Adventure News: Nunavik International : An unique global international winter adventure race - now completed!

Adventure News: Nunavik International : An unique global international winter adventure race - now completed! - Ndorfin, South Africa

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Monday, 02 April 2012
Nunavik International : An unique global international winter adventure race - now completed!

First of all were is Nunavik ?

Nunavik
Nunavik is Quebec's superb arctic region. Come to experience fishing, hunting and the great outdoor
adventures which await Nunavik visitors. Imagine 507,000 square kilometres of truly wild tundra, taiga
forest, scenic mountains, majestic rivers and countless lakes!

Timeless Beauty
Nunavik is Quebec's arctic region. An immense, pristine territory lying north of the 55th parallel and
bordered by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay to the north and Labrador to the
east. Imagine 507,000 square kilometres of truly wild tundra, taiga forest, scenic mountains, majestic
rivers and countless lakes! This unspoiled region is home to a rich array of plants, fish and other
wildlife, each species uniquely adapted to the North. Be prepared for a genuine outdoor adventure!

A Noble People
While the vastness of this immense region can easily prove unsettling for visitors, the cheerful and
friendly manner of the region�s inhabitants, the Inuit, will quickly put you at ease. Nunavik Inuit will
welcome you warmly to their corner of the world, introducing you to the distinctive characteristics of
their cultural and linguistic heritage, art and history, as well as traditional clothing and tools.

Kangiqsualujjuaq
Meaning: Very large bay
Population: 735
Kangiqsualujjuaq is the easternmost village of Nunavik, located about 160 km to the north-east of
Kuujjuaq. It is situated 25 km from Ungava Bay on the George River, nestled at the end of a cove
called Akilasakalluq. Tidal movements reach as far upstream as the village so that, at low tide, water
recedes almost entirely from the cove. Kangiqsualujjuamiut's summer life is therefore closely linked to
the rhythm of the tides. The village itself stands in the shadow of an imposing granite rock outcropping
which rises to the north of the bay. Despite its northerly location, the valley sheltering the village is
beautified by luxuriant vegetation. In the 1960s, the village even operated a small spruce lumber mill.
For hunters, anglers and adventure lovers alike, the surroundings of Kangiqsualujjuaq are full of natural
attractions. The calving grounds of the George River herd, the largest ungulate population in the world
estimated at several hundreds of thousands of head, is nearby. The George River, as well as other
rivers in the area, teem with fish, particularly Arctic char, Atlantic salmon and a variety of trout. At the
site of the beautiful Helen's Falls.

About 100 km to the east of Kangiqsualujjuaq are the Torngat Mountains. This range stretches for
300 km along the Quebec-Labrador border, between Ungava Bay and the Labrador Sea. Its eternal
snow, glacial troughs, cirques, fjords and the majestic Mount D'Iberville which dominates the range at
1646 m make it an exceptional destination. The Koroc River, which flows from the Torngat Mountains
all the way to Ungava Bay, as well as the Abloviak Fjord conceal countless natural beauties and are
entrancing settings for hikers, canoeists and kayakers to explore.

Wildlife: caribou, black bears, foxes, seals, belugas, walruses, killer whales, narwhals, wolves and
some polar bears in specific areas. To know more: http://www.nunavik-tourism.com/Wildlife.aspx

To know more about Nunavik:http://www.nunavik-tourism.com/default.aspx

Now that you know a lttle bit more about Nunavik (But please take notes that the only way to fully
appreciate this fabulous region is to visit and explore Nunavik with the best guides: The inuit !

Let�s talk about the race :

A well-earned victory for the Spin Sport Plein Air team at the International Nunavik Adventure
Challenge!

After three days of intense effort, the Quebec team Spin Sport Plein Air made up of Ian Beaulieu and
Simon C�t� won the very first International Nunavik Adventure Challenge. They completed the course
in 13h34min39sec. The Quebecers finished ahead of the Americans (Out There) including Make Kloser
quadruple world champion racing for the first time on an international with is son Christian Kloser 18
years old. and the French team (Endurance Mag).

For this third and ultimate stage of the race, participants could choose between skis or snowshoes.
They had to cross a valley via a spectacular 200-metre zip-line and use their map to find their way
across 55 kilometres of fabulous territory surrounding the Kangiqsualujjuaq village.

After spending a night in an Inuit camp that was all set up for them before the race (as a fun and well
appreciated surprise) on the second night of the race, the teams returned to racing as of 8:30 a.m.
under sunny skies and in -25�C weather. We must mention a kind gesture on behalf of the Spin Sport
Plein Air team who showed exceptional sportsmanship at this stage by deliberately choosing to offer
their faster skis to the Americans in order to guarantee a fair race. The Americans, who have yet to
receive their luggage and equipment, were forced to race using equipment loaned to them by other
teams such as Spin Sport Plein Air. �We knew that we had a chance to win the race and we did not
want this victory to be based on equipment alone. Since the Out There team was leading the race with
us, we decided to lend them our skis. It was a risky decision, but we are very proud that we did it,� said
the captain of the team, Ian Beaulieu of Baie-Comeau.

At the end of the 3rd day of racing, Mont Torngate, Kangiqsualujjuaq�s local team, completed their first
international adventure race in 17:38:48, in 7th place. Their great performance made everyone in the
community really proud. They proved that they have the endurance and tenacity of their ancestors and
Nunavik elders.

When Jobie Unatweenuk arrived back in Kangiqsualujjuaq March 27 after completing their first
international adventure race, he said the feeling was �pretty good.� As he and his teammate David
Unatweenuk started passing houses as they made their way to the finish line, people came out of their
homes to cheer the pair on. Team Nunavik, the only local competitors, completed the race March 27 in
seventh position, crossing the finish line to a line of more than 200 local residents cheering the duo on.
That is more than 25% of the community ! �It was pretty good to see all the people waiting for us there,�
Unatweenuk said. �The community has been really great, they�re very proud.�

Unatweenuk, who works for the local Torngat Mountains National Park, is no stranger to trekking, even
snowboarding, and has participated in all of the previous Nunavik Adventure Challenge workshops
and events held in Kangiqsualujjuaq. But this is was Nunavik Adventure Challenge�s first international
event, pitting Unatweenuk against experienced racers from around the world. I really wanted to get
into the international adventure,� Unatweenuk said. �Some of the courses were pretty tough, like the
cross-country skiing and going down the zipline, but it was pretty fun.�Unatweenuk, at home in familiar
surroundings, said the event also gave his community and region great exposure as an adventure
tourism destination.

This first Nunavik International Challenge event hosted athletes from as far away as South Africa,
Italy and France to compete in a multi-sport winter adventure race around the community of
Kangiqsualujjuaq and its adjacent Kuururjuaq provincial park.

Team South Africa showed fantastic spirit throughout the race and amazed everyone by their
endurance. Just imagine, 5 days ago they had never seen snow or ice before! �The team walked off the
plane, took off their mittens and picked up a handful of snow for the first time,� he said. �It was fantastic,
this was a childhood dream for them.�

For this first international race 4 women were up to this big Challenge, 3 of them are mothers and are
still adventure racers and athletes . Stephania Zartorri of Italia, Leanne Muller of Canada and Maggie
Obed of Kangiqsualujjuaq Nunavik proved that you can be a great mother and a great adventurer.
Salomon Bobkittens, of Nicky Cameron and Leanne Muller completed this international race in 5th place
overall !.

One of the most surprising and inspiring aspect about of this first Nunavik international challenge was
the fact that 42 teams of young inuit raced with the international teams during the first day of the event.
To complete the race the had to go over four check points on skis, snowshoes, trekking, trail run on
snow and cross a small river on a zip line. Those 84 young inuit adventure racers surprised all the
international teams and medias by their talent and motivation. No international teams expected to see
so many adventure small adventure athletes racing with them in a community of 750 peoples in the
Great North of Canada. For the youths of Kangiqsualujjuaq it was their fourth community adventure
race in 3 years. The sport of AR is a training platform for adventure tourism coaching and youth outdoor
school. This program www.nunavikadventurechallenge.com proved to be really popular for the last 3
years with the young population of Nunavik that 65 per cent of the community is under 25 years old.

Race organizers are very satisfied with the sequence of events. �The people of Kangiqsualujjuaq were
fantastic. The efficiency of their technical support, a warm welcome, and all the factors which make for
a great competition were present. Furthermore, the weather was on our side with three consecutive
days of sunshine. We could not have asked for more,� said Jean-Thomas Boily, co-president of
Endurance Aventure, the organization in charge of the event.

To complete this dream week, the event and the region had the privilege to receive great international
and national media coverage�s. For the first time in North America, national television and radio stations
follow an adventure raid on a daily basis. The CBC/Radio-Canada TV national crew was on land with
the organisation and the racers. During their full week of adventure they produced more than 20 stories
for national TV news, national sports TV news, morning and drive at home radio prime time shows.
Those adventurous media specialists did a fabulous promotion for the region, the inuit nation, the event
and the teams. After the event they said that they had an amazing adventure and that is was more
exciting and challenging than covering Olympics games.

During next month the event will also benefit from media coverage in Europe through the following
television stations: Eurosport, TV8 Mont Blanc, Montagne +, Sport +, and SKY TV. All the media
coverage�s will be on this page : http://www.nunavikinternationalchallenge.com/index.php/en/
mediamenuen

To conclude

For everyone around the Globe that was wondering if the racers would ever encounter some polar
bears on the race course. To answer to this question that we had several times, a big part of the
organising team was inuit and worked really well to plan a safe race course that was not on the ice of
the Ungava Bay were polar bears live and hunt.

But we felt that the adventure would not be totally complete without seen a polar bear, so our camera
crew had the privilege of being guided on the helicopter on Ungava Bay, about 40 km out of town by
the Kangisualujjuaq�s elder Willie Etok. We were hoping to successfully film a polar bear. Our wishes
came true and we therefore have fabulous TV images of a polar bear walking on the same ice as the
South African team. However, it surely wasn�t the polar bear�s first experience on ice!

Positions
1 Spin Sports Plein air, Qu�bec, Canada
2 Out-There, �tats-Unis
3 Endurance-Mag, France
4 Pedini Iret, Italie
5 Salomon BobKitten, Ontario, Canada
6 Team Pacalula, Italie
7 Monts Tonrgat / Nunavik, Canada (Kangiqsuakujjuaq)
8 South Africa, Afrique du Sud
9 Pedini-Nunavik, Italie/Nunavik
10 Ukiuk, Nunavik, Canada

The International Nunavik Adventure Challenge is the result of a precious collaboration between
Endurance Aventure, the Kativik Regional Government, Nunavik Parks, the village of Kangiqsualujjuaq,
Rossignol, the FCNQ, and the Nunavik Tourism Association.