Dave’s Journey to the Northwest Passage

August 15, 2025 - Toronto

Fewer people have traversed the Northwest Passage than have climbed Mount Everest. Today, I’m starting that passage.

Hurtigruten Expeditions, the tour group I’m with, worked hard to prepare me and the other passengers.  Hurtigruten is also the expedition group I travelled with to Antarctica in January 2024. This time, instead of travelling with my daughter and her spouse, I’ll be travelling solo.

I attended two preparatory webinars. During the July webinar, the tour directors stated they were still waiting for the ice pack to melt enough for a complete passage. I suppose I’ll have more information to share in future days.

I’ll also share the Arctic research I’ve undertaken in future blog posts. Two books - Dead Reckoning by Ken McGoogan, and The Erebus by Michael Palin (yes, that Michael Palin) - were quite informative. Both authors discuss many exploratory and rescue expeditions. Of note, they describe in detail the lost and then found Franklin expedition.

In September 2014, Parks Canada, Inuit officials, the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard, and others found their ship, the Erebus, in 36 feet of water. Graves of Franklin Expedition and McClure rescue expedition members were found on Beechey Island. That said, since the 1840’s, Inuit in the area had been generally aware of where the ship had sunk.

The current ice pack conditions, and so many historic exploration and rescue missions, got me thinking about whether I will make it through the passage. What happens if I and the other passengers get stuck in the ice? Apparently, in the mid-1840’s, Lady Franklin was quite influential in upper class circles. For many years, she raised funds and pressured the British government to launch several rescue expeditions… to no avail.

I asked several friends and my family if they would launch a rescue mission for me if the ship got stuck in the ice. Frankly, I was a bit surprised by the lack of enthusiasm. After the “we’ll do our best” comments, the conversations deteriorated to the matter of where my passwords are located. Perhaps I should have approached the rescue conversation a bit differently. I wonder if I should have made up a story about placing a large sum of money in a safety deposit box. I’d have the key in my pocket throughout the trip. Would this have been a better motivator?

The next post should be from Reykjavik, Iceland.