Great White North

[J-man]

Great Pics. Many are worthy of desktop backgrounds / nat geo-esque quality. Thx for sharing.

 

[oonimog]

Thanks for the compliments guys. We did make it to Fort Good Hope, that's where the little church was located. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for getting all the way up to Colville Lake.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[02TahoeMD]

Great pics, great report. Makes me want to go up there just to drive the ice road...thanks for sharing!

 

[Christian P.]

I am speechless. You really raised the bar. And again another example of an expedition done in stock vehicles. That's even more points in my book...



I so want to snowboard this bowl:

 

[Wheelingnoob]

What date did you go? What prep did you do the trucks if any? Lastly how long was the round trip/over all millage and time?

Great report and one of the places that is on my top 3 to go.

Jeremy

 

[JK-Mg1212]

Great write up - really enjoyed it. That is on my list of "to-do's"!

 

[SeaRubi]

Awesome deal that you revisited to finish out the route. Great photographs.

cheers
-ike

 

[oonimog]

We went in the middle of February and the trucks were pretty much stock. Besides normal service, the only things I did to my Toyota were:
- Change the oil to 5W-20 Mobil 1
- Fresh coolant (-70C)
- Replaced my 10-year old Optima (the old one was still okay but it was 10 years old...)
- Installed a magnetic oil heater (sticks to the oil pan) but I don't think was necessary and only used once
- Took a cover for the radiator but never installed it

The truck performed fine but the canopy and shocks took a real beating on the winter roads. The rear hinged window frame is about to fall out and the Rancho RS 9000's now leak (but do have > 100k miles on them...)

The Disco had the serpentine belt freeze to a pulley and when it was started in the morning the belt was ripped apart. Auto parts availability is limited in Norman Wells so Norman (the owner) bought a 5-groove belt (vs. the proper 7-groove - I think) that was slightly longer, but worked.

Distance between fuel stations was a problem, especially for the Disco. We both carried 20L jerry cans and needed them.

I posted pics of Buffalo Air's C-46 and made a comment about it being on TV. After talking to my brother in the States, I'm now unsure if you guys know about this plane (or Buffalo's others). We all know about "Ice Road Truckers" but do you guys have "Ice Pilots" on the History Channel in the US?

It was a good trip, we all enjoyed seeing Norman Wells. However, last summer's unfinished business remains...

 

[Jferg]

Your photographs are beautiful. Thanks for posting them.

 

[oonimog]

Klahanie,
It was ~ 7000km (4400 miles) round trip and we did it in 8 days from Vancouver. We were on a mission to get to Norman Wells to visit a few folks so we were really pushing. I wish we had more time to spend in Banff and Jasper.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[john101477]

I think I just wet myself!!! amazing images and a great journey :bowdown:

 

[skysix]

Ice Pilots NWT

Ice Pilots has been blocked by the History Channel in Canada so not only not available on cable/satellite in the US but not even over the net as a download (unless your URL is Canadian)

Great show however....maybe someone on the list knows how to fool the filter...

 

[Scott Brady]

Nicely done gentleman. Brings back some great memories.

 

[Willman]

Nice trip guys!

Nice shots!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Canadian Moose]

awesome trip!
Thanks for Sharing!