We drop anchor in St John’s Harbour, a side arm of the Saglek Fjord. We have reached our next stop. The Dagmar Aaen is moored off the base camp of Torngat Mountains National Park. On shore, we can see more than 30 dome tents, two wooden buildings, large tanks, a helicopter and several containers.
The Torngat Mountains Base Camp is the heart of the national park. The seasonal tent camp has been in place here since 2007. It is only inhabited from July to September and, during this short period, serves as a base for hikes, scientific projects and cultural exchange. It can only be reached by boat or plane. Around 80 researchers, rangers, Inuit and visitors live here side by side – or rather, tent to tent – for a few weeks.
The camp is surrounded by an electric fence, as black bears and polar bears regularly explore the camp’s boundaries. We’ll have more to say about that later.

Andrew Andersen, with whom we’d already been in frequent contact in the run-up to our trip, joins us by boat. The welcome is warm. He conducts the compulsory safety briefing for all visitors right here on board.
Andrew is one of the coordinators for Parks Canada. He invites us for a coffee in the camp canteen. The number one rule when entering the wooden building: shoes off! There are currently three different groups of visitors at the camp: a language seminar for Inuit from the Nunatsiavut region, a group of scientists, and the seven-member board of Parks Canada.
For us, the camp has a very different kind of luxury in store: a shower. We haven’t had the chance to have one since we set sail from Nuuk. After days on board, warm water suddenly feels like quite a major achievement of civilisation.

Inuit Games

In the afternoon, we’re invited into the communal tent. It’s pleasantly warm inside, drinks are laid out, and we’re given a warm welcome. Alongside the canteen, the tent is the social hub of the camp. This is where language courses take place, where people eat together, share stories and pass on knowledge. Today, the Inuit Games are on the programme.

A wiry man, well over sixty, steps in front of the group. He needs no grand introduction. In the old days, he explains, there was no radio, no television and no toys. The days were long, life full of hardship. So they challenged one another. Strength, stamina, dexterity and endurance were tested in a playful way, often with a twinkle in the eye, sometimes even through pain.

During the demonstrations, it quickly becomes clear that these games demand far more than just muscle power. What counts most are tenacity and the ability to keep going even when it has long since become uncomfortable. Push-ups are performed in such a way that you land alternately on the palms and the backs of your hands.
In an exercise called ‘Airplane’, Alex helps out as one of three assistants. The participant is lifted by the elbows and feet and must hold their body horizontally and under tension for as long as possible. The first manages ten seconds, the second fifteen. Then a woman steps forward. Time passes without her body tension wavering. Eventually, it is not she but the helpers who run out of strength. By the time she is set down, more than 90 seconds have passed.
Many of these traditional competitions live on today in Arctic Sports. What was once a pastime and physical training for everyday life in the Arctic has remained an important part of the culture of the Inuit and other indigenous peoples of the North. Anyone who experiences the games quickly realises that it is not just traditions that are being upheld here. To this day, they remain an integral part of the cultural life of the Inuit.

North Arm

Andrew has offered to take us on a tour of the national park, weather permitting. Yesterday it was still windy, grey and cold. It wasn’t until around 10 pm that we received the welcome news: the tour is going ahead. So the alarm goes off at 6 am to ensure we reach North Arm in good time.

The fog has cleared. For the first time in days, we can see blue skies again. Even the green of the slopes seems almost unfamiliar after all that grey. The air has become drier, and every now and then a surprisingly warm breeze sweeps across the water. It carries the scent of the land out to us. The thermometer reads just 13 degrees. In the Torngat Mountains, that’s summer. After days of grey, the colour blue alone seems to bring a smile to everyone’s face.

The North Arm is a fjord around three nautical miles long, framed by mountains up to 1,000 metres high and a wide pebble beach at its end. The rock formations are considered to be the oldest in the world (3.8 billion years). As we drop anchor and cross over in the dinghy, around 40 participants from the base camp – mostly Inuit – are already waiting there.
Water is heated over a fire and bread is baked. Above all, however, people are fishing. Young and old stand on the shore, and a fish is pulled from the water almost every minute. The fish are filleted straight away, prepared for drying or eaten straight away.

Andrew gathers a group of 30 participants; no more than this are allowed to enter the national park at any one time.
Our first stop takes us to an archaeological site. The piled-up stone mounds are the remains of traditional Inuit food caches. Caribou meat and fish were stored here. The principle was as simple as it was ingenious: the stone mounds protected the food from hungry small mammals such as weasels and other scavengers, whilst keeping it cool at the same time. In a landscape where food was not always available, such storage sites could make all the difference over the winter.

A little later, we reach a waterfall whose stream has carved its way deep into the rock. Further downstream, we take a break. Anyone who fancies it can have a dip in the crystal-clear water. We’re not about to miss this opportunity. At first it’s freezing, but afterwards the water feels surprisingly invigorating.

Back on the beach, a girl of about ten proudly hands us her biggest catch of the day: an Arctic char weighing over 5 kilograms. As a thank you, we invite her and her siblings aboard the Dagmar Aaen. Her smile speaks for itself.
We certainly won’t be suffering from a lack of protein over the next few days.

Uninvited guests

In the evening, things get hectic on board. A black bear has appeared on the shore. First one, then three of these jet-black animals. Black bears are smaller than polar bears, but no less impressive. On the Dagmar Aaen, cameras are whipped out. Like paparazzi, the crew members stand at the railings and take photos as if there were no tomorrow. Naturally, the camp’s bear guards have also spotted the curious animals. As the bears approach the electric protective fence a little closer, the guards spring into action. Flash-bang rounds are fired in the direction of the black bears. The tracer rounds stand out clearly against the darkening sky. Then there is a loud bang each time, which echoes through the mountains for a long time. The bears themselves, however, do not seem particularly alarmed by this. Only when the experienced guards take more precise aim and the rounds strike the sand directly in front of the bears do they slowly retreat. Late into the night, we can still see the beams of the searchlights. Safety comes first, after all.

The name Torngait comes from Inuktitut and means ‘mountains where the spirits dwell’. For the Inuit, the mountains are far more than just a spectacular landscape. They are part of their history and identity. Anyone visiting the national park is therefore not only entering one of the most remote regions of North America, but also a place of great cultural significance.

Matze & Thomas

Position: 58.479182, -63.040924