Here’s to the passing of 2023, which for me was a year full of work and other challenges.
Let’s go back 25 years to New Year’s Eve when an avalanche toppled down the hill in Kangiqsualujjuaq in Nunavik into a school where everyone was celebrating: the disaster that killed nine and traumatized many more would occupy my thoughts for months and still brings heartbreak to recall.
You can read about the avalanche here on this blog and more again here.
The avalanche took place during the period when I was spending nearly all my time in the North, unlike this past year which saw me working for CBC Quebec, using my northern journalistic experience in the South (which actually went well.)
In 2023, I did go to Iqaluit in May and early June, but not for work, just mainly to see friends and the bench I bought for Jim Bell, my dear friend and former editor of Nunatsiaq News who died in 2021. Now he always has access to the view he loved through those that take a break on the bench in Rotary Park in Apex.
I went to Iqaluit at the most beautiful time of year, which helped make up for all the days I wasn’t there. I’ll leave you with this image as 2024 starts to take off, hopefully as a good one for all!
You could say 2022 was a year with highs and lows. It included a car crash, allergic reactions, a lot of remote work, terrific hikes, reunions with friends, some interesting stories and a memorable spring visit to Cambridge Bay, with its bright sun and endless views that included encounters with Ollie the Muskox.
I felt like a migratory bird heading to the Arctic: I just had to go.
Walking around Cambridge Bay: the historical park & town all, road with a view to Mt. Pelly in the the background, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) and a bunting catching some rays. (Photos by Jane George)
And so, I was happy: for a couple of days during the annual Umingmak Frolics, held every spring in Cambridge Bay, I was able to be out on the ice outside town and watch snowmobile races.
People in Cambridge Bay came out in beautiful heavy parkas to watch the Frolics snowmobile races. Temp was maybe -25 C. (Photos by Jane George)
There was even a canteen and BBQ set up on the ice. You can see Cambridge Bay in the background. Walking out to the races even required some skill because it was easy to fall.
Check out the colour of ice, still thick enough to hold vehicles. (Photo by Jane George)
I had always wanted to be in this western Nunavut community for the Umingmak Frolics, named after the muskox which can be plentiful on Victoria Island.
The muskox made of recycled iron by the Red Fish Studio, along with some of the items at a sale (Photos by Jane George)
Although I had written about the Umingmak Frolics for years, going there was never deemed newsworthy enough to travel across Nunavut to attend and meet Ollie, the muskox festival mascot, myself.
Ollie poses with some of his many fans. (Photo by Jane George)
But, after I first decided I would go to the Umingmak Frolics, I had challenges to overcome. Without the backing of a steady employer, for the first time in 30 years, covering flight expenses was daunting. But thanks to a buddy pass on Canadian North from a friend and cashing in some points of my own I was able to fly from Montreal to Cambridge Bay via Iqaluit and Yellowknife. Friends put me up along the way.
In Iqaluit, I was able to take some long walks & visit friends. (Photo by Jane George)
I also picked up from some work from CBC North, which was great. You can read some of the stories I did then and later in 2022 here.
While the Frolics may not have had a heavy news content, I ended up being in Cambridge Bay to cover the fire of the community’s youth centre.
The youth centre burns down on Victoria Day….(Photo by Jane George)
Being so used to working over so many years while in Cambridge Bay, it seemed comfortable to be back in that routine again.
But even while I worked, I managed to visit with friends (which was one of the main reasons that I wanted to come.) These friends include Eva Kakolak and her two blind sons Ashlee and Anthony, whom I have known for years. Ashlee, on the right, played some music for me when I stopped by.
And then it was back to island life in my home base in southern Quebec from which I ended up working remotely for CBC until the end of September.
A date with Siku girl 