The
most northerly island in the world. 800km
long, as the bird flies. Ellesmere
Island lies in Canadian territory and has
the four largest ice caps in the Northern Hemisphere,
after the Greenland ice cap. The northern tip
of the island is close to the 85th parallel, only
about 800km from the North Geographic Pole.
A very mountainous land.
Just one village, at the southern tip of the
Island: Grise Fjord is one of the most northerly
permanently inhabited places on the planet.
Bernard arranged this France-Quebec expedition,
and invited two French friends--high-mountain
guides Bruno Pellicier et Roland Tuetey.
The
challenge was to ski from north to south, down
the length of the entire Island, over the ice
caps. Because of the intimidating climbs and the
length of the trip, food had to be cached at four
spots. The expedition, by
ski and pulka, was a real exploit. Over
a distance of 1 000km, the adventurers had
to rappel down ice faces, use crampons and ice
picks, watch for polar bears, and cope with the
Arctic climate, crevasses and avalanches.
They reached Grise Fjord
on June 1, 1992, after 65 days. The expedition
was captured on film, and "Ellesmere en
haut du monde" has won prizes at prestigious
film festivals in Japan, France and Spain.
