The docks in winter

I went for a walk one bright, sunny but still cold afternoon. I headed down to the docks to enjoy the view of the frozen Arctic ocean in winter time.

Last week had been a tough week for the community of Cambridge Bay. We were hit with the three day blizzard. The post office has also remained closed all week.  With the post office and the convenience store forced to stay closed due to a break in, we could not receive or send mail, nor did we have a place to buy basic supplies like Tylenol after the grocery stores closed at 7PM.

So for me, it was nice to get out of the house after the blizzard and enjoy the sunny weather, out on the ice.

It's not obvious where the ocean is in the winter time when everything is frozen. You could easily mistake the frozen ocean as more land.  But the sight of the ships and boats frozen in the ice is unmistakable, and a very beautiful sight to see.  The larger majestic ships like the Martin Bergmann looked frozen not just in the ice but in time as well.

more boats parked at ht dock, waiting for the spring thaw

I also came across a patch of ice with shells from fireworks that had been set off.

In other news, a newspaper from Greenland, the Arctic Journal, recently published my piece about Cambridge Bay's blizzard last week! You can read it here.

A non-blizzard in Cambridge Bay: Spring is coming, kind of

This weekend we apparently did not have a blizzard. It was not a blizzard because Environment Canada didn't post any weather alerts that it was a blizzard, although given the fact that it seemed to have met all of the conditions for a blizzard in terms of windspeeds and visibility, I wonder if someone just forgot to update the website.

 

As someone who actually went outside and walked through it, it certainly felt like a blizzard. And from the way the trucks were getting stuck in the snowdrifts that were piling up in the middle of the road, I wasn't the only one that noticed it. Driving through nearly zero visibility conditions was perilous (but also kind of a fun adventure).

The next morning, the sun was shining but the blowing snow continued, giving everything a rather surreal science fiction feel.

Last week things actually seemed to be warming up a bit.  On one day, my friend in Oakville, Ontario informed me that it was colder in Oakville than it was in Cambridge Bay. Of course, at that point, Ontarians were screaming bloody murder about frostbite while Nunavummiut remarked on how pleasantly warm it was at -30 rather than -55.  Perhaps spring is coming after all. Perhaps.

 Cambridge Bay heat wave

Meanwhile, as the day gets longer, we are getting some beautiful skies.

sun dog 

watching the wind do pretty things with the snow in front of my house #nunavut #arctic

A video posted by Gloria Guns (@gloriaguns) on Feb 23, 2015 at 2:07pm PST

new year in Cambridge Bay

the restaurant view of the frozen Arctic ocean

Well, 2015 started out with a huge bang in Cambridge Bay, and by bang, of course I mean two big blizzards in one week. Luckily the weather's settled down since, resting at a fierce temperature of -55 with the windchill on average.  It's cold, folks. The kind of cold where you look up and admire the pretty moon in the sky, and then rush on because it's too cold to linger outside for more than a few minutes, and if you stop to take a photo, your hands will get frostbitten. The kind of cold where if you grip the doorknob with bare hands, you'll instantly feel freeze burn. Even the snowmobiles are frozen and having trouble starting.

It's that time of year where you stay indoors, warm. Until you get driven out of your house because your roof vents are blocked and your house is slowly filling with the smell of sewage. Then you send your most unfortunate household member to climb up to the roof and clear the snow from the vents. My friend and I sat at her living room window, with binoculars, spying on her neighbours doing this, because sometimes that is what counts as entertainment for us.

Wait....how do I get in?

It's also that time of year where it's so cold that the vehicles often refuse to start. The automotive garage has been busy this week, with calls from truck owners who all need a jump start.

To make sure that our vehicle continues running smoothly, I went for a little drive out of town. Not very far out of town, of course, since I didn't want to get the truck stuck in the snow, but far enough to get out of town and lose sight of all "city" life.

I'm glad I went out. It's been a while since I've wandered out of town and been able to appreciate the tundra view.

the Distant Early Warning Station

Construction equipment waiting in the snow

The Canadian High Arctic Research Station, under construction

Beautiful Cambridge Bay

I love Nunavut. I love that I only need to walk a few steps out of town and then suddenly I am all alone in the tundra, lost in the beautiful wilderness that stretches on forever.

What I am especially grateful for, despite the astonishing cold, is that the sun has begun to rise again, painting the skies with long extended sun rises and sun sets. The sun still doesn't get very high in the sky, but it's lovely to see, since we missed it. And soon enough the days will grow drastically longer, until it stops setting in May.

a sunrise/sunset over the frozen Arctic ocean

We've also been getting some gorgeous northern lights at night, right outside my living room window.  I still haven't developed the knack for capturing them on film yet, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Also, beautiful moons

blizzard / no blizzard photos

Woke up in the morning to this sight of our front yard:

Blizzard!

We all got sent home early yesterday because of the weather, and it just got worse over night.  This morning, the offices and schools were closed. The winds were blowing so hard we could barely see across the street. It was -45 with the windchill, and all of the flights out of town were cancelled. Snow day!

Usually that means we can just snuggle in our warm cosy house and watch movies all day while drinking hot chocolate. Unfortunately, we ran out of running water last night, which meant dishes would not be washed (yay!) and showers would have to wait (noooo!), which was a little gross. But people have survived in the north for centuries, so we knew we'd figure it out too.

We melted snow in a pot for water.  That's when I discovered snow is really dirty and gross.

Eventually we did find a place where we could use the washroom to shower, but we had to drive there. Through the blizzard. As we drove slowly down the street, I thought, why didn't Rob wipe the snow off the windshield? And then I realized that he did. We just couldn't see anything.  

Here are some photos of the blizzard. Most of it is just a lot of white nothing. For contrast of what things normally look like, I've included photos from other seasons.

no blizzard

Blizzard!

no blizzard

BLIZZARD!

 no blizzard

 BLIZZARD!

no blizzard

BLIZZARD!

The dump is a good place to hang out during a blizzard.

Why not?

fall's frost

Cambridge Bay is looking pretty frosty these days! This is what the Arctic ocean looks like right now.  We are still waiting for a barge ship to come in to bring our yearly supplies, so it'll be interesting to see the ship make its way in to a frozen bay. My understanding is that the Coast Guard will send its ice breaker ship ahead to lead the way.

The frost, snow and ice all make for very beautiful scenery, however.

life in photos

Hey! I'm still here. I have been busy writing other things (like this article on Iqaluit Pride!) and also, randomly enough, a couple of remixes. Mainly, though, I've been enjoying life in Cambridge Bay.

There's a polar bear hanging around just outside of town this week. He just seems to be hanging out around the cabins. I don't have any photos of him because I am too scared to go out looking for him.  But other people have seen him. Somebody in town asked, if the bear attacks, can I shoot the bear? YOLO, someone replied. Stand your ground.

It's interesting. I was reading a fascinating journal article discussing the polar bear as a metaphor for the traditional gender ambiguity that was prevalent in historical Inuit culture.  And then this polar bear appeared. So, maybe it means something.

Today, I managed to catch the sunrise and the sunset.

sunrise, over a frozen arctic ocean

sunset, over a developing tundra

However, this photo wins as the most Nunavut photo. All-terrain vehicle. Truck. Husky dog. Beautiful sunrise over a frozen ocean.