Expedition Itinerary - Ellesmere Island and Greenland Expedition

(August 16 - 31, 2010) Soar in helicopters to watch Kapitan Khlebnikov crush pack ice during this expedition itinerary. When the icebreaker calls at Qaanaaq, a plaque will be presented to commemorate the ship's final cruise to the capital of north-western Greenland. At the Artist's Co-op in Pond Inlet on Baffin Island, you will watch as artisans craft internationally recognized works of art. Join us on a 16-day End of an Era cruise itinerary that contrasts countries and cultures in the High Arctic.

Day 1 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

In the imagination of many people the Arctic landscape is vast tundra valleys that stretch toward snow-capped mountains, while polar bears and walrus rest on ice floes just offshore. We can't guarantee polar bears and walrus sightings during this cruise itinerary, but we can promise a breathtaking landscape. This expedition begins with a night in a hotel in Ottawa, Canada.
Day 2 - Embarkation Day

En route to Resolute - Qausuittuq –the place of no dawn - you will discover that your fellow travelers have a passion for the North equal to your own. In Resolute, well above the Arctic Circle, you will embark the polar-class icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, at anchor in the bay. From this day, until you disembark, there will be only a few hours of twilight each night, as you will be cruising under the midnight sun.
Day 3 - Devon Island

In the Maxwell Bay region, you visit a Thule site, where the ancestors of the Inuit lived. You will hike and cruise in Zodiacs. At Dundas Harbour be alert for wildlife. Walrus and musk oxen inhabit the area. The ghost settlement you visit was once a Royal Canadian Mounted Police depot. Don’t think of it as abandoned. In the cemetery, every year a detail of Mounties arrives to tend the graves of fallen comrades.
Day 4 - Coburg Island National Wildife Area

Murres and Fulmars will soar overhead as you cruise in a Zodiac along the base of high cliffs. Thousands of seabirds nest in Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area established to protect wildlife along the island’s southern shore. Be sure to carry your camera and binoculars!
Day 5 - Grise Fjord

The only settlement on Ellesmere Island is Grise Fjord. The citizens of Aujuittuq – the place that never thaws – will entertain and educate you with cultural demonstrations that are based on 4,000 years of tradition. The tiny hamlet – the most northerly community in Canada – has only 140 residents – that is a smidge more than 1 resident per traveler aboard our icebreaker.
Day 6 - At Sea in Smith Sound

Smith Sound separates Greenland from Ellesmere Island. An international boundary runs up the middle. As the expedition cruises northward you will be sailing through Canadian waters. When the ship begins its southbound journey, you will cross the invisible boundary into the home-ruled state of Greenland.
Day 7 - Kane Basin

While the expedition itinerary pushes northward the Expedition Team will talk about Elisha Kane, after whom the Basin is named. An American from a prominent family, he earned his medical degree then joined the US Navy, as an Assistant Surgeon. In 1850, he became the senior medical officer of the Grinnell Arctic expedition. His illustrious career as an Arctic explorer had begun. Sixty years before Shackleton, Kane abandoned an icebound ship to lead his men on an 83-day march across the frozen Arctic to Upernavik, Greenland. Although they were carrying invalids, Kane only lost one man on the journey in what is acknowledged as one of the greatest feats of Arctic exploration. The ice north of the Kane Basin is impenetrable most of the year. Sometimes an icebreaker can push farther north when the local conditions are just right. Our Expedition Leader will consult with the icebreaker’s Captain to determine if the vessel should attempt a northward push.
Day 8 - Fort Conger

You should reach the furthest north of this voyage today. We anticipate that you will be about 10 degrees from the North Pole. Now that is the High Arctic! In sharp contrast to the success of Kane, Aldolphus Greeley lost 19 of 25 men. Tales of cannibalism tainted the reputation of the survivors. You will visit Fort Conger, which was established originally by Greeley, and rebuilt by explorer Robert Peary as a base camp for one of his Arctic expeditions. You will explore Fort Conger, and learn of Greely, Peary and others who followed Kane’s route to the Arctic Ocean.
Day 9 - Dobbin Bay

The glacier and landscape of Dobbin Bay have inspired artists and photographers. You will experience it from the deck and the air. Kapitan Khlebnikov is equipped with two passenger helicopters that are used for ice reconnaissance, shore transfers and, as they will be in Dobbin Bay, included aerial sightseeing!
Day 10 - 6,500 Years of Human History

At about the same time as the nomadic tribes of Central Asia were domesticating the horse - 4500 BCE - the Dorset People began to populate what is now the eastern Canadian Arctic. On Skraeling Island, you will visit the remains of a Dorset community and learn of the meaning of the name the Vikings gave to the local inhabitants. On Pim Island, you will visit Starvation Camp, where 19 of Greeley's 25 expedition members died before rescue. In one day of this expedition itinerary, you will travel through six and a half millennia of the development of humankind.
Day 11 - Greenland

After sailing across the international boundary, you will enter Greenland, home-ruled under the Danish flag since 1979. Politics play a significant role in the High Arctic of the 21st century. Politics will not be on the program in Qaanaaq. There the local people will introduce you to the distinct culture of the Greenlandic Arctic. Although the language sounds similar to that spoken in the Canadian Arctic, it is different. The broad smiles of welcome, however, are universal.
Day 12 - Melville Bay

There is a stone monument honoring Robert Peary on top of a glacier in Greenland, near Kap York (Cape York). The onboard helicopters will transfer you from the ship to the glacier - this unique opportunity is not possible on ordinary expedition ships, as access to the site is only by air.
Day 13 - Baffin Island

After passing through Canadian Customs, the people of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) will welcome you at the Artist's Co-operative. In addition to the Fine Art they produce, the people of "Pond" earn their living fishing for Arctic char. You will have time to take photos, explore the hamlet and hike the nearby tundra, before boarding the icebreaker.
Day 14 - Beechey Island

Lancaster Sound is the eastern end of the fabled Northwest Passage. You will go ashore on Beechey Island, where the first evidence was found that something had gone awry with Sir John Franklin's search for the route to the Orient. Three members of Franklin's crew were buried on the island. Their grave markers are silent witness to the tragedy that continues to consume the imagination of Arctic travelers to this very day.
Day 15 - Resolute, Nunavut

From Resolute you will fly to Ottawa to spend the night.
Day 16 - Ottawa, Canada

After breakfast, depart for home or extend your stay. We have a selection of packages from which to choose.