Yesterday, four Swiss adventurers began an attempt to row unsupported from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, to Scotland’s north coast. They aim to reach Scotland in 40-60 days time after rowing an estimated 3,100km.

Roman Mockli, Frederik Jacobs, Ben von Mitzlaff, and Florian Ramp spent a week in Svalbard preparing for the expedition, which they have named “Arctic Row.”

“The team have spent approximately a week in Longyearbyen preparing their boat, Happy Days, checking all electronic systems, packing provisions, coordinating with their shore support team, and carrying out initial test rows,” their manager Claudia Jenni told At the Edge of the Map.

Although Ramp and Mockli have previously rowed the Atlantic, none of the team has experience in the Arctic.

To the frozen Arctic ocean

The four-man crew intend to row north from Svalbard to the edge of the frozen Arctic ice pack. “They are currently rowing along the sheltered inner route between Svalbard and the uninhabited island of Prins Karls Forland, heading north,” said Jenni.

Their final brief stop before entering the open Arctic Ocean will be Ny-Alesund, one of the world’s northernmost settlements. From here Ramp, 48, Mockli, 31, Jacobs, 47, and von Mitzlaff, 29, hope to take a human-powered vessel closer to the Arctic ice than ever before.

”How close they can ultimately get will depend entirely on nature. Within approximately 50 nautical miles of the ice edge, wind conditions largely determine the route.”

”If the winds become too strong, there is a real danger that their rowing boat could be pushed dangerously close to the ice, leaving them unable to row away under their own power,” explained Jenni.

The team plan to complete the row unsupported, with no resupply stops, carrying enough food for up to 60 days.They anticipate relatively mild air temperatures of between -5 and +10°C.

South past Greenland

Once the Swiss crew reaches their northernmost point, they will turn south and follow the East Greenland Current, which runs down the eastern side of Greenland. To break up this long stretch of open ocean they will aim to pass near the volcanic island of Jan Mayen, before continuing south to Iceland.

If all goes to plan, the Swiss rowers will then turn east, pass the Faroe Islands, and make for Thurso on Scotland's north coast.

If successful, the Swiss rowers will go one better than a multinational crew led by Icelander Fiann Paul, who, over two legs in 2017, rowed a total of 2,305km from the northern coast of Norway to Svalbard and then back down to Jan Mayen Island.

Canadian adventurers Frank Wolf and Alex Kozma are heading to the Northwest Territories in northern Canada early next month to undertake a 1,200km canoe journey.

The pair will start at Elliot Lake, high in the Mackenzie Mountains, an extension of the Rockies that straddles the Yukon and Northwest Territories. From here, they will paddle north along the Hart, Peel, Rat, Little Bell, Bell and Porcupine Rivers, before finishing at Old Crow, the northernmost community in the Yukon.

Following the Wolverine

Wolf, 55, has named the journey the Nehtruh expedition, after the local First Nations (Gwich’in) name for wolverine, the stocky bear-like mammal found in many sub-arctic regions.

”This venerable creature of the north often travels 40 to 50km per day in its wanderings, so the name is fitting as we will travel a similar daily distance in the course of our canoeing mission through these ancient lands,” Wolf told At the Edge of the Map.

“Other charismatic fauna we’re more likely to encounter along the way are grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, and moose,” he added.

The two Canadians will be paddling unsupported with all supplies stowed in their canoes, and they expect to take around 30 days.

Whitewater and upstream paddling

Wolf and Kozma will face various challenges: whitewater on both the Hart and Peel rivers, a 6km portage around some Class 5 rapids on the Peel, and upstream paddling on the Rat River.

“The Peel River is highly notable as a spectacular wilderness watershed larger than Scotland, and one of the last fully intact mountain boreal ecosystems in the world,” said Wolf.

”In 2019, the Peel River Land Use Plan permanently protected 83% of the area, with a National Park being established in a portion of the area. Before this agreement, much of the area was subject to exploitation by mining development,” the Canadian added.

They also have 130km of upstream travel to contend with on the Rat River as they follow an ancient Gwich’in travel route to cross the divide between the Yukon River and Mackenzie River watersheds.

“This challenging section up a mountain river is the same area Albert Johnson - the ‘Mad Trapper of Rat River’- evaded the Royal Canadian Mountain Police [RCMP] for weeks during a famous manhunt in the 1930's that captured the nation's imagination, “ said Wolf.

”Our route will take us right past the remains of the cabin where the first stand-off with the RCMP took place.”

Another line across the north

Wolf is no stranger to long journeys in the Canadian North. Since 1995, he has trekked, kayaked and skied thousands of kilometres across Canada.

In 2022, he and Kozma completed a 1,300km canoe expedition from a river in the Mackenzie mountains to Kugluktuk on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Last year, Wolf paddled 1,620km solo down the Mackenzie River before embarking on a further 720km sea-kayaking expedition in southeastern Alaska.

This latest canoe expedition adds another line to an already extensive map of wilderness travel.

”It’s completely new to me, and I’m always looking for fresh landscapes to explore so it fits my personal criteria as I creep my way through the wild areas of the Canadian North bit by bit, year after year.”

You can follow the journey via the GPS tracker here.

At the Edge of the Map is an independent subscriber-funded publication focused on reporting and analysis of adventure and expeditions worldwide.

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