Probably one of the most remarkable moments of this expedition was when we returned and had a chance to talk with Al Gore and scientists about our eyewitness experience. After 43 days of rough ice which prevented us from reaching the northern coast of Ellesmere to visit the last remnants of the last ice age, we learned that we actually were traveling through the ruins of the summer sea ice from the Arctic Ocean! The conditions we faced from Resolute to the north shore of Axel Heiberg refers to the transition of the Arctic Ocean from multiyear ice to new ice. The summer break-up of the Arctic Ocean sea ice did in fact drift to this area and clogged up our route.

The total coverage area of the multiyear ice of the Arctic Ocean has reduced over 10 years, from 65% to approximately 28%. Although the Arctic Ocean freezes up in the winter, the multi-year ice is the back-bone of the summer sea ice, and when this diminishes, as it has been over the last 10 years, the summer melt will be much quicker and dramatic. Last year alone the Arctic Ocean lost up to 50% of the total surface ice - changing the reflectivity of the top of the globe - with more of the sun's energy being absorbed by the darker ocean (this is referred to as a reverse albedo affect). As a result, the Arctic Ocean warmed an astounding 3 degrees Celsius last summer. This warming of the ocean is called "background warming." This helped break up the multiyear ice. In addition, this background warming scientists estimated caused one meter of ice to melt on the Arctic Oean. The domino effect is expected to continue this summer.

As we travel across Greenland in a few weeks as a training for next year, we will stay tuned to this summer's melt.

2008 Global Warming 101 Ellesmere Island Expedition

After 62 days of expedition life, I am finally back home in Iqaluit, Nunavut. It was nice to take a shower and sleep in a bed, but after a couple nights Eric and I were both ready to get back outside. So yesterday we paddled across a river, and hiked to our cabin for the night.

Since the fall, both Eric and I have been working hard at training dogs and helping with some of the organization of the expedition. But all the hard work paid off as soon as we left Resolute behind and headed out on expedition. The wind was howling and the air was refreshing.

The scenery was stunning along the coast of Axel Heiberg and the wildlife was an event to be remembered, but what was the best about this trip was the dogs and the team!

Traveling with dogs is an amazing experience. These sled dogs love to pull, are friendly and definitely do not lack character! They are the ones that deserve the credit, pulling our heavy sleds day after day!

I also got the chance to travel with 6 awesome team members. We all had very different backgrounds and skills, but worked together as a team the entire trip. During the most stressful moments, there was always a joke to lighten the mood. We have spent so many consistent hours together, that it was hard to say goodbye in the Iqaluit airport.

As for future plans, Eric and I have just enough time to wash our gear and repack before heading out in a couple weeks to Greenland were we will meet Will and Toby. The four of us will do a crossing of the Greenland Ice cap from East to West, using kites! So keep checking www.gloalwarming101.com for updates on our Greenland trip!

Sarah

The trip passed by so fast that besides the change in season it feels like no time passed from when I left home till when I finally returned, certainly not two months. But when we were out on the ice it was difficult to imagine the trip ever coming to an end, and when the end finally came into sight I lamented going back to so called civilization.

Leaving home was a mission in itself, having the race drag on for two extra days resulted in being seriously overdrawn on our pack out time, leading to mass stress and possibly the most disorganized start of an expedition that I have ever been involved in. As I watched the little town of Resolute disappear behind the mountains of Cornwallis Island, the stress shed itself from my mind to be replaced by the notion that we had 60 days ahead of us, and almost no information on what the route ahead held. All of which lead to a healthy sense of adventure.

Despite the trail being massively more rugged than anticipated, many good memories were cataloged along the way. It seems like the harder the conditions get the more it draws people together, to participate in a singular goal and to help each other in times of need. One thing in particular that plagues my memory is the shear quantity of events where Sigrid walked to my sled to help when it stuck or I needed help, a favor that I attempted to return on many occasions. Takk was one of the first Norwegian words that I learned, specifically for this occasion. Sigrid is not the only one that I must extend special thanks to; the dog Siglu often came back to the sled to see if I was ok. On difficult days he would look at me with his soft yellow-brown eyes and rest his head on my knee. Sometimes when you are working as hard as a dog, it is a dog's sympathy that counts.

Over all it was the team that made this expedition; it's amazing the outcome when 7 people from such diverse walks of life are placed together in tough situations. It's been amazing to achieve some of the goals we set out for and to enjoy the journey.

My future plans are still up in the air, all I know is that in 20 days I will be heading back to Greenland. I have been to Greenland so many times that I should almost consider it a second home, this will be the 5th crossing of the ice cap that I have done. Wind power will be the main focus of this expedition as we will travel using kites and hopefully a small wind turbine. After that the Pittarak team, my previous expedition team, is considering joining back together for another 1-2 epic journeys. We will see where life takes me; we will see what I make of life.

Over and out,

Eric McNair-Landry

Two days ago we stood on the wild Ice of Eureka Sound, and here we stand now, in New York City wearing fancy shirts, eating fancy dinners, and trying our best to act normal. It’s these contrasts that make life interesting, and at least for me, the sudden immersion into an entirely different culture just highlights the best memories of our adventure. As we left Eureka, our egos had been whittled down to the bone as we were transformed into a team of people with a common goal. The effect was amplified by the physical stresses that confronted us, and the little amount of time we had to actually reflect upon ourselves while faced with the wonders of the North, and the many tasks that faced us each day. We all find ourselves striving to make New York as much like the arctic as we can, Sam opens the windows to his hotel room trying to get fresh air, I turn up the AC to make it as cold as possible in my room, and all of us are faced with our various sleep issues, I can’t sleep because of the lack of exercise, and Toby cannot sleep enough. We are all adjusting though, and will soon be back into whatever life we have waiting for us.

For me, I have many months of travel coming up, and a few conservation projects in the works, but the Arctic has left a strong an impression to be ignored. I plan on pursuing some of the stories that are common to the Arctic but unheard of in the bustling southern world, for now though, my priority list is short, to go home, see my family, my friends, and celebrate the opportunity that I have been given to inspire people to take action and make the world a better place.

After 62 days on the ice we ended our journey in Eureka, Ellesmere Island on Friday. In Eureka we were welcomed by sponsors, Will Steger Foundation friends and Sam’s family. As much as it was sad to leave the High Arctic that has been our home for almost an entire winter it was great to see new faces and dear friends. We are now in New York where we will start to present our eyewitness accounts and share our experiences from the frontlines of global warming. In fact our most important and also the most challenging part of our mission starts now. We need to try as best we can to use our story in an attempt to empower our generation for the time’s most important issue. We are in New York until Wednesday when Sam, Sigrid, Will and I are bound for Norway where we will continue this work.

Traveling from Eureka to New York presented me with the biggest contrast I have experienced in my life. During the last three months we have experienced one of the last true wildernesses on the planet, however, the High Arctic is changing due to our use of energy in the great urban centers such as New York. At the same time the solutions to how we can save the High Arctic from the extremely serious consequences of climate change are found in our great cities. I know that all the talent, innovation and common human spirit that we share in Norway, the U.S., Britain and Canada, can help us find and develop functional solutions to the greatest challenge of our time. As much as it might seem overwhelming to be faced by the complex issues of global warming our generation also has been given a glorious opportunity to collectively do the right thing. We have here a magnificent chance to develop international cooperation and to make our mark on history with positive connotations.

My experience in the High Arctic has motivated my greatly to start this work and I am looking forward to sharing my witness account to as many people as possible over the upcoming months.

Looking back at our trip we moved through a few separated phases that all individually made an impact on me. From Resolute through Wellington Channel and across Norwegian Bay we traveled through enormous masses of rough ice and were constantly reminded that we were in polar bear country. We had in total six encounters with this magnificent animal and the tracks were countless. Four of these encounters were in camp and luckily the bears were more curious of us than aggressive.

Having crossed Norwegian Bay we reached the remains of the Ayles Ice Shelf after 28 days of hard travel. The Ayles rose dramatically out of the rubble sea ice and was a fantastic though sad sight. An 8m high ice cliff that stretched hundreds of meters in each direction welcomed us when we reached our destination. From Ayles we worked our way through the rubble ice of Sverdrup Channel and we then rounded the treacherous west coast of Axel Heiberg Island. From this point on, until our arrival at Eureka on Ellesmere Island we experienced the truly amazing wildlife and nature of what can only be described as an Arctic eden. It is essential that the muskox and wolves of this region of our world can continue to roam on Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere.

It has been great to write dispatches and I look forward to sharing my experiences further with as many of you as possible.

All my best,

Toby