SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife man is on the mend after surviving a harrowing, life-threatening ordeal on Great Slave Lake.

David Arbeau suffered frostbite on his nose after a failed attempt to cross Great Slave Lake over the holidays. - photo courtesy of Facebook

David Arbeau, 43, suffered frozen fingers and toes as well as frostbite on his nose and face after spending the better part of eight days out on the lake over the Christmas holidays.

He set out from Yellowknife on Dec. 22 with the intention of snowshoeing to Hay River, a distance of about 200 kilometres. However, after a series of unfortunate incidents he was forced to turn back after four days in which he covered about 55 kilometres.

"I became very ill with flu-like symptoms. My doctor told me I'd likely picked up the flu before I set out but the virus likely incubated within me until I was out on the lake," said Arbeau.

"I couldn't keep anything down so I then decided to build a lean-to out of canvas and spruce boughs. I built a fire and went to sleep about five feet away, but while I slept the fire burned underground and destroyed one of my two pairs of good gloves."

Arbeau said he knew then that he was in peril and would have to head back to Yellowknife. He then realized that neither his SPOT device locator nor his satellite phone were working because both were frozen.

It was then he understood his own stubbornness had begun to work against him, said Arbeau.

"I thought, I got myself into this jackpot, I want to get myself out of it," said Arbeau.

It took him four more days to get back to Yellowknife. He spent one night in his sleeping bag under the sled he had pulled to haul supplies. He realized when he woke up that he needed help.

"At that point, I actually couldn't even find the SPOT device," said Arbeau.

"After about a half hour of looking, I discovered it was frozen to the hood of my jacket."

Arbeau spent another night in a cabin and eventually made his way back to Yellowknife, arriving on Dec. 30.

He then went home and straight into bed. It wasn't until the next morning that he realized he'd better go see a doctor.

"I was especially concerned about my fingers," he said. "The tips on a couple of them had started to turn black."

Arbeau said his toes and fingers are still sensitive. His said his doctor told him they'll be that way for a while.

"I'm still missing the feeling in one finger tip," he said. "I walked the 20 minutes into work today but I think I'll drive for the rest of the week."

Even though he got nowhere near his goal of crossing the lake, Arbeau said he was still able to raise just under $2,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society from sponsors for his trip. He said he hopes to try to cross the lake again, but not until next winter.

Arbeau said even if people are just going out on the land or the lake for a day they should take an emergency kit with them.

"Take a SPOT device, a satellite phone, a beacon that flashes, food, fire-starting materials a blanket and a whistle or as many of these things as you can," Arbeau said.

"And don't be stubborn like I was. If you are in trouble, accept it and try to get help. The land and the elements will usually win if you are in a battle with them."

Safety, precaution and proper planning while out on the land became front and centre while Yellowknifer was out on a ride-along with the RCMP last Thursday.

A reporter accompanied Const. Elenore Sturko as she went on a routine patrol of the Dettah Ice Road in her RCMP pick-up truck.

On the way back to Yellowknife, Sturko was talking about why being prepared for winter conditions on the land is so important when sure enough, a call came over the radio that a resident who lives near Pilot's Monument had seen someone walking on Back Bay who had apparently fallen and could be hurt.

Sturko radioed in that she was right in the area and that she would assist in the search.

Sturko wasted no time springing into action. The constable quickly drove along the roads near the Back Bay shoreline, stopping several times to visually scan the lake and the horizon for the downed hiker.

She eventually parked her pickup and headed out on the lake after seeing what she thought might have been the person. Sturko searched for about a half an hour, calling out to see if the downed hiker was in the area of the woods near the Niven Lake subdivision.

She was in contact with her dispatcher, trying to locate the exact area where the woman had seen the hiker fall. Eventually contact was made again with the woman who had called in and she said the person was no longer lying down on the lake.

"This incident didn't turn into an emergency. But it shows, when it's as cold as it is out today (-32 C) a person could be in real trouble," Sturko said. "If they were bleeding, they could bleed out in as little as 10 minutes. Even if they weren't, hypothermia and frostbite would set in very quickly if they were down in the snow for any length of time."

Sturko said even with warm clothes, outdoor activities can be exhausting.

"It saps your energy, walking in the snow," Sturko said. "When you are looking for someone, time is always of the essence so you have to put a fair bit of energy into it. That's part of why we say that these types of winter searches can be dangerous not only for the subject of the search, but for the searchers as well."

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