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Budd Stanley
The Arctic is Calling
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Budd Stanley
The Arctic is Calling
Our steed and survival capsule for this expedition will be the 2017 Nissan Titan XD Pro
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Budd Stanley
The Arctic is Calling
Snow and darkness will be a common sight along the Dempster Highway, good thing we have some Rigid LEDs.
Story & photos by Budd Stanley
By the time you read this, I will likely be shivering away in my Treeline Outdoors rooftop tent, desperately trying to type out a daily journal and editing a day’s worth of images in -45°C. I likely won’t be sleeping, because the roar emanating from editor Irons nostrils will make REM sleep all but impossible. I will be far from home, high in the Arctic, camping in whatever plot of snowy tundra we can find, perched off the back of a truck with a few other brave souls. We are off to drive Canada’s Arctic ice roads, and we are doing it overland style with two Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X’s.
Canada’s Arctic is a magnet for adventurers. From the ancient natives that crossed the ice bridge from Asia that first populated the Americas, to grizzled truckers that travel north to work on the ice roads, the Arctic’s treacherous and harsh environment has beckoned to those - who may not be completely sound of mind - in search of adventure. These same harsh conditions are also what allow transportation between small hamlets and villages, as open ocean and waterways turn into roads once the water has settled into its frozen winter sleep.
This coming spring will see the end of one of the world’s most unique roadways, an ice road that travels down the Mackenzie river delta and out over the Arctic Ocean to the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. This loss of an iconic route that floats over a major ocean is the result of the building of a new overland all-season road. This winter is the last chance for anyone to drive over the Arctic Ocean here in Canada.
Sir John Franklin we are not, however, both the Arctic and adventure are calling. Partnering with Nissan, we will challenge both man and machine in a quest to reach the Arctic coastal town of Tuktoyaktuk. However, we will not just be driving the ice roads, but we will be overlanding, taking the trail less travelled and camping in Canada’s most extreme winter environments. As I write, we are frantically building up the two Nissan Titan XD’s to be totally self-sufficient, carrying all the tools and supplies as well as camping in Treeline Outdoors Tamarack tents.
Our adventure starts in Vancouver, BC, and soon after we reach the resort town of Whistler, where we will leave the pleasantly smooth asphalt of the Sea to Sky Highway, and venture deep into the mountainous wilderness, we will never be certain of what we may come upon. Roads may be blocked, washed out, or covered with unpassable depths of snow. The two-vehicle team will follow a backroads route north through BC, into the Yukon, up the Dempster highway, crossing the Arctic Circle and culminating with an iconic drive up the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk. We invite you to follow us on this great adventure through Canada’s wilderness and out over the iconic Tuk ice road for the last time.
Follow our progress at @buddstanley on Instagram (#TitanArcticChallenge and #TheArcticisCalling) and @4WDriveCanada on twitter. The Adventure begins March 5th and will finish March 27th at the Vancouver International Auto Show where one of the trucks will be on display during the show.