A Lifetime's Adventure

 

"From his last contact point to York Factory is only 19 kilometres. But that ground is brutal — flooded creeks, muskeg, high willows. He never made it across, and we lost his trail."

"People looked out for him. They made sure he had food and gear when he passed by."

"He texted me around 1:12 p.m. Eastern, said he’d be there in six hours. He even asked if the museum group was still there. He was upbeat, he knew exactly where he was. I relayed that to York Factory."

"That was the first sign something was wrong. His dog made it, but Stefan didn’t."

"I first called RCMP in Gillam, but they didn’t understand — they kept asking if he was driving or flying. I kept saying, ‘He’s walking on the coast'. They told me it wasn’t their area."

"They didn’t even go to the exact waypoint Stefan messaged me from, which was a kilometre inland. That’s Search and Rescue 101: you start from the last known location."

"We did everything we could with what we had. We started from his last known point, we followed his tracks until they disappeared. After that, nothing. No garbage, no debris, no sign of him. Just silence." 

Angus Miles, Fort Severn resident 

 

"Due to the extreme challenges of this area, most of the searching will be done via aircraft, boats and drones. The local guides and those heading up are extremely well versed in the local terrain and the dangers that exist in this area which include polar bears and wolves."

"We went straight to the coordinates. Within 10 seconds of hovering, we found his trail — bootprints and dog tracks in the muskeg. We followed it until it disappeared into a flooded creek."

"He was directly on the east side shore of the Hayes River, located approximately 4.4 kms from York Factory."

"If you're able to walk anywhere, usually the best areas to walk is the riverbanks because that's the most stable soil. Otherwise, it's bog, [a] kind of swampy, [waist-high] marsh muskeg."

"The likelihood is he may have entered the river to try to cross and was swept up in the water."

"There aren't too many people on this planet that could make that trek. The fact that he actually almost made it, it's impressive."

RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre  

Steffen Skjottelvik is shown in a 2023 photo. (Steffan Skjottelvik/Facebook)

 

"He has dreamed about crossing Canada by foot for a number of years. By foot in summer, and with dog sled in winter."

"He has saved money for many years to be able to do this trip."

"He has prepared himself for this trip for many years. He got to know many people while walking. He also lived with them for longer periods, before moving along."

Uncle Lars Jorgen Sorensen, Norway  

A young Norwegian adventurer, seized with an experience he imagined he could pull off, the adventure of a lifetime. Perhaps in his enthusiasm it hadn't really occurred to the 29-year-old that this adventure would shorten his lifetime, but then the young don't think like that typically; they focus on the adventure, not the potential consequences. 

 

He might perhaps have done well in his preparations, to have consulted a book titled The North-West Passage by Land, authored by two men who had set out on a journey quite like the one young Steffen imagined for himself, almost two hundred years earlier. That was when adventurers from Britain, skilled with similar experiences set out to make their way from Canada's east coast to its far-flung west coast. They faced similar conditions, but had decided they would lay over the winter in Manitoba after their overland journey that got them that far to await spring before continuing their journey.

 

This young Norwegian trekker who set out with his two dogs over a wild and remote terrain that would challenge the physical and mental resources of any fit, athletic and resourceful outdoorsman whose ambition was to face an arduous journey with resolute determination, has disappeared. He managed quite a journey, facing the dangers of treacherous muskeg and swift-moving northern Manitoba rivers on his cross-continental trip across the Canadian wilderness.

 

Last month he had set out hiking from Fort Severn Ontario with his two dogs. RCMP officers in Gillam, Manitoba had been contacted Friday when Steffen Skjottelvik's expected arrival at York Factory, 850 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg failed to materialize. Alarm was initially raised when one of his dogs appeared on its own, exhausted, at York Factory, the young man nowhere in sight. The second dog might have been lost in an altercation with wolves.  

 

Searchers continue looking for Norwegian trekker Steffen Skjottelvik, 29, who went missing near York Factory, Man., after setting out from Fort Severn, Ont., on a solo hike along the Hudson Bay coast. His last message was sent Aug. 14, just 20 kilometres from his destination. Photo by Steffen Skjottelvik /Winnipeg Sun

Locals responded to the situation immediately it became clear that the young man appeared to have met with misfortune; given the circumstances of weather, terrain and adversarial wildlife, a not totally surprising situation. Searching the region by boat and plane is the preferred option, given the danger posed by the terrain for anyone attempting to canvass the area on foot, as the young Norwegian had done, to his great peril.

From a Facebook group that developed with the distinct purpose of tracking Skjottelvik's journey, it appears he had planned to trek from James Bay, the vast distance to Alaska. Police advise that the young man would have had to cross six or seven rivers by foot, all the while alert to the need to fend off wildlife, including wolves and polar bears. Hayes River nearby his destination is one of the swiftest-moving rivers in the country. There is, furthermore, a four-metre tide from the impact of Hudson Bay.

In requesting search assistance from other agencies, the RCMP has had no luck, given the clear safety risks involved. A drone was used on Monday by one RCMP officer, hoping that a heat source could pinpoint some possible evidence of a congregating of animals. It is estimated that within the next several days, searchers will have covered most of the terrain.  

Supplied image of the terrain where Steffen Skjottelvik was hiking.