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Home Arctic Logistics Camp I: Dragon Creek,
Camp II: Blackwelder Mtns,
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Our field areas are in extremely remote regions of the Arctic.
Getting to and from our camps requires extensive logistics planning with
the Canadian Continental Polar Shelf Project [CPSP] (Natural Resources
of Canada), which provides Twin Otter, helicopter, and radio support for
our expedition. First Air of Canada provides twice-weekly commercial
flights to Resolute Bay, Nunavut from Ottawa, Ontario. From
Resolute Bay, where CPSP is headquartered, we take Twin Otter aircraft
to Eureka Weather Station (Western Ellesmere Island). These
aircraft can and do land closer to our camps, often on dry lake or river
beds, or flat stretches of tundra. Helicopter support then
meets up with us at these landing sites and transports us and our equipment
inland to our camps. We maintain twice-daily contact with Resolute
Bay via short-wave radio, relaying important weather and expedition news
to them.
| Sign outside of the Polar Continental Shelf Project Headquarters in Resolute Bay. Although small (approx. population: 200), Resolute Bay is a diverse community of native Inuit, Canadian miners, and international scientists and adventures, to which this tri-lingual sign gives testimony. |  |
| Twin Otter aircraft used for gear and personnel transport. These aircraft are common high latitude "bush planes" capable of carrying a small team of researchers/adventurers and several hundred pounds of gear for several hundred miles. Their large, semi-inflated tires allow them to take-off and land on nearly any flat, solid, and reasonably smooth surface that is at least 200 meters long. The wheels can be fitted with skiis for use in the snow, extending the Twin's functionabilty well beyond the summer months. This type of plane was recently used in the Anarctic rescue missions (Winter 2001). |  |
| Our gear is loaded into the Twin at Eureka Weather Station. Six weeks worth of food and sampling supplies were transported in seven water-tight 70 kg crates. |  |
| Helicopters transport us and our gear inland where the Twin Otters cannot. |  |
| Helicopter transport is fun, but time consuming. Large quantities of gear are carried below the chopper in a large cargo net. Strong Arctic winds and limited power restrict the load weight, and moving from one camp to another requires several helicopter trips and often takes an entire day. Here Pete gives Wally, our chopper pilot, the OK after attaching the sling to the chopper. |  |
| The helicopter in flight with a large payload. |  |
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