North of 80°
Itinerary
Day 1
Answering the Arctic's call.
Make plans to arrive early. You'll want time to discover one of the world's most beautiful capitals, Ottawa, Canada, before you set out on your Arctic adventure.
Day 2
Embarkation day.
From Ottawa, we fly you above the Arctic Circle to the tiny community of Resolute on Cornwallis Island. It's there you board our icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov.
Day 3-4
Watch for beluga and bowhead whales as we sail past Devon Island into Lancaster Sound. Narwhals, polar bears, Arctic seals and about two dozen species of birds make this area home. At Dundas Harbour we go ashore to visit the remains of millennia-old Early Thule winter houses. The icebreaker negotiates Melville Bay icebergs en route to Cape York, Greenland.
Day 5-7
We continue along the western coast of Greenland. Everything is different here. Passing jagged fjords and gigantic blue-white icebergs, we plan to sail Murchison Sound to Qaanaaq, the world's northernmost municipality. Then we push north into Smith Sound and Kane Basin towards our ultimate goal - the Lincoln Sea. Thick pack ice often makes this route impassable, so as always, we must be flexible - and on the alert for wildlife.
Lincoln Sea
Traditionally, the Lincoln Sea is covered by the thickest sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. The ice can be up to 15 m thick, making navigation impossible, even for a polar-class icebreaker. When satellite photos taken in May 2002 were compared to more current images, we noted that an area of open sea had developed, through which it might be possible to navigate our icebreaker. Although we cannot be certain that an open passage will be found in 2009, we look forward to attempting to sail as far into Robeson Channel and the Lincoln Sea as conditions permit.
Day 8–9
On the eastern shore of Ellesmere Island, we plan to land at Fort Conger before exploring Buchanan Bay and its massive twin glaciers. In Alexandra Fjord, we intend to visit Skraeling Island, where archeologists have unearthed artifacts of Small-Tool cultures dating to 4500 BCE. A landing is planned at Starvation Camp, Pim Island, where members of Adolphus Greeley's 1881-84 expedition died.
Day 11 –12
At Coburg Island, Zodiacs cruise the base of towering cliffs revealing fledged murres diving in fish-filled waters. Bylot Island is a vast migratory bird sanctuary with a diverse avian community, including Greater Snow Geese, Snowy Owls, Peregrine Falcons and the rare Gyrfalcon.
Day 13–14
We disembark Kapitan Khlebnikov at Resolute to fly back to Ottawa to spend our final night at the luxurious Fairmont Château Laurier.
