By Rajitha Sivakumaran
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H
ome to the Inuit, 507,000 square ki-
lometres of Quebec’s northern ter-
ritory boasts a wide array of attrac-
tions for those wanting to experience the
great outdoors. Collectively referred to as
Nunavik, the vastness of this Arctic terra
firma can seem a bit alarming even to an
experienced adventurer, but a land filled
with tundra, taiga forest, mountains and
unique wildlife is nonetheless eye-catch-
ing.
So explorers flock to the terrain, but some-
times adventure stories can have haz-
ardous endings when the unexpected
happens and the weather becomes ag-
gressive. In fact, even the seasoned locals
fall victim to nature’s violent tempers. Oth-
er times, simple things like a snowmobile
without fuel can leave people stranded
without food and warmth.
When things take a turn for the worse,
locals and explorers alike can depend on
Nunavik Rotors, the 100 percent Aborigi-
nal-owned helicopter division of Air Inuit,
for search and rescue. As operations man-
ager, chief pilot and vice president of this
Kuujjuaq-based enterprise, Peter Duncan
has been flying for over 20 years and has
witnessed his fair share of successful res-
cues and inconsolable denouements.
“There are quite a few stories. Every year
we go looking for people,” Duncan said.
Many times, Duncan has flown out search-
ing for people who had been stranded af-
ter their snowmobile had run out of fuel,
eventually finding them using their snow-
mobile tracks. In one instance, the person
had abandoned his vehicle and had com-
menced walking, which made him particu-
larly difficult to track. By the time Duncan
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SEPTEMBER 2016
