Clouds mostly obscured the three-hour flight, but as the plane began its descent, the terrain became more visible. Streams of open water could be seen zigzagging between huge sheets of sea ice. Tiny black spots, wildlife of some kind, dotted the huge expansive of white. As the plane approached land, the team members craned their necks to see out the window. The landscape was bare of all trees and buildings. All that could be seen for miles were rolling white hills, cliffs, gorges, and islands in the distance, covered in snow. Before they knew it, the plane had landed in Iqaluit. After three days on the road, Elizabeth, Abby, and John Huston arrived safely in Ottawa reuniting with Will, Jim, and Jerry at the airport. The six of them flew to Baffin Island the following morning, arriving in the capitol city of Iqaluit by noon.

Iqaluit, known as Frobisher Bay from the 1800s until 1987, means “place of many fish” in the Inuit language of Inuktitut. Aptly named, the city is located on the ocean in a protected harbor overlooking Frobisher Bay. It is the largest town on Baffin Island with a population of 7,200 (3,552 in 1991) and is the economic and governmental capital of Nunavut. Hiking routes pass through territorial parks providing access to ancient ruins of Thule stone houses hundreds of years old. Nearby Gaummaarviit Historic Park is the site of an ancient Thule encampment where the remains of Thule winter houses and summer tents have been excavated by archaeologists. The last week in April brings Iqaluit's spring festival, Toonik Tyme, with igloo-building competitions, dog-sled racing, fishing and seal hunting contests, and concerts by local musicians.


The hours of sunlight per day in Iqaluit swings dramatically from 5.13 hours in December to 19.20 hours in June. Average monthly temperatures swing from 46° F (3.4° C) in June to -16° F (-22° C) in February (daily temperatures can drop down as low at -60° F without wind-chill). Iqaluit sees an average annual precipitation of 7.5 inches (19.2 cm) of rain and 17 inches (43 cm) of snow.

Expedition members and base camp staff are busy settling into their housing and base camp office in town. Wireless internet has been secured and phone lines activated. Visits are being scheduled with local elders, explorers, and government officials. Abby and Elizabeth are preparing for four presentations at local high schools and elementary schools. The Inuit team will arrive with their dogs on the 18th, and Nancy Moundalexis and John Stetson will arrive on the 20th with the dogs from the Homestead. The Expedition Team plans to depart from Iqaluit on February 23rd.

Abby, Elizabeth, base-camp manager John Huston and webmaster Jim Paulson went for a walk around Iqaluit today. They met Iqaluit firefighters John and Barry who talked to them about rescue, evacuation and medical treatment options on Baffin Island. If any of the expedition team members needed to be evacuated, the Iqaluit Fire Department would be involved with the rescue.

Barry told the team about some of the difficulties of fighting fires in very cold temperatures. He said that the spray from the hoses will coat the firefighters’ clothing and will freeze solid, making moving difficult. Barry said that in the six years he has lived in Iqaluit, however, he has noticed that the winter weather has become less cold.

Abby, our expedition medic, who trained with the Cloquet, Minnesota paramedics, brought a Cloquet Fire Department T-shirt to give to give the local firefighters. In exchange, the Iqaluit firefighters gave the expedition team T-shirts. The firefighters’ friendliness made the team feel very welcome in Iqaluit.

The Global Warming 101 Expedition Team knows all too well about the bond they develop with their canine friends, whether they are pulling a sled across the Arctic or chasing a ball in the backyard. Just hours before heading to the Arctic, our Expedition producer/cameraman Jerry Stenger received word that his dog, Chester, was terminally ill and needed to be put down. The diagnosis was that cancer had spread throughout his body. Jerry and his wife Jeanine (also traveling) weren't able to be there during this trying time.

At a time when the excitement and adventure of a new expedition is upon us, Jerry had to say goodbye to his wife and 13 month-old son Landon, and then lose his best friend. Chester was a fixture at the Steger Homestead over the last 10 years, often peering down through the skylights of Will's cabin roof when Jerry and Will met over a cup of tea. Jerry raised Chester in Ely at his own cabin, a few miles down the road from the Homestead.

A special thank you goes out to Paul Stenger, Lenny Grube, May Rae Joseph and the staff at the University of Minnesota Animal Hospital.

Last night the expedition team visited Matty McNair and her twenty-year-old daughter, Sarah. Matty is the most experienced female polar guide in the world. After working 22 years for Outward Bound, Matty guided the first all-women expedition to the North Pole in 1997, led two ski-all-the-way expeditions to the South Pole in 2002 and 2003, kite-skied un-resupplied to the South Pole with her kids Sarah and Eric in 2004 (they kite-skied back in a world-record breaking 17 days), and guided a 2005 British dog-team expedition to the North Pole, retracing Peary’s 1909 route (and beating his time by five days; a feat considered by some to be impossible).

Now Matty lives in Iqaluit and runs a polar expedition training school and the Sony Polar Challenge, a competitive team race to the magnetic North Pole. Matty and Sarah spent the evening going over maps and sharing local information with the expedition team.

The Global Warming 101 team will stake our dogs next to Matty’s on the sea ice in front of Matty’s house. We are also hoping Sarah might join the Global Warming 101 expedition for one section. Sarah has a busy schedule as a polar guide and is preparing to traverse Greenland in May with her brother, Eric, but is trying to arrange her schedule so she can join us. Sarah is a film producer whose footage has appeared on the Discovery Channel and been sold to other film producers.

The expedition team appreciates Matty’s and Sarah’s warm welcome. Their house is a regular stop for polar explorers on their way north and it is fun to spend time with them.

Abby stands on the sea ice as night falls. The lights of Iqaluit glimmer in the background.

Every day the expedition team members take a break from their work on the computer and from their work on expedition prep and go for a walk around Iqaluit.Every time they go exploring they gain a little more insight into what life is like in Iqaluit.

Unlike the satellites at lower latitudes that point up towards the sky, satellites in Iqaluit point low towards the sky just above the horizon.

Abby looks at seal skins hanging on a drying-line outside of a house in the center of town.

Our neighbor runs water from a hose into a skating rink he made in his yard for his kids.

The community of Iqaluit is spread out over several hills overlooking the bay. The sunset -- which lasts many hours -- casts a golden light over the buildings.