in what is normally categorized as North lands. One third of our gross domestic product comes out of the three territories and the equally isolated northern parts of our provinces. And that one third is what makes us a rich, not a poor, country. Our cities, our high-tech service-based lives are built upon the foundation provided by that one third of riches. And now the South believes that the percentage of the GDP coming from the Arctic section of the North will grow. We ought to be a central player in the northern world in general and in particular in the circumpolar world. But first we all need to see ourselves as part of it and, at the moment, we do not. The current Arctic enthusiasm instead resembles an updated manifestation of George Brown’s old rep by pop argument, in which the shape and direction of Canada are supposed to be controlled simply by those who have the most votes. We act as if the second largest country in the world is only real in a handful of southern cities. That is why our current approach to Arctic sovereignty has such a Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa-Calgary-Vancouver feel to it. And that is why there is little sign of the balance between people and place that has always been and remains central to Canada's success. In this atmosphere, the point of view of northerners is treated as if it weighed three House of Commons seats, which is what a strict geographical definition of the region allots them: three territories, one seat apiece. And so, throughout our history, when the moment comes to spend the money or talk about the issues, ministers tend to become distracted by a bridge in their riding or in a swing riding, and the northern monies evaporate.

Review: Life in a cold climate: How Sara Wheeler is shaking up Arctic exploration

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:43:46 GMT

(The Independent, 18 October 2009) -- Adjusting a daringly short black velvet dress and looking down at the girlie pink socks she has folded over her black boots, Sara Wheeler pronounces, "I don't do any sledge-pulling and I'm not interested in sledge-pulling." For the glamorous polar travel writer, whose grey pixie hair, kohled eyes and shocking-pink lipstick make her look a million miles from her Gore-Tex-clad contemporaries, sledge-pulling is a distraction from the real business of describing the world's extremities. "I think that to a certain extent we've got used to using the Arctic and the Antarctic as testing grounds," she explains. "Once upon a time, they had to be, because we didn't know what was there, but now those times have gone and we've got to look for something else. I find most of today's frozen-beard endeavours quite stunt-ish." The "frozen beards", as she has dubbed those male contemporaries who pit themselves against the elements before publishing a book whose cover shows them staring out with ice flecks in their facial fuzz, have been unsurprisingly huffy in their reception of this female interloper in their predominantly male club. But Wheeler is unperturbed. "In the exploration community, there's a great sense that places such as the Antarctic are private territory, and they don't want me going in and making it seem as if anyone can do it. There is a certain group of people who are never going to like what I do, but that's OK, it's a free country. They don't own it and nor do I." ...Wheeler has no desire to prove how tough she is. Researching her sixth and latest book, The Magnetic North, a tale of the people and landscapes contained within the Arctic Circle, she frequently camped in sub-zero temperatures and "shared her bathroom with a seal", but she says that for that to be the purpose to her trips would miss the point. "I want to say other things about those regions, because I think there are plenty of other things to be said. It's a pity if it's only about losing half your body weight and seeing how dead you can get. I want to write about the places, or people, or the universal experience, not about myself." ... Reality is what you get in The Magnetic North. Whether it is scenes of alcoholic fathers pushing buggies with holsters, where beer cans have replaced milk bottles, or seeing the sharp end of climate change while camping with scientists on the Greenland ice sheet, Wheeler never shirks from the ugly truth of the region. Many of these truths were discovered with her children in tow. Reggie, now aged six, and Wilf, 12, both accompanied her on various legs of the trip. Reggie, at the time an un-weaned baby, was enthroned in pelts and taken reindeer herding with the Lapps, while Wilf, at the age of 10, was introduced to some colourful Slavic vocabulary after being taken under the wing of the Russian crew of an ice-breaker.

The World makes history during Russian Arctic voyage

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:05:40 GMT

(Luxury Travel Magazine, 16 October 2009) -- The World, the first and only private residential community at sea, made maritime history during its recent voyage to the Russian Arctic region. The ground-breaking, 28-day Bering Sea Expedition provided Residents and Guests with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore remote communities and cultures, observe rare wildlife in a natural environment and sail aboard the first ship to do so in decades, all during the brief Arctic summer. The Expedition was unlike any other, astounding even the long-time Residents who have sailed since The World's 2002 maiden voyage. For those that took advantage of The World's rental program, The Bering Sea Expedition proved to be a one of a kind, premier vacation experience. Successfully landing in Lorino Village The World is the first ship of its size to ever visit a this community in the Chukotka region. Locals embraced Residents and Guests, welcoming them with native performances and entertainment. The vessel continued its historic voyage when it traversed the Bering Strait, which separates the easternmost point of Russia from Alaska, just a few days later. One of the Expedition's most memorable moments occurred when navigating the Bering Strait, a channel separating the United States and Russia. ... Divided not only by an international border but the International Dateline, The World is the first foreign-flagged ship to sail between the islands on the Russian side since World War II. The vessel continued to make history as it approached Wrangel Island, renowned for its incredible wildlife. ... There have been only four vessels carrying private travelers to visit Wrangel Island in Russia's vast history and The World is the first foreign-flagged ship to do so since 1924. Following Wrangel Island, The World continued to sail 70 miles until reaching the ice cap's edge, which extends all the way to the North Pole. Once anchored, the captain lowered the retractable marina so that Residents and Guests could partake in the "Polar Plunge," a courageous dive often attempted by North Pole travelers. 35 adventurous souls participated in the daring excursion, plunging into 0.7 °C (33.3 °F) waters and quickly jumping out.

Cruising: Arctic dreams

Amanda Graham — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:39:34 GMT

(Herb McCormick/Cruising World, 14 October 2009) -- For as long as I can remember, I've been hooked on books about travel to distant lands, and I've wandered far and wide on the descriptive prose of such wonderful writers as Paul Theroux, Bruce Chatwin, Jonathan Raban, Bill Bryson, John McPhee, Jon Krakauer, and so many, many others. Several years ago, a friend who knew of my fondness for the genre loaned me a copy of Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. It left a lasting impression. ... For thanks to Barry Lopez, I now had my own Arctic dreams. When we sailed out of Seattle last May heading north for the Arctic, those dreams were nurtured by crewmate David Thoreson, who was on his third attempt to sail the Northwest Passage (he'd been turned back the first time but made it the second) and knew the territory well. Thoreson's own travels to the Far North had left him more or less addicted to everything about the Arctic: the people, the wildlife, the endless summer nights, the pastel twilight, even the ice. His stories and descriptions made it sound like nowhere else on Earth, like a planet unto itself. And once we'd put Nome behind us and then, at 66 degrees 30 minutes north, crossed the line of latitude that represents the Arctic Circle, it wasn't long at all before I discovered he was right.

Warming up Siberia's cold spot

Amanda Graham — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:16:22 GMT

(Bridget Kendall/From Our Own Correspondent, BBC, 16 September 2009) -- Climate change is having an impact in the vast and remote region of Yakutia in Siberia which, in winter at least, is still the coldest place on earth. Bridget Kendall reports. There cannot be many foreigners who make it as far as Yakutia's top tourist attraction, the Ice Kingdom. The way in is through an unassuming wooden door cut into the hillside, just like the entrance to Bilbo Baggin's hobbit home in The Lord of the Rings. You pass into a dark hallway strewn with straw and blocks of ice, and enter another world. White crystals sparkle. A tunnel shimmers blue as far as the eye can see. In padded silver capes, guides usher us through caverns carved with ice sculptures. One houses the ivory tusks of a mammoth. In another, a young man draped in furs sits on an icy throne. "The Lord of the Cold," our guide tells us. "How long have you been here?" I ask. "Eternity," he answers with stoic humour. In fact, no one could last long in these icy caverns without a break. Just one and a half metres from the surface, the ground is permanently frozen at -10C. Yakutia is home to the permafrost. In midwinter, outside temperatures make it the coldest place on earth - an unbelievable -70C. Luckily September is still fleetingly autumn. The trees seem to fade from green to yellow overnight. In just four days the temperature drops noticeably. The local paper worries that not all heating plants are yet fully repaired and supplied with fuel. The first frosts, it says, will come in days. Evidence of extreme temperatures is visible everywhere. Newer buildings perch on concrete permafrost stilts. The asphalt on the buckled roads erupts into cracks and bumps, while lagged heating pipes snake over head. Untidy spaghetti wires loop from one high-rise to another. You can not bury power lines and pipes in the permafrost. There are also telling signs of what looks like global warming. This July in the underground Ice Kingdom the temperature rose to a dangerously warm -7C. On the surface winter frosts rarely get harsher than -50C.

VOTE NOW - My city is better than your city

Amanda Graham — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:31:20 GMT

(Up Here Magazine, 29 September 2009) -- Whitehorse, 38% (27 votes); Yellowknife, 38% (27 votes); Iqaluit, 10% (7 votes); Capital's Shmapitals - The Smaller Communities Beat Them All! 15% (11 votes); Total votes: 72. Vote in the panel at the lower right of the home page. May the best capital win!

Ilisagvik College drawing from around the state

Amanda Graham — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:20:05 GMT

(Ellen Lockyer/APRN – Anchorage, 30 September 2009) -- Barrow’s Ilisagvik College is attracting notice from college bound students in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and even Burbank, California. What makes this two-year community college a magnet for Alaska Natives and non-Natives alike?