Arctic Future Pathfinders course report

Sammendrag

This is a report of the cruise that was part of the course Arctic Future Pathfinders, implemented by UiT The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) in the autumn semester of 2025. The description of the course can be found here: https://uit.no/arctic-future-pathfinders. The course was designed to provide a space to study the future of the Arctic. In an interdisciplinary setting, participants were guided to analyse environmental changes and socio-economic impacts of the past, identify driving trends, and imagine possible, probable, and preferable alternative futures of the Arctic.
A cruise through the Northwest Passage on board the sailing vessel Statsraad Lehmkuhl was planned as part of the course, from Nuuk in Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland, starting on 5th of August, to Iqaluktuuttiaq1/Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada until the 8th of August (Leg 1 of the cruise), and then to Whittier, Alaska, US until the 4th of October (Leg 2 of the cruise). However, after a few days of sailing north, the vessel had to change course, as, due to ice conditions in the Passage, Transport Canada denied her access to Canadian waters. Consequently, the cruise itinerary was changed: the first leg ended on the 20th of August in St. John’s, Canada, while the second leg took place on land, starting in Edmonton, Canada, on the 28th of August and ending in Alaska, US, on the 15th of September.