North shore Canada?

[Tea]

Ahh, forgive me if this is a stupid question, and bear in mind that my geography lessons in Borneo were a little light on in the frozen wastes department, but does Canada actually have a north shore? I always thought the North-West Passage was a strictly seasonal thing, and that Amundsen had said sailing round it was it was a once-in-twenty-years event.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

It has but it's very cold. Only Coug can survive there... :lol:

 

[JKKJ]

Only Coug can survive there... :lol:

Hey!

 

[GIANT]

...does Canada actually have a north shore? I always thought the North-West Passage was a strictly seasonal thing, and that Amundsen had said sailing round it was it was a once-in-twenty-years event.

Yes! There is Hudson Bay and all that shoreline of the Northwest Territory, but for the most part, where the land meets the sea it's a polar iceshelf.

As for the fabled Northwest Passage, it likely existed a hell of a long time ago (several thousand years ago), but certainly not today in a natural state. I believe there have been a couple of icebreaker ships that have barely managed to get to push there way through the NW Passage, but a journey such as this would use up so damn much fuel that it would be less expensive just to go down to the Panama Canal and on to your destination on the Pacific Ocean.

I believe there has been some talk in recent times -- probably a lot of highly speculative chit-chat from people who aren't climatologists -- that the NW Passage might be navigable once again. If it were to be navigable again, it would still require a small fleet of icebreaker ships to keep it open to shipping.

 

[CougTek]

It has but it's very cold. Only Coug can survive there... :lol:

The coldest temperature I've been through was -53C for a two hours jugging session with a 25lbs bag on my shoulders. It was more than a decade ago. I'm now even more resistant to cold than I was back then (and no, I'm not training for it), so I figure I could survive an afternoon at -60C with my ethernal winter coat (a leather coat, no one believes me that it is warm enough for winter temperatures).

I've never known anyone with a higher tolerance to cold temperratures than myself. However, I give it back on hot temperatures...

Isolation from civilation would hurt me a lot more than cold temperature up there. No internet at all and only the few polar bears here and there to test the progress of my training sessions. What a hell.

 

[Cliptin]

No internet at all and only the few polar bears here and there to test the progress of my training sessions. What a hell.

You could wrestle them. I'm sure they would be very aftraid.

 

[JKKJ]

Actually, I think there's quite a bit of infrastructure for internet connectivity in the North. Lots of remote schools as well as company supplied stuff in the mining + oil camps. I know I'd want to make darn sure that there was a decent connection if I were to take a job up North.
Not sure about the wrestling Polar Bears though.

Coug, you must have a heart of fire. I've been in Winnipeg at -43 with a 40kph wind and nearly died after a minute outside.
Hmmm, that store across the street from the hotel must have some munchies, I'll just pop over and grab something.....brrrrr AHHHHH damn, the soles of my shoes got harder and harder as they froze while walking (OK, run/sliding) across the street....AHHH I can't feel my fingers...
Never again.

 

[time]

You could wrestle them. I'm sure they would be very aftraid.

:rofl:

JKKJ, never underestimate windchill. Saw a program on Discovery(?) where they stuck this insane guy in a freezer to see what happened. :roll:

He coped pretty well until they turned on the fans ...

 

[JSF]

Canada's north is not as isolated as it was. There now are close to 30 fine hotels sprinkled across the northern islands. Puruse the following web site to get an introduction to a significant part of Canada's north country:
http://www.arctictravel.com/

Joe