Recent Exploration of the Northwest Passage
The extent of Arctic sea ice has declined by 50 percent since the late 1970s, hitting a record low, in September 2012, of 3.41 million square kilometres. Disappearing sea ice has spawned a new breed of modern-day Arctic explorers. During the past decade, several sailboats have traversed the Northwest Passage. In the summer of 2013, the Mainstream Last First Expedition attempted to row the Northwest Passage. The four-man rowing team, comprised of two Canadians and two Irishmen, traveled 1,500 kilometres in 60 days— eastwards from Inuvik to Cambridge Bay—before aborting its crossing due to severe ice conditions. In 2011, Canadians Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry, a brother-sister National Geographic Young Explorers’ team, successfully kite skied across the frozen Northwest Passage, dodging polar bears en route.
