Arctic summer · The Baffin Island Photographs of M.H.W. Ritchie

Summer weather on Baffin Island varied significantly between the several camps. One weather station near the coast recorded a high temperature of 71 degrees while the camp on the ice cap reported only 35 days with a mean temperature above 35 degrees. Foggy days were common; one camp reported only 54 hours of sunshine in August—despite the almost perpetual daylight north of the Arctic Circle.

An example of the massive, vertical rock walls rising from the fiord.

Mountaineers’ camp at Eglinton Fiord.

While stiff winds, rain, snow, and fog were common occurrences, the expedition also experienced clear and calm days.

Life in the expedition’s camps meant enduring extreme weather conditions on occasion, but team members adjusted well to conditions.

Eglinton Tower, one of the prominent peaks along the fiord. The 4,100 foot peak was climbed by team members in August, the second ascent on record.

The eastern edge of the Barnes Ice Cap, where an ice cliff 90 feet high borders a small lake.