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L’expédition de tous les (im)possibles / The (Im)possible Expedition

  • July 8, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
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mots :: Frédérique Sauvée // photographie :: Expedition AKOR.

Au moment où vous lisez ces lignes, quatre* Québécois sont en train de repousser les limites de l’aventure. Tandis que vous êtes bien confortablement installé dans votre canapé ou dans votre transat sur la terrasse, Nicolas Roulx, Guillaume Moreau, Philippe Voghel-Robert et Étienne Desbois s’échinent à remonter en canot l’embouchure de la rivière Back encore prise en partie par les glaces.

The-Impossible-Expedition-canoe-portage-AKOR
Toutes les photos présentées ici sont tirées des expéditions de préparation de l’équipe, réalisées au Nunavik, au Labrador et au Nunavut.

Alors que Pitou vient vous lécher le bout des doigts badigeonnés du sirop d’érable des crêpes du déjeuner, les membres de l’expédition AKOR 2021 jouent leur vie au pays des ours polaires.

AKOR route, expedition, Arctic

L’Expédition AKOR 2021 se déroule sur 7600 km du nord au sud du Canada, soit 19% de la circonférence de la Terre.

Tout a commencé par une batterie de tests. Covid-19 ? Même pas ! La quarantaine dans un hôtel à Ottawa avant qu’ils ne s’envolent pour le Nunavut, il y a quatre mois, a suffi pour écarter cet enjeu. Ce sont plutôt le sommeil, l’hydratation, la masse musculaire et surtout les dépenses caloriques quotidiennes des garçons qui ont été scrutés afin d’étudier les mécanismes d’adaptation du corps humain dans des situations d’efforts de très longue durée et dans des conditions extrêmes. Ah oui, parce qu’on ne vous l’a pas encore dit : leur périple durera sept mois. À l’heure qu’il est, ils n’ont réalisé qu’un tiers de leur parcours de 7600 km. L’équivalent au total de 180 marathons… en toute autonomie et sans interruption. L’équivalent aussi de 19 % de la circonférence de la Terre. Oui, quand même.

The Impossible Expedition skis on ice AKOR

Alors que le temps des sucres commençait et que vous troquiez votre fatbike contre le vélo de route, ils ont chaussé les skis nordiques pour une traversée longitudinale du Haut-Arctique canadien. Depuis Eureka, minuscule base météorologique située à 1600 km au nord du cercle polaire arctique, ils ont traversé l’île d’Ellesmere, la plus nordique du Canada, pendant cinq semaines sur la banquise. Sans aucun ravitaillement. Le segment le plus long et le plus dangereux de l’expédition compte tenu de la fragilité des glaces et de l’omniprésence des ours polaires.

Les gars de l’expé AKOR ont avancé pas à pas pendant 90 jours sur le territoire du roi du Grand Nord jusqu’au moment où la banquise a cédé humblement sa place au printemps. L’intrépide quatuor a dû faire preuve d’humilité en se faufilant entre les congères glacées et les mastodontes d’icebergs jusqu’à l’embouchure de la rivière Back. Ah ! la rivière Back, nous y sommes donc ! Enfin, eux, ils y sont en ce moment même (peut-on seulement présumer, par manque d’information). C’est ici qu’ils amorcent leur longue remontée en canot de plus de 250 km au cœur de la toundra du Bas-Arctique cette fois. Oui, oui, une remontée, pas une descente de rivière. Ça aurait été un peu trop facile, voyons !

AKOR expedition, Arctic

Il faut dire que les garçons n’en sont pas à leurs premiers faits d’armes en matière de canot. Guillaume a déjà pagayé 1000 km au plus profond du Yukon et des Territoires du Nord-Ouest en 2015. Ses coéquipiers et lui ont aussi traversé le nord du Québec et du Labrador lors d’un périple en canot sur quatre rivières et deux océans. Autant dire que les redoutables rivières sauvages nordiques ne les intimident plus tant que ça. Mais ils restent modestes devant les défis qui les attendent encore.

  • The Impossible Expedition lake and table mountains AKOR
  • The Impossible Expedition lining rapids AKOR


Après plus de 1600 km en skis et 2000 km en canot, l’équipe s’apprêtera bientôt à changer encore une fois de mode de transport. C’est à vélo qu’ils continueront de traverser le Canada, par ses chemins de traverse : 4000 km en un mois, soit l’équivalent d’une traversée du Québec à la Colombie-Britannique. Mais du nord au sud ! Ils rouleront sur des routes de terre et de gravier, à travers l’épaisse forêt boréale de la Saskatchewan, puis sur des routes asphaltées secondaires du Manitoba et de l’Ontario, jusqu’à l’extrême sud du Canada, au parc national de la Pointe-Pelée.

The Impossible Expedition fire smoking pipe AKOR

« Ce que redoutent le plus les aventuriers, ce sera le retour à la civilisation »

The Impossible Expedition canoe through branches AKOR

Mais savez-vous quelle sera l’étape la plus difficile sur le plan psychologique de tout ce périple surhumain ? Pas l’isolement sur la banquise, ni la peur de chavirer dans l’eau glacée, ni encore la lassitude des derniers kilomètres qui défilent dans le fond du bois. Ce que redoutent le plus les aventuriers, ce sera « le retour à la civilisation » , a confié Nicolas.

AKOR, ski, nordic ski, Arctic, Canada, expedition

Ce long processus mental du retour à la normalité. À cette vie somme toute confortable que l’on passe à lire des magazines d’aventure inspirants sur son canapé. Comment fait-on pour revenir indemne de la plus longue traversée du Canada dans un axe nord-sud jamais tenté auparavant ? On se rappelle que, dans sa vie, on a repoussé les limites de l’aventure, de l’audace, de la persévérance et de l’effort sur le corps humain. Et on se lèche les doigts pleins de sirop d’érable avant que Pitou ne le fasse.


As you’re reading this, four* Quebeckers are pushing the limits of adventure. While you’re relaxing on your couch or lounging on your patio, Nicolas Roulx, Guillaume Moreau, Philippe Voghel-Robert and Étienne Desbois are fighting their way up the mouth of the still partly frozen Back River by canoe. As Fido licks the last of the maple syrup off your fingers from your leisurely pancake breakfast, the members of the AKOR 2021 expedition are trekking through polar bear country.

The Impossible Expedition map

The AKOR 2021 Expedition will cover over 7,600 km from northern to southern Canada—19 per cent of the Earth’s circumference.

It all started with a multitude of tests. COVID-19? Not even! The two-week quarantine in an Ottawa hotel before they flew to Nunavut four months ago was enough to put that issue to rest. It was their sleep, hydration, muscle mass and daily caloric expenditure that were scrutinized to study how the human body adapts to extreme stress for an extended period of time. Oh right, we haven’t told you yet. Their journey will last seven months. Currently, they’ve only completed one-third of their 7,600-kilometre expedition. The equivalent of running 180 marathons… all by themselves and without stopping. That’s 19 per cent of the circumference of the Earth. Crazy, right?

The Impossible Expedition canoe portage AKOR
All the photos shown here are taken from the team’s preparation expeditions to Nunavik, Labrador and Nunavut.

When spring arrived, you swapped your fatbike for your road bike, while they donned cross-country skis to traverse the entire length of the Canadian High Arctic. Starting in Eureka, a tiny meteorological base located 1,600 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, the team spent five weeks on pack ice before crossing Ellesmere Island, the northernmost island in Canada. Without replenishing their supplies. This was the longest and most dangerous segment of the expedition due to the fragility of the ice and the fact that there was no shortage of polar bears.

For 90 days, the AKOR expedition team trudged through the realm of the King of the North until the pack ice gradually gave way to spring. The intrepid foursome had to show humility as they weaved their way through icy drifts and imposing icebergs to the mouth of the Back River. Ah! The Back River, at last! That’s where they are right now (we can only assume, for lack of information). This is where they’ll begin their over 250-kilometre canoe trip upstream to the heart of the Low Arctic tundra.

AKOR expedition, arctic

That’s right, an ascent, not a descent. That would have been a bit too easy, you know?

It must be said that the guys are no strangers to canoeing. Guillaume paddled 1,000 kilometres along the fringes of the Yukon and Northwest Territories in 2015. He and his teammates also crossed northern Quebec and Labrador on a canoe trip that spanned four rivers and two oceans. That is to say, the wild and mighty northern rivers don’t really intimidate the team anymore. However, they remain modest in the face of the challenges they have yet to overcome.

  • The Impossible Expedition lining rapids AKOR 1

After travelling more than 1,600 kilometres on skis and 2,000 kilometres by canoe, the team will soon change their mode of transportation once again. They’ll continue their trek across Canada by bike: 4,000 kilometres in one month, the equivalent of going from Quebec to British Columbia. But from north to south! They’ll ride on dirt and gravel roads through Saskatchewan’s boreal forest and then the paved sideroads of Manitoba and Ontario until they reach the southernmost point of Canada, Point Pelee National Park.

The-Impossible-Expedition-drone-ice-AKOR

“What the adventurers dread most is the return to civilization”

The-Impossible-Expedition-canoe-through-branches-AKOR

But do you know what will be the most psychologically challenging part of this superhuman journey? Not the isolation on the pack ice, nor the fear of falling into the icy water, nor the weariness of the last few kilometres that wind through dense forest. What the adventurers dread most is “the return to civilization,” confided Nicolas. The long mental process of returning to normality-to that comfortable life spent reading inspirational adventure magazines on your couch. How do you return unscathed from the longest expedition across Canada (from north to south) ever attempted? You remind yourself that you’ve pushed the limits of adventure, courage, perseverance and stress on the human body. As we lick our maple syrup–covered fingers clean before Fido can.

From Vie en montagne, summer/fall ’21.

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