After 46 days, Borge Ousland and Vincent Colliard are down from the ice caps onto sea ice. They will likely complete the first unsupported north-to-south crossing of the island today by skiing a little east to King Edward Point, the southern tip of Ellesmere Island. They will then turn back west for a couple of days of skiing over the sea ice to the Inuit hamlet of Grise Fiord, the nearest community and airport.
Following their crossing of the Prince of Wales Ice Cap, the last of three major ice caps on their route, the experienced pair descended onto frozen Makinson Inlet, skiing eastward before turning south near Bentham Fiord.
Even in the High Arctic, the melt is now well underway. Photo: Icelegacy.org
Their route then continued across the Manson Icefield and the Jakeman Glacier, where a scientist perished in a crevasse two years ago. It is the only known fatality on an Ellesmere glacier.
As of today, Ousland and Colliard have reached the coastline near Craig Harbour, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police post now used as a seasonal hunting cabin. Craig Harbour lies on the north shore of Jones Sound, approximately 55 kilometers southeast of Grise Fiord.
Craig Harbour. Photo: Jerry Kobalenko
Originally established in 1922, the RCMP post at Craig Harbour was named after expedition commander Dr. John D. Craig. It was initially chosen for its protected harbour and proximity to Jones Sound. The post was closed in the 1930s, briefly reopened during the early Cold War in 1951, and has since remained uninhabited.
