But as the winter darkness turns to crystalline light, and temperatures moderate, the Inuit know it is a time for traveling. The snow-cover may extend to May or June, enabling a snowmobile, dogteam, or skis to carry them faster and farther than they can go in summer. And it is a time for celebrating the community, for visiting and enjoying the long days of the arctic spring. Visitors can share the excitement as the season warms. You can pass the afternoon building an igloo, learning how to choose the right snow and to fashion the structure - or simply idle away in a warm tent jigging for cod through a hole dug down through four feet of ice.
Open water attracts wildlife year round.
A snowmobile or qomatiq trip over the sea ice brings you to the floe edge, where whales, seals and seabirds feed the rich arctic waters. And where the Inuit welcome you into their camp, and you can pass the night in a comfortable tent at the floe edge. Spring is also a wonderful time to ski in the Arctic. Cross-country ski in parks where caribou browse and arctic hares bound across the tracks. The warm sun and long days provide memorable trips in pristine wilderness.