Fresh from their triumph at the 2024 Radical Reels Film Tour where their documentary Canada Vertical showcased their remarkable north-south traverse of Canada, Nicolas Roulx and his intrepid team have already completed another extraordinary expedition. This time, they’ve conquered a breathtaking 6,900-kilometre journey across Canada’s northern frontier, proving that their adventurous spirit knows no bounds.
A Fresh Challenge
After the success of their north-south expedition documented in Canada Vertical, Nicolas Roulx and Catherine Chagnon embarked on an ambitious west-to-east crossing of Canada’s north. Beginning at Beaver Creek on the Alaska-Yukon border on April 21st 2024, they approached this new challenge with careful consideration of Roulx’s recovery from a previous climbing injury. The journey began with a strategic 16-day cycling phase along the Alaska Highway—a gentle introduction that proved successful despite occasional knee niggles.
Rivers of Change
The expedition took a dramatic turn when the duo swapped their bicycles for canoes near the Little Nahanni River. Here, they welcomed their first team expansion, with Mathieu Beland and Guillaume Moreau joining the adventure. This marked the beginning of a carefully orchestrated series of team changes, with Dominic Roulx (Nicolas’s brother) and Laurence Garceau scheduled to join later for the 2,800-kilometre canoe section, before the final transition to a separate sailing team at Baker Lake.
Nature’s Challenge
Mother Nature had her own plans for the expedition. Finding the Little Nahanni River still locked in ice, the team demonstrated their adaptability by pivoting to the lesser-known Flat River route. This improvised decision proved fortuitous, as the alternative path was shorter and allowed them to build a crucial time buffer. The team maintained an impressive pace, paddling for up to 11 hours daily and covering roughly 60 kilometres each day.
Through Wind and Water
The journey continued through a series of challenging waterways, each presenting its own obstacles. The Nahanni River greeted them with flood conditions and murky waters, while the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers tested their resolve with shallow sections and persistent headwinds. A particularly gruelling 350-kilometre upstream battle highlighted the team’s determination.
Perfect Timing
Despite the numerous challenges and route adjustments, the team’s timing proved impeccable. Their arrival at Great Slave Lake via the Mackenzie River couldn’t have been better planned—even nature seemed to acknowledge their achievement, with ice conditions suggesting that an earlier arrival would have been impossible.
The Great Lake Challenge
The expedition entered a new phase as Dominic Roulx and Laurence Garceau joined the team at Great Slave Lake, expanding their numbers to six for the final canoe section to Baker Lake. Departing from the community of Lutselk’e on June 25th, they immediately faced nature’s gauntlet: an impressive series of portages through interconnected lakes. Over the next 41 days, the team would complete 37 portages, their journey marking the transition from the dense boreal forest to the stark beauty of the tundra.
From Paddle to Sail
August 4th marked another pivotal transition at Baker Lake, where Roulx and Chagnon bid farewell to their companions and embarked on the next phase aboard the sailboat Anorak, fresh from its own odyssey north from Quebec. What might have seemed like a gentler 2,600-kilometre sailing journey proved to be anything but peaceful.
The Hudson Bay welcomed them with fierce 45-kilometre-per-hour headwinds, introducing Roulx to an unexpected challenge: seasickness. Their sailing journey became an endurance test of continuous watches, turbulent seas, and relentless waves. For more than two weeks, they battled dark waters and unsettled stomachs, finding solace in the humble soda biscuit.
The Final Frontier
After 16 challenging days at sea, solid ground beckoned. Their final challenge lay across the Cumberland Peninsula: an eight-day trek from Pangnirtung to Baffin Island’s eastern coast. On September 7th, without fanfare or ceremony, their remarkable journey concluded at the edge of a dramatic fiord just north of the Arctic Circle. Had they continued, only the Davis Strait and Greenland lay ahead.
A Humble Conclusion
The team’s final reflection speaks volumes about their character and respect for the lands they traversed. Acknowledging that every lake, river, and mountain throughout their journey through the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut has been home to First Peoples for thousands of years, they chose to end their expedition with words of gratitude rather than triumph.
This humble conclusion to their extraordinary journey perfectly encapsulates the spirit of modern exploration: one that recognises that every “new” discovery is part of an ancient story, written first by the Indigenous peoples who have called these landscapes home for millennia.
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