You CAN get there...from here!

Early Arctic Flight..we have come a long way

Today is December 2. On my current calendar it's an important date for me...since it marks a month until my departure from Niagara on to Cambridge Bay. By then the New Year's celebrations will be over (except for our chinese friends) and for many the Christmas decorations and leftovers will be memories.

As this edition goes to print, our outside temperature is a balmy plus 10C (50F) outside. Niagara has been blessed with only a few flurries so far this season, an unseasonal occurrence, with just one coating on the ground one morning only. You might be wondering, in contrast, what my co-workers (to be) in Cambridge Bay Nunavut are experiencing. 

Checking the weather underground website for Cambridge Bay shows typical December weather. Their outside temperature is the same on both the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales. It's minus 40...yes that's -40....and it shouldn't dip any lower as the night continues. 

The first leg of the jorurney Toronto to Edmonton...four hours by 737.

Officially, as of today they are no longer losing any more minutes of daylight....yesterday they lost their last 35 minutes...Today they have no more minutes to lose....but they have less than an hour of light between the sunset and sunrise times. it will get darker over the next three  weeks as the winter solstice arrives. The longest day of the year is fast approaching...and the bonus is that the days will again get longer, north of the Arctic circle.

Travel at this time of the year can be difficult in many parts of Canada. From the newscasts of the past two weeks, we have seen many inches of snow in Western Canada and the midwest states of the U.S. While delays and cancellations are common in airports during these months, travel to the Arctic regions can be affected more often.

The planes are bigger, safer and regularly scheduled
unlike the transportation available for the early explorers

While the weather is one reason, equipment issues can have the same results. My travel north back on February 11th was temporarily disrupted due to a mechanical problem with the jet. Despite four hours of work, the problem could not be resolved. Though disappointed...we were pleased to be disappointed on the ground and not in the air. We flew out the next morning once the problem had been resolved....uneventful.

Last year's trip to Rankin Inlet involved two legs to the journey. The first part was a routine direct Air Canada flight, Toronto YYZ to Winnipeg YWG, arriving with -15C (+5F) degree weather. An overnight rest due to mechanical problems and the trip continued north to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut aboard the First Air 737.

The last leg...the next day......gets you safely...into Cambridge Bay!!!

Getting to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut from Niagara is another multiflight excursion. The first leg involves getting to the airport for the 0655 hours flight....In the Falls, I expect a pickup around 3:30 a.m. in order to meet the check-in and prescreening deadlines and lineups to make the gate in advance without having to do the dash to the gate, like I did in February.

Canadian North 737 on its way!!!

The  7 or 8 a.m. flight (I'm not booked yet) will involve a 4 and a half hour trip on a Boeing 737 to Edmonton. I've never been there... neither to Edmonton nor Alberta. I won't be there long, just a couple of hours...time for some breakfast. Then to a new gate, another 737, and another almost 2 hour jet ride to Yellowknife, Northwest Territory (NWT).

After 6 and a half hours of flying on 2 flights, a two hour time change from EST to Mountain Standard Time (MST)... combined with that 2 a.m. wake up call...I'll be tired...maybe too tired. I plan to buy a lottery ticket in Yellowknife on my way to the hotel....one with a lot of twos in it.

No Tim's in Cambridge Bay...yet !
A cafe and a kiosk are available in Rankin Inlet !!

No matter with what airline I travel to Yellowknife, the flight to Cambridge Bay will be with Canadian North...flight 446. I will get to sleep in that morning and have a solid sunday a.m. breakfast in preparation for the 11 a.m. flight. The airport is only 10 minutes out of town so a later start than the previous day will be welcomed.  

Next door to the hotel is a Tim Horton's. A quick stop there will be my last double double for over a month. The last hour and a half flight is on another 737, specially equipped for travel in the north. Previous experience tells me it will be configured with about 40-50 seats accessed from the rear door. Once up the stairs, the plane looks like any other as you enter.

The top-level forward cargo loading access ready for loading

Outside though, the crews are busily loading supplies needed in Cambridge Bay. The front portion of the upper deck from the cockpit back to behind the wings...is set up for cargo...an extra 20,00 pounds in fact. Access doors in the side of the fuselage open to allow the skids and containers entrance. The lower cargo deck remains unchanged.

Once in the air, we will have 90 minutes until we land..give or take. Of course, we have to allow for head and tail winds. Oh...and did I mention the weather yet? This symphony of planes, flights, cargo and people, both on those planes and on the ground, will only happen if the weather gods are shining down....and all their equipment performs without question.
    

I guess you CAN get there from here...the devil is in the details. We'll both know in less than a month.