RKJ, John Simpson and Sir Ranulph Feinnes were on Frobisher Bay in January 2009 on a small BBC expedition to cross the bay to Iqaluit, Capital of Nunavut Territory, Nothern Canada. Temperatures were in the – 30C range, the lowest experienced being – 43C. The scenery was beautiful across the frozen bay, but the cold is an invisible threat.
From fingers feeling cold, to feeling frozen to being frozen can be less than 3 minutes and once they feel really cold it is hard to tell whether they are freezing or not. John got frostbite, RKJ got frost nip, both after less than 3 minutes exposure. John had to be evacuated. Ran and RKJ continued, hauling pulks (sledges) some 20 kilometers as the crow flies, more as a man skis!
The conditions varied. Near the shoreline there was a lot of broken ice as the sea ice in the bay rises and falls 34 feet with the tide but the ice attached to the shore does not move. When covered in snow this broken ice can provide some very unpleasant leg traps. Out on the bay the ice was a lot smoother and conditions much easier. The third night the tent nearly blew away at – 38 C with 20 knots of wind. Ran was up quickly from his arctic sleeping bag, but RKJ, struggling to find his gloves, got freezing hands and had to get them warmed up of get frostbite. Fortunately neither John nor RKJ will have any permanent damage.
In the winter the area around Iqaluit is very attractive, but if one is going to visit again it will be in high summer!
The programme, along with the others on Afghanistan and Cape Horn, are due to be transmitted in April 2009.
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