A Siberian hunter silver sunglasses in the palaeontology museum of the Bötönkös village near Batagai in Verkhoyansky region, Yakutia, Siberia, Russia. Cool! An ancient snow-n-sun protection thing! A picture by Ajar Varlamov.

A few months ago, the native cloth festival was held in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. Precisely, it took place in March 2010.

A friend of mine, Ajar Varlamov visited that event and brought fantastic pictures of so-called Siberian cold protection clothes, in other words, regular winter fur clothes of the nomadic Even people. Immediately, I posted them on my other blog eYakutia.com – English Yakutia.

Here I present a few of those gorgeous images dedicated solely to Even mittens. Beautiful, aren’t they?

See more Ajar Varlamov’s event photographs at eYakutia.com.

The Uummannaq Arctic glasses designed by Cool(E)motion to raise funds for Children Center in Greenland

This is really cool what Dutch artists, of the cool(E)motion Arctic Arts project, do for the sake of Children’s Center in Uummannaq, Greenland.

I’m following these cool(E)motion guys’ achievements. I wrote about them previously in the post Iceberg with Dutch Artist Ap Verheggen Artworks Breaks Loose.

It was them, who put a big sculpture on an iceberg and let them roaming from the Greenlandic settlement of Uummannaq across the Arctic waters and it was them, who cried out about the apparent climate change affect, when the iceberg got melted and collapsed just in a few months, faster than expected.

This time they are promoting the Uummannaq Arctic glasses they designed on the basis of traditional Inuit sunglasses. Their cool(E)motion glasses are mordern, high-tech and have all Inuit glasses ability to protect eyes from bright sunshine and snowstorms.

Do you remember Galya Morrell‘s video of the recent New York City blizzards? Sharing the video, she said, “I miss the Uummannaq glasses. They could protect my eyes here!” She didn’t really expect to experience snowstorms in NYC. Who could?! She regreted that she had left them in Greenland.

The Arctic glasses can be very demanded worldwide. Indeed, did you expect heavy snowfalls in Europe and even Las Vegas? No one. These glasses are good to protect your eyes from sudden nature disasters. It’s serious, no jokes.

One pair cost 49 EUR. Cool(E)motion says, “Of every frame more than 10% is directly transferred to the Children’s home in Uummannaq, a project by Ann and Ole-Jorgen Hammeken.” Learn more about the Arctic glasses at NRGsociety.com.

With this new product, Dutch artists are appealing to the world’s attention for a social problem. They designed an object which is inspired by the problem itself.

Further, see celebrities wearing the Arctic sun glasses.

A British adventure TV show star, Bruce Parry, is wearing shades to promote Uummannaq Polar Institute. He was visiting Uummannaq to make an episode of the Arctic documentary that is on BBC2 on air now.

By the way, Bruce Parry was in my area with the same purpose too. Check exclusive photographs of his expedition to Siberia’s Arctic at eYakutia.com.

In the above video: Princess Maxima Zorreguieta and Crown Prince Willem Alexander experience Polar Glasses. They are very wondered about the effects of these magical way of looking to the Arctic.

The Sami luhkka is used over knitwear or pelisse a long time. The use of thick ullvadmel will shelter from cold and winds.

Luhkka has become a popular outdoor garment among people in the cold season. Made out of thick frieze and decorated with red cloth and braiding.

More about a luhkka at Mamut.net. What textiles are used for a luhkka might be seen at Sme-Design.com

Another great Arctic news resource is George Lessard, a journalist based in Yellowknife, Canada. He works like a real broadcasting company. He is everywhere on the Internet, on Yahoo!, Google, Flickr, YouTube & many other sites. His main website is MediaMentor.ca. Recommend to follow him on his Twitter channels @Northern_Clips & @mediamentor… It was George, who shared the link to the below personal story.

Sault Ste. Marie resident, Ryan Paquette shares his experiences from the far north.
Downtown Resolute Bay

I am writing from the far reaches of the Canadian North, from a place called Resolute Bay, on Cornwallis Island, in Nunavut.

It is also known by its Inuktitut name, Qausuittuq (pronounced “cow-swee-took”), which means “place with no dawn”. The Inuit name is appropriate because this arctic community, with a population of just over 200, gets over two months of 24-hour darkness in the winter, and an equal amount of 24-hour daylight in the summer.

As an Electronics Technologist working for Nav Canada, Canada’s Air Navigation Service provider, out of Sault Ste. Marie, I have had the opportunity to experience life in and around Resolute Bay for over five months now. My six month posting began in mid-November last year, and will finish up at the end of May. My main role as a technologist has been to maintain the variety of air navigation and radio systems used to provide safe and efficient air travel in the area.
Out for a walk
Outside of work, I have had the chance to experience some of the cultural aspects of the Inuit community.

On a few occasions, I have had the privilege of listening to throat singing, performed by two local women, typically an elder woman and her grand daughter. In traditional dress they face each other, with hands on shoulders and waist, they breathe in and out with rhythmic timing to produce an enchanting and powerful sound.

I have seen a variety of sculptures completed by a local soap stone and ivory carver, named Simeonie Amagoalik. He is well known in the region for his impressive carving skills. The ivory he uses comes from the tusk of the Narwhal, that lives in the waters around here. Some of his works are sold for hundreds of dollars. He has been commissioned to create a large sculpture in honour of the Inuit families who were relocated or exiled here in the 1950’s by the Canadian government to support arctic sovereignty and suffered greatly for many years.

A cold day in March
Around the hamlet I commonly see a traditional handmade parka known as the amautik worn by women and men, to keep them and their infants warm while traveling outdoors. The amautik is embroidered and has an oversized hood that is large enough to cover the baby on the back, and the person wearing it. I also see many people wearing hand-made boots and mitts, made from seal, caribou and bear skins and fur. Teams of huskies are located all around the outskirts of the hamlet. A custom made wooden sled called a komatik is also a common sight. It is pulled by dog team and a larger version by snowmobile. It is used extensively for camping and hunting trips.

I have learned that many people here enjoy competing in variety games and sports and such as volleyball, basketball, and floor hockey in the gym. Competitive spirit is also evident through the demonstration of traditional games such as the arm pull, leg wrestle, and high kick. Over Christmas, for twelve days, dozens of racing, musical and string games were played by people of all ages in the gymnasium, in the evenings from seven until midnight.

Ryan beside the Co-op Hotel

One such string game involved dangling a nail on a string from your rear belt loop, and attempting to pick up a pop can by placing the nail inside the opening. The contestant then carries the pop can across the gym, around a chair and then back again, only to have the next person on your team can begin the ridiculous routine. One would have to imagine dozens of people laughing and cheering on two or three people who are running across the gym with an empty pop can bouncing on a string between their legs. It was entertaining to say the least.

I also had the opportunity to enjoy country foods, cooked and raw, at community feasts during Christmas, New Years and during a celebration feast for the return of the Sun. The Sun sets here at the beginning of November and does not rise again until early February. By hunting and fishing, the country foods are brought in from the land, stored in a community freezer, and shared with residents and guests. This would include arctic char, caribou, polar bear, seal, walrus, musk ox, narwhal, and beluga whale.

I have learned that the water and ice of the Arctic Ocean that surround this island are not considered barriers but vital highways that link the Inuit to land for hunting and fishing via dog-sled, skidoo, kayak and boat. It’s a great combination of old and new technology. The drinking water for the community in pumped to the village from the pristine Char Lake which currently has over 10 feet of ice covering it. The community’s electricity comes from a large diesel generator near the airport and all homes are heated with diesel fuel. Once a year, in the late summer, a large ship arrives, known as the “sealift”, enabling the delivery of large items such as trucks, equipment and building materials.

One night, I was lucky enough to be at the local landfill when a family of polar bears were visiting. The mother bear was slightly larger than the cubs, and unafraid while the two almost full-grown cubs were still cautious. The bears more or less ignored us in our truck as they pawed through the fire looking for easy food. I also saw a male polar bear near the Narwhal Hotel, and tracks outside my residence. Male polar bears are larger than females, and can grow to 5 feet at the shoulder, 11 feet standing up, weigh up to 1000lbs, and are known to hunt people. This is something that is always been in the back of my mind while outside, especially in the dark winter.

The return of the Sun

That same night we saw the Northern Lights, green and white, dancing in the southern sky. Since Resolute Bay is 74.5 degrees north of the equator, the aurora borealis is actually to the south, and typically is not visible, but that night was an exception. Arctic foxes and huge ravens are also common visitors to the area. I have also seen the odd lone arctic wolf trucking across the tundra.

Without considering the wind chill, the temperatures in Resolute Bay over this winter have hovered between -40 and -30 degrees C. The Spring is now producing temperatures from -20 to -10 degrees C, with the occasional day around -5. This is actually one of the coldest communities in the arctic due to the wind. Being located on the southern coast of Cornwallis Island, in the Barrow Straight of the Northwest Passage, we have seen steady winds of over 60 km/h and gusts greater than 80km/h.

Until recently, there hasn’t been much snow fall, but when snow falls it creates a lot of work. Blizzards are common and snow drifts blocking roads can be created within hours or minutes. However, the local Environment Canada representative says that this has been the warmest winter on record, and that several daily average maximum temperature records have been broken. Many treks to the North Pole have failed this year due to open water in the Arctic Ocean.

Ryan and a Husky pup

So, it has been my pleasure to share with you some of my experiences as a guest in this small but vibrant community in the northern reaches of Canada. As you might expect, there are social challenges here that are present in most communities. The cost of living is high and things like housing and food often need to be subsidized for residents.

Resolute Bay has one of the highest employment rates of northern communities. Locals work for the hamlet, the post office, the airport, the airlines, the hotels, and are hired as guides for hunting and adventure tourism. In my time here, the people of Resolute Bay have demonstrated many things that I think are important to a healthy community such as: staying connected to nature and the land; staying busy and doing enjoyable work; frequent community events that bring people together, young and old; community care of children; welcoming of guests into the community; keeping traditions while adapting to change; and the offering of a friendly smile or a helping hand despite the bitter cold, and dark days. I am grateful to have had this experience.

I wish you all the best in beautiful Algoma.

Take care,
Ryan Paquette

Via SooNews.ca

 C.T. Madigan, between 1911-1914 /photograph by Frank Hurley

Without fur clothing: The ice is not outside, it is inside !!!!

 :)

That’s a X-mas tree on the Ordzhanikidze Sq. No garlands and decorations yet. We are promised to see its finished beauty on Dec. 9, 2009. Hope it will be so.

Hehe. These tips are good, but in conditions of our cold we need to put more clothes, I think. However, I saw local marathoneers running in -50C and they didn’t have much layers, almost the same. However, they preferred to wear hat as well If I would have a chance, I’ll try to take pictures of those runners.

“Winter Bull”

Lilia Popova

Öl auf Leinwand, 90×100 cm

Source

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