Part of a Scandinavian quartet called the Baffin Babes, Vera and Emma Simonsson are the first Swedes to cross the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pond Inlet. The expedition was more a meeting with nature than a point to prove for the young explorers.
Adventurers Vera and Emma Simonsson has pushed the stereotypical view of the arctic explorer with the frozen beard one step further from reality. Photo: Private
It’s not yet been twelve hours since the Baffin Babes reached Pond Inlet, the northernmost village on Baffin Island, when they receive another phone call to congratulate them on completing their journey.
After three months covering over 900 kilometers (560 miles) through Canada’s largest island, taking in the barren white landscape, surviving temperatures of 42 degrees below while pulling their supplies of around 100 kilograms (220 lbs) each, it’s a mixture of emotions for the siblings.
28-year-old Vera Simonsson is full of energy yet reflective that their journey has come to an end. “I felt sad when we caught sight of the houses, skiing into the final stretch. Part of me just wanted to continue,” she says.
Packed with nothing but the essentials did not equal a light load on this trip. Photo: Private
Her younger sister by two years, Emma Simonsson, also has conflicting feelings: “It felt strange to return to civilization and that it’s behind us. But I’m here and I’m facing it and it feels really good.”
A natural choice
The expedition began on March 1, covering two legs from Qikiqtarjuaq to the Clyde River settlement and from there onto Pond Inlet where they arrived in the early hours of June 1. It took 18 months in preparation for the foursome who have long-been exposed and enthused by nature’s extremities. It’s a passion for them all.
Vera and Emma met their Norwegian counterparts Ingebjørg Tollefsen and Kristin Folsland Olsen during an outdoor education program. Having completed expeditions in Scandinavia, they also bring experience as guides from as far as Greenland to Africa.
“Our motivation was to be out there to experience the arctic nature and culture,” Vera says. “It’s the simplicity of living, the freedom your whole body feels and the challenge to push your limits.”
One of the canine companions gaze out over the frozen landscape. Photo: Private
It’s a lifestyle they have known since their childhood, growing up in Härnösand, in the north-east of Sweden. “Our parents are really outdoor people so we inherited it from them,” Emma says. “When I was a kid I was jealous of my friends going on holiday to Greece or Spain. We just packed our old Saab with a tent and stove and went to Norway to camp in the mountains. But now I’m really glad we did.”
Hard times for the Arctic
The varied landscape on the island means they have navigated the sea ice, narrow fjords and glaciers on skis.
“It sounds like a cliché but every day there has been something exciting and new,” says Vera. “We took a bath in a sea hole which was spontaneous and unbelievably cold. And we saved a little seal puppy that couldn’t get back to its ice hole — it's small things like that you remember.”
They have also learned first-hand about the threats to the arctic environment. “People have told us the ice is breaking up earlier and coming back later,” Vera says. “And we have seen from our maps, which are not that old, that glaciers have retreated.”
For Baffin Island’s population of 11,000, climate issues are affecting their livelihood.
“It’s going to affect the hunting areas and transportation routes,” Vera says. “What we’ve learned about the lives of the Inuit people we’ve met has made this expedition unique — they’ve left us with really good memories.”
Sisters doing it for themselves
The Baffin Babes were welcomed to the island but as something of a curious surprise.
“Out on the land, we mostly met men who were hunting,” Vera says. “I remember a hunter who came to greet us and kept looking over our shoulders. He asked us if there were any men with us and was shocked when he realized it was just the four of us.”
A view that doesn't get tiresome. After 80 days crossing the Baffin Island, the four women were not just happy to have it done with. Photo: Private
In the run up to the trip, media and sponsors back home responded similarly. “They were supportive but would also ask whether you’re strong enough, whether you will argue, whether you can really fire a weapon,” Emma says. “I don’t think they would have done that if we were guys.”
Emma believes that growing up in Sweden has given them a head start when it comes to exploring the great outdoors. “It’s not seen as abnormal for women to do this sort of thing, although adventure and expedition is still male-dominated,” Emma says.
At the same time, being all-women explorers has proven helpful in gaining publicity, and they have used the Baffin Babes title to their own advantage.
“For us, it was a powerful name,” Emma says. “You can read into it in different ways but taking on this challenge as women wasn’t the purpose of the trip.”
What was important for them was that they never questioned their ability to do it. Emma concludes: “For us it was about being out in the nature doing what we genuinely love.”
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Christine Demsteader
Christine Demsteader is a British freelance journalist based in Stockholm. Having largely holidayed in Spain and Greece as a child, she is not exceptionally adept at putting up a tent, crossing glaciers or fending off polar bears.
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