Baker Lake (Jun 19/06) - A warm and early spring brought good results on the land for hunters, but spring hunts in Kugluktuk and Baker Lake were also tinged with tragedy.

Four hunters in Nunavut died this spring while attempting to "water-skip" their snowmobiles across gaps of open water between land and ice.

In May, Gregory Havioyak and Lenny Hikomak drowned while trying to cross to solid ground near the mouth of the Coppermine River. Police found Havioyak's body only last week and Hikomak remains missing.

Last week, 28-year-old Allistair Peryouar and 54-year-old Aoudla Pudlat died while skipping their snowmobile near Baker Lake.

RCMP Cpl. Randy Slawson based in Iqaluit said melting ice makes spring a risky season for hunters.

"They want to push the hunting season as long as they can and they're crossing open spaces of water," he said.

Const. Dyson Smith of the Kugluktuk RCMP said a strong current near the mouth of the Coppermine River makes it dangerous to cross in front of the town. He said police try to encourage hunters to cross their snowmobiles near the government dock, where the ice is closer to shore.

Jack Himiak, chair of the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers and the local search and rescue committee, said Havioyak and Hikomak were crossing closer to the river because it was also closer to home. The river also brings silt and deadwood that make sea ice weaker once it starts to melt.

"We have to warn the hunters of the ice conditions, but this was just rotten ice," Himiak said. "(Havioyak and Hikomak) weren't really aware of how fast the ice was going."

Slawson said most water-skippers aren't doing it for fun but because they have to. And while police try to discourage the practice, Slawson acknowledges that sometimes it's just a fact of life in the North.

It's not uncommon to see Nunavummiut running their snowmobiles across open water no matter where you are in the territory, sometimes for sport.

"They do it a lot in Coral Harbour," said Leroy Nakoolak, who was a long-time resident of the Kivalliq community before moving to Baffin Island six months ago. "I've done it myself."

On the lake behind Coral's hamlet garage, he said people would gather to race two or three machines at a time in circles after the ice had melted each year.

"If someone is in front of you, you just have to watch that you don't hit them," he said. "There were never any injuries, but a few of the machines got water in them and never worked properly again."

Eeta Nakashuk of Pangnirtung thinks if people want to drive across the water they should buy a boat.

"It's pretty cool to watch," she said. "But I'd never want to do it myself."

- With files from John Curran