Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

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Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:40 pm

Baffin Island is HUGE! Some 1,065 km from Iqaluit (where I'm based now) up to Pond Inlet where I spent the summer months. I'll be flying around here till at least March. Rivers are starting to freeze over now. Some petroleum leakage has shut down the town water so the Federal Government and some of the larger resource companies are flying up pallet after pallet of bottled water. Locals are refilling them upriver after cutting through the ice. Still haven't been through Pangnirtung Pass and seen that range, though its one of our regular routes. The guy I'm flying with is a bit of malcontent concerning weather. Maybe next month....

Still no polar bears but I've been warned I venture too far without the 12 ga in hand. Polar bears destroyed two company helicopters last summer at these spots, while the crews were sleeping nearby. I hope to eventually see one, from a distance....

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I'm still figuring out how to photograph the northern lights. It's surreal - I was completely encapsulated in the twisting lights, felt like I could touch them.

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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby snaark » Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:42 am

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Still trying to picture a polar bear destroying a chopper.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:21 pm

The company posted the after-photos, I'll see if I can find them.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:24 pm

Maybe "destroy" was an over-exaggeration, but considering my livelihood, that's to be expected.

Not great shots but found the memos...

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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby snaark » Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:30 pm

Haha, looks like he had a good chew on it at least.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby ReptilianKittenEater » Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:57 am

If you're not carrying you may end up as ursa munchies. Once I was told that if you piss off the locals up there enough, they may drop you out to the middle of nowhere so that the bears would take care of you. Not sure if she was shitting me.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Ozymandias » Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:35 am

Amazing photos, thanks for sharing! Did someone leave food in the helicopter glove box, or were the bears just being curious?
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Sat Oct 23, 2021 9:55 pm

I'm thinking just curious, but I always think the best of everyone....
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Sat Oct 23, 2021 10:08 pm

side note - IF you chase a bear out of camp, the general consensus is not to fly straight back to camp, as the bear will follow your track and mess up your ride. Better to fly at least 30 degrees off your track until over the horizon. I just read the same logic in The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers: Coming of Age in the Arctic set in the 1930s, but with dog sleds as opposed to choppers. Don't mess with polar bears.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby Darcy » Tue Nov 23, 2021 12:48 pm

Been hardly any flying this tour, weather has been shit, but I managed a few shots to share. Most are from my iPhone.

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Postby el3so » Tue Nov 23, 2021 5:27 pm

Darcy wrote:Been hardly any flying this tour, weather has been shit, but I managed a few shots to share. Most are from my iPhone.
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Looks like something out of a movie. Great pictures, thanks for sharing.
skynet prompt: witty line, a bit offensive, medium levels of spelling error, Rastafy by 10 % or so
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby snaark » Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:16 pm

Looks cold. I told y'all global warming was bullshit. Polar bears made it up as cover for their invasion.
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Re: Some photos from Southern Baffin Island

Postby ROB » Tue Nov 23, 2021 10:48 pm

Superb.
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