Rescue underway for hunter trapped on northern ice floe HOME! #7

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/can...tml?id=2479569


Rescue underway for hunter trapped on northern ice floe

Keith Bonnell, Canwest News Service Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010

A rescue operation is underway to retrieve a hunter who has been trapped on an Arctic ice floe for two days near one of Canada's northernmost communities, as his worried family waits and hopes for the best.

A military helicopter took off from Iqaluit on Sunday morning, headed for David Idlout, who has been stranded since Friday, but the aircraft wasn't expected to reach his location in northern Nunavut until late in the evening or early Monday morning.

Mr. Idlout, 39, had been seal hunting Friday, and was on his way back home, retracing his tracks, when he saw a gap in the ice ahead of him.

He quickly realized its significance.

He called his common-law wife, Tracy Kalluk, at their home in the small community of Resolute, Nunavut, and told her he had become stranded on a large piece of ice that had broken apart from the mainland and was now floating away.

The community, which has a population of about 230 people, alerted rescue officials.

Despite spending two days on an ice floe in the extreme cold -- due to the wind chill, the temperature in Resolute felt like -51 on Sunday -- it's believed the man is in good condition.

A Hercules aircraft dropped off supplies for him Saturday, including a battery for his satellite phone, food and a small tent.

"He's doing good," his wife said from their home Sunday. "He has all the things that he needs."

She said Mr. Idlout had been calling every few hours to update her and their two children, eight-year-old Natasha and 11-year-old Joshua, on how he was doing.

"I'm only asking if he's still OK or if he's cold," Ms. Kalluk said.

"A lot of my friends are coming over to give me moral support, and to keep my mind off things," she said.

"They're helping a lot."

The man is stranded in an extremely remote part of the North. The Cormorant helicopter that left Iqaluit Sunday morning had a journey of more than 1,400 kilometres to make, which was expected to take them nearly 14 hours, including extra stops for fuel.

Capt. Paul Spaleta, a search-and-rescue mission co-ordinator based out of Trenton, Ont., said the distance -- and winds in the area -- were adding to the challenge of the rescue.

"There's winds that are making visibility in certain places lower," he said. "That could certainly play a factor with the great distances between airports.

"For right now, he's safe, fine, warm," said Capt. Spaleta. "He's in contact with the RCMP and family."

Once the helicopter arrives, search-and-rescue workers are expected to go down to the ice floe themselves with a hoist and assess the situation.

"They'll put a harness on him, then hook him up," said Capt. Spaleta.

David's older brother, Simon, said the waiting was hard for the family.

"I'm worried. The whole family's worried, but we can't do nothing," he said Sunday.

The hunter's family said that on the first day, the large ice floe moved nine and a half kilometres, but Saturday, it moved only about five, easing their fears somewhat.

She said she'd been told the rescue helicopter had mechanical problems when it reached Iqaluit, forcing a delay while it was repaired.

The Cormorant was in the air and headed toward Idlout's location Sunday.

"He should be home by midnight, if everything goes OK," she said.

WOW! :eek: I hope they get him home!!!

And he is thankful now for modern technology!

Karen, he always was! :) An updated report (hope I can find it) said he was not hunting per se, but went out to check the hunting area, which is not in good shape.

He went out on snowmobile, and was heading back on the hard and icy trail when he saw the gap in the ice. He already had a satellite phone with him. A chopper dropped extra batteries, a tent and food. He set himself up very well, but sure was getting tired of being out there.

My dad was stationed in Inuvik (100 miles north of the Arctic Circle) during my ages og 5 - 9. He was a pilot with the RCMP and I recall him referring to a few trips where he was flying to "Resolute". Even then - early 60's - they at least had radio contact.

(Inuvik had only a movie theater and CBC radio...that was IT! lol)

Here is the bit I was looking for:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1442681/

Quote:

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David Idlout, a 39-year-old hunter from Resolute, Nunavut, set out from his home Friday morning to check on the sorry state of local hunting grounds when he ran into trouble.

For much of the winter, warm weather had softened his favoured sealing grounds, turning them into a chunky porridge of floe ice. With temperatures plunging below minus-30, Mr. Idlout hopped on his snowmobile to see if conditions had improved.

They hadn't.

As he roared homeward from the floes, making sure to re-trace his icy path, he noticed the trail ahead fall away into an expanse of open water. He realized then that the pan of ice he'd been whizzing across had broken away and was now drifting slowly across the Arctic Ocean.

A seasonal hunting guide, he was prepared for disaster. He dug a satellite phone from his gear and called his common-law wife, Tracy Kalluk.

---

And just found this update - Oh, dear.

If only technology could change the weather!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/...-stranded.html

Quote:

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Bad weather continues to hinder the rescue of a hunter who has been stranded on a drifting ice floe in the Northwest Passage since Friday.

A Cormorant helicopter remains grounded, waiting for better weather to fly out and lift David Idlout to safety from his icy raft south of Resolute, Nunavut.

Blizzards thwarted attempts to rescue Idlout over the weekend. But a Hercules transport aircraft was able to drop food, water, a tent, batteries, fuel and a locator beacon for him.

Idlout, 39, left Friday on a seal hunt and was snowmobiling at the edge of the sea ice, about 15 kilometres from Resolute, when a large chunk of ice broke free and he drifted out to sea.

The weather is –31 C, feeling like –40 C with the windchill.

The experienced hunter had a satellite phone with him and called his wife, Tracy. She called her father, who called the coast guard. Idlout was able to build himself an ice shelter.

Early attempts at a rescue were thwarted when a helicopter sent to Resolute to pluck the man off the ice was unable to take off due to mechanical problems.

---

mechanical problems? :eek: Good thing they were on the ground and not on the way out to get him... Hope he packed a lunch or two or three...

Laura, he was air-dropped some food. Not sure what it was...hope they included a can-opener! ;)

Here is the type of territory he was in:
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465...n?size=620x400

http://www.windsorstar.com/Hunter+re...604/story.html

A hunter who was stranded on an Arctic ice floe for nearly four days is finally safe after a military rescue team plucked him off the ice on Monday afternoon.

A military rescue team had been trying for days to reach David Idlout, trapped since Friday on a floe in the Northwest Passage near one of Canada's most northern communities.

The team had been repeatedly hindered by bad weather.

They were finally able to reach Idlout with a military helicopter at about 3 p.m. local time, said Capt. Pierre Bolduc, from the search-and-rescue co-ordination centre in Trenton, Ont.

"He was cold, tired but otherwise in good health," said Bolduc, adding that Idlout didn't need any medical treatment.

Idlout was flown to the airport in his nearby hometown of Resolute, Nunavut, and his family was there to greet him, Bolduc said.

"The whole community was there to meet him and he left with his family," he said.

Idlout, 39, had been seal hunting and was on his way back home when he saw a gap in the ice ahead of him, and realized he had become stranded on a large piece of ice that had broken apart from the mainland and was now floating away.

He called his wife in Resolute who alerted the rescue teams.

Idlout remained in regular contact with rescue personnel on his satellite phone, and had sufficient provisions after a Hercules aircraft dropped off supplies for him on Saturday, including a battery for his satellite phone, food and a small tent.

The Cormorant helicopter had to travel more than 1,400 kilometres from its base to reach the hunter.

The rescue team had hoped to retrieve Idlout late Sunday night, but a fierce winter storm grounded the military helicopter in Clyde River, Nunavut, about 900 kilometres from Resolute.

Capt. Paul Spaleta, a search-and-rescue mission co-ordinator based out of Trenton said on Sunday that the distance — and winds in the area — added to the challenge of the rescue.

Resolute, with a population of about 200, is the second most northern community in Canada, and is located on Cornwallis Island.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

GREAT! They got him, he is ok and gone home... I kept checking to see..