Over the past three years, Dutch adventurer Yuri Klaver has been working on an epic project that he calls his Arctic Venture. The idea of this expedition it to travel under his own power from Nome, Alaska to Greenland on foot, skis, and by kayak. When he finishes, he hopes to have covered more than 6000 miles (9656 km), crossing through some of the most remote areas of Alaska and Canada – not to mention the North Atlantic – in the process.
Early next week Yuri will set off on the third stage of that journey – a 1200 mile (1931 km) expedition across Northern Canada on skis. Over the coming months he hopes to travel from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Resolute Bay in Canada. He’ll start by retrieving his trusty kayak from storage and filling it with supplies. It will serve as his sledge as he pulls it along behind him across the Canadian arctic, with all of his food, fuel, and other gear with him.
According to Yuri, he expects the trip to take approximately 6 months to complete. He hopes to arrive in Resolute sometime in September. In the meantime, he is preparing for the unexpected while traveling above the Arctic circle. He has been training with how to deal with polar bears, poor weather conditions, and fragmenting of the ice. He’ll use a large caliber handgun to keep the bears at bay and has developed an alert system to help protect his tent at night. His kayak/sledge will also help him to continue to make progress even when the frozen surface conditions begin to break up, and paddling will be the only option.
Klaver is no stranger to remote expeditions. Back in 2012 he attempted to cross the Bering Sea from Russia to the United States. That journey ended prematurely when he was rescued by Russian border guards a week into the trip. His 2013 phase of Arctic Venture was more successful however, as he paddled for two months along the Bering Sea before going upriver at the Noatak River in the wild and remote Brooks Range of Alaska. Last year he returned to that spot, as he traversed the Brooks Range on skis, and paddled down the Colville River. In 2015, he’ll now continue this massive undertaking by pressing on towards Resolute Bay.
On Monday, Yuri will depart from the Netherlands for Alaska where he will organize his gear and travel back to his ending point from last year before hitting the trail in early March. You’ll be able to follow his progress on his website where he posts regular updates from his adventures.
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