All is well at the North Pole

MIRIAM HILL

Cpl. Joe Amarualik has been having some trouble sleeping since he returned from guiding nearly 30 Canadian Rangers safely to and from the magnetic North Pole.

“There was so much quiet around the building because of the walls, it was kind of hard to sleep for some people including myself,” he said from his home community of Resolute Bay. “It was quiet and warm, after two weeks of living in a tent and hearing everything.”

Amarualik, 30 Rangers and three headquartered members of 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group left Resolute April 9 on snow machines, and sped toward the goal of reaching the magnetic Pole and helping assert Canada’s sovereignty in the North.

Seven days and 800 kilometres later, the motorcade of snow machines stopped about 10 kilometres north of Ellef Ringnes Island and a couple of kilometers south of an expanse of the Arctic sea which opened in front of the patrol. They reached the outer edge of the Pole before deciding, in the interests of safety, to return to Cape Isachsen and set up camp at midnight.

The patrol answered satellite phone calls from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Defence Minister Art Eggleton , who offered their congratulations and thanks for the mission. To maintain its sovereignty in far-reaching places, the Canadian government must prove Canadian interests are using the space. This patrol, which marked the 60th anniversary of the Rangers, was the largest in terms of participants and kilometres covered.

It was by far the largest group Amarualik has guided, too.

“Leading this many people for such a great distance was challenging,” he said. “I felt a tremendous amount of responsibility to keep them all safe.” The weather cooperated most of the way, he said, except for the wind and brief whiteout conditions on the return trip.

Levi Qaunaq, of Igloolik, had a smile on his face the whole way back to Resolute, thanks to a surprise presentation by Col. Kevin McLeod at Cape Isachsen. Qaunaq was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration for 12 years of service as a Ranger. The location of the medal presentation was unique in Canadian Forces history.

Qaunaq said he has actually been a ranger for 15 years, and was thrilled and shocked to be singled out.

“I was overwhelmed,” he said in Inuktitut. “So touched that I was in tears.”

Emotions ran high at the Pole. Commissioner Peter Irniq, in Resolute Sunday for a community feast, mentioned in his speech the actions of Johnassie Inuktuluk, of Sanikiluaq, “who, in great excitement and joy at arriving at the pole was moved to climb an iceberg and raise his parka and shirt to the skies.”

The mood continued when the Rangers returned to Resolute on April 24, two days ahead of schedule.

“The community came out, there were people at the beach, people where we were going to park and people all over town,” Amarualik said. “The best part of our trip was reaching our objective, the magnetic North Pole. But for me the best part was when my feet touched the beach in town.”

Rangers began leaving the community on Monday and Amarualik said it made him feel sad to see the people he spent so much time with leaving.

“After hanging around with them I sort of feel alone now,” he said, adding the community will feel smaller after they’ve gone.