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Est. 1968
1,900 Arctic kilometres by rowboat Adventurers home after exhausting trek
Brent Richter brichter@nsnews.com
IF you’re still wavering on whether the climate is warming the planet and changing the environment, talk to North Vancouver adventurer Kevin Vallely. Vallely, along with fellow North Vancouver filmmaker Frank Wolf and crew Paul Gleeson and Denis Barnett, spent weeks in close quarters aboard a custom-built rowboat traversing 1,900 kilometres of the fabled Northwest Passage — a trip previously only possible aboard hulking icebreaker ships. After making it almost twothirds of the way from Inuvik to Pond Inlet, the expedition dubbed Mainstream Last First came to an end before Labour Day weekend when rough weather put the crew a risk. “The original intent was to travel 3,000 km to Pond Inlet and boy, I’m amazed we photos Mainstream Last First made it 1,900 to be honest. It was really, really challenging CREW members on the Arctic Joule struggle to anchor the rowboat to the ice. Scan this photo with the Layar app to see more conditions with high winds and photos and video from the expedition. really erratic weather,” Vallely people up there, there’s no debate. It’s happening. It’s happening said. Had they made it, it would have been the first time humans did quick,” he said With blisters, bruises and exhaustion, the rowers’ physical the trip entirely under their own power in a single season. The goal of the voyage, which was financed by Mainstream experience was harrowing, Vallely said. “It’s demanding, of course. You’re rowing 24 hours a day, Renewable Power, was to draw the world’s attention to the reality of open waters where there used to be ice. Critics and climate taking breaks. You’re sleep deprived. Your hands are sore. Your butt change deniers who followed their journey online posted dispiriting is sore. You’re not eating the food you want to,” Vallely said. But Mainstream Last First wasn’t as “ferocious” physically as comments and twisted it as a win for their ideology. But, while treacherous conditions meant they could not complete some other feats the adventurer has achieved, like sprinting to the South Pole or hiking across a frozen Siberian lake. Where this most the full length of the trip, Vallely said the message is no less valid. “You can’t point to anomalies. You have to point to hard, cold recent expedition set itself apart from others for the 48-year-old facts over a period of time, and the reality is the Arctic is changing Vallely was the mental and emotional strain it brought. “What this had and had a lot more of was real uncertainty and profoundly and even this year, on a bad year, they’ll have far less ice frankly in some ways, danger. The level of anxiety and uncertainty than they did 30 years ago,” he said. It’s the elders in the north that have the clearest perspective of related to big water — ocean, ice water — and not being fully how radical the change has been. Species of animals they used to in control,” he said. “You’re in an environment that’s incredibly subside on have moved on and Inuit villages have had to adapt and hostile and incredibly unforgiving with very little chance of rescue if learn to hunt new species coming farther north. EXPEDITION members from left: Paul Gleeson, Frank “You get this back and forth debate but if you speak to the See Things page 3 Wolf, Kevin Vallely and Denis Barnett.
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