Yellowknife (Apr 25/05) - Joseph Lacorne had never been above the treeline before he joined a dozen other Canadian Rangers and nine members of the regular Armed Forces on a recent sovereignty patrol.

The patrol had to contend with fierce weather that often stranded them in their McPherson tents while in Isachsen. Frederick Blake Jr. of Tsiigehtchic, in front, and Paul Ikuallaq of Gjoa Haven made bannock to pass the time and supplement army rations. - photo courtesy of Warrant Officer Paul Williams

His hesitation before leaving on the two-week trip to the unmanned Isachsen weather station disappeared once the group flew onto the frozen runway from Resolute.

The Fort Providence Dene says there was nothing hard about the trip, except perhaps having to subsist on army rations and deal with blowing blizzards.

"We all supported each other as a team," he said of the group after returning to Yellowknife, April 19.

The mostly aboriginal Rangers are reservists in the Canadian Armed Forces, but the army depends on them for exercises like the trip to Ellef Ringnes Island, 1,400 km north of the Arctic Circle.

During this year's patrol the Army taught the Rangers how to use a Global Positioning System and first aid, as well as other skills. In turn, the Rangers showed the regular soldiers their skills in navigating by the wind and sun and travelling long distances by snowmobile and komatik.

If an airplane were to crash or a ship were to run into trouble in the Arctic, the Canadian Ranger patrols would likely be the first on the scene.

After returning from the high Arctic patrol, the Rangers have proven their ability to respond and deal with emergencies in the North.

"It's confirmed in my mind that these Rangers were skilled in the past and could carry out and accomplish any task that we've given them," said Major Stewart Gibson, commanding officer of the Rangers.

Bad weather forced the two-week operation to scale down after the group wasted close to a week in Yellowknife and Resolute waiting for conditions in Isachsen to clear.

"The weather had its impact, we adjusted our plans, we got into Isachsen and we met most of the objectives that had been set out for me by the boss," says Gibson.

Snowmobile patrols to the Mackenzie King and Borden Islands to the west were cancelled, but two separate groups managed to reach Meighan and Amund Ringnes Island to the east. They planted emergency cairns and made reports of the topography and sea ice.

A planned simulated plane crash using a U.S. Air Force DC-3 plane that crashed near Isachsen in the 1940s was also scrapped due to time constraints.

Gibson and Colonel Norm Couturier, commander of the Canadian Forces Northern Area, are touting the scaled-down patrol as a success, despite any hitches.

Confirming Canadian land

The Canadian Armed Forces started Arctic patrols in 2002 after realizing Canada needed to extend its military presence into the unpopulated areas of the Arctic. Increasing air and ship traffic means more activity in the high Arctic and a possible threat to Canada's sovereignty.

That year a 33-member group travelled 1,700 km from Resolute to the Magnetic North Pole and back. Annual sovereignty patrols have been held ever since. This year's operation cost the army $1 million.