20/05/2026
Stafford Tyrrell & crew will be launching their boat back in the water in July with an expedition to Ellesmere Island. An island twice the size of Ireland, with only 150 inhabitants! Once there, at 720km from the North Pole 82° N, a team of three will get off and climb a string of unclimbed peaks.
EXPEDITION SUMMARY
In the summer of 2026, our team will undertake an ambitious sailing and mountaineering expedition through some of the most remote and least explored regions of the High Arctic. Departing from Iceland, the expedition vessel S/Y Patagonia will sail across the Denmark Strait to Greenland before continuing north along Greenland’s rugged western coastline. The route will take the team through isolated Arctic communities and deep into polar waters before crossing Baffin Bay to Ellesmere Island — one of the northernmost landmasses on Earth.
Upon reaching the Canadian High Arctic, the expedition will establish a remote base camp at Tanquary Fiord within Quttinirpaaq National Park. From there, the team will divide into two operational groups.
A three-person alpine climbing team will depart inland across the glaciers and mountains of the Arctic Cordillera with the objective of reaching Mount Barbeau, the highest peak in Arctic Canada. During the 2–3 week unsupported traverse, the team also intends to explore and attempt several unclimbed virgin peaks within this remote mountain range — contributing exploratory, geographic, and mountaineering value to one of the least-visited alpine environments in the world.
Meanwhile, the sailing team aboard S/Y Patagonia will continue expedition support operations in the High Arctic before returning to rendezvous with the climbing team at Tanquary Fiord. Following the reunion, the full team will continue south by sailboat along the dramatic eastern coastline of Baffin Island, completing a major Arctic sailing and exploration circuit through Greenlandic and Canadian polar waters.
This expedition combines high-latitude sailing, remote alpine exploration, and a modern polar expedition in a region defined by extreme isolation, rapidly changing environments, and limited historical access. Through documentation, storytelling, and expedition media, the project aims to share the scale, beauty, and significance of the High Arctic with a broader audience while highlighting the spirit of exploration that continues to exist in the far north.
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