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EUREKA - When asked his opinion about how Operation Nunalivut went this year, Ranger Jarloo Kiguktak just laughed.

"We made it back!" he said, grinning from ear to ear while standing in front of the Fort Eureka military base on Ellesmere Island on April 17.

Kiguktak said his role as a scout for Patrol 3 during the operation allowed him to come to Eureka for the first time. He said the patrol was the experience of a lifetime, despite injuring his knee after tipping his snow machine.

"I kind of tipped over my machine in a narrow valley where there's soft snow," he said. "My Ski-Doo tipped and I fell over, hit the rock with my knee but still carried on."

Kiguktak said his patrol woke up every morning between 9 and 10 a.m. to get started on the day, depending on how tired the Rangers were from the long day before.

"In the morning we get up, we pack our sleeping bags, have breakfast, have coffee and then we start packing up," he said. "It didn't take long to pack up, then we're off."

Patrol 3 had to be airlifted to another location after encountering a wall of ice the Rangers couldn't pass. They covered a total of 1,478 km after they left from Eureka on April 5.

Kiguktak said they would drive anywhere from eight to 12 hours a day to complete their objective. He said they encountered a blizzard once, but it didn't delay the patrol.

"We encountered some blizzard, but we went ahead and drove through it so that was no problem," he said.

At night, the Rangers would set up camp, set up the stoves and heaters to cook their meals, have some more coffee and chat about the day. Then it was time to sleep before another long day ahead.

Kiguktak said the Rangers would go to sleep between 11 p.m. and midnight - except for the last night of the patrol.

"The last day we were up till 12:30 because we were chatting and laughing last night, having a good time," he said.

He said he will definitely be up to the challenge when it comes time to do the operation next year.

"I wouldn't want to miss this chance because I really enjoyed it."