Days remain busy since the avalanche and the long skidoo trip back from the Fishing Derby. More than 10 hours. We even managed to get stuck in the slush for two hours between the village and the boat, at 2 in the morning... The award ceremony was an opportunity to thank all those who helped us out of the avalanche.

On May 21st, the weather is perfect to explore and measure the ice thickness around the ice island, with Christian and Jaypootie, 40km south-east of Vagabond. We sailed nearby early October with Vagabond, returning from Greenland. On May 23rd, a hunter who followed our track finds that a huge chunk already covered our snowmobiles tracks!

Before leaving, Christian gives me a new "icemeter" and a drone to do more measurements and observations during the melt period.

Meanwhile, planes hardly land in Qikiqtarjuaq (bad weather and technical problems), and GreenEdge mission is reaching a peak: 26 of us are going out for a picnic on May 24th!

At the ice camp, we welcome students on May 26th and 28th, just before the great end-of-year school party.

On Monday morning, an avalanche hit us. An avalanche of powder snow, ultra fast. We were having breakfast in the tent when the snow has buried us, our sledge was lying partly on top of us. Fortunately people have witnessed the accident, some had to run to escape the snow slide. It was a great fear for everybody. Eric managed to extricate himself from the ripped tent, I thought I suffocate under the weight of snow with Leonie on top of me in panic... Anyway, we just escaped. Then we lived a great moment of solidarity. Twenty friends worked, some helping to found our material, other reassuring and warming our traumatized girls, welcoming us all into their warm shelter, which one was quickly removed from the danger zone. Only our shovel and our boots were lost, our tent was destroyed, and we ended up with few injuries. Leonie has a bruise and a scar that heals slowly on the back of the head (which has worried us), Aurore has nothing, Eric wears a neck brace to relieve pain after a blow (hard to know exactly what happened...) and I heal a small cut to the ear, but something hit me hard on the same side, my jaw which had moved have recovered, there is probably only a small fracture in the cheekbone. Eric and I relief pain with analgesics. The shock passed, we understand that it could have been much worse...

Our colleague and friend Christian Haas arrived on Thursday for a new sea ice thickness survey. The next day, with France and our daughters, accompanied by Jaypootie and his family, we all leave together toward Nedlukseak. This is where is held the 2015 Fishing Derby, organized by the residents of Qikiqtarjuaq. Key event in the life of the village, we are all delighted to be able to perform our work while accepting the invitation of the villagers.

The lake is 130 km north of the village. It snowed so much that sometimes we need to use long ropes and two snowmobiles to pull each sled, which frequently get stuck in the slush (mixture of sea water and snow), on the ice. We need six hours to reach Nedlukseak.

The weather is beautiful when we arrived at the lake on Friday night, but deteriorates on Saturday morning. We spend more time inside the tent than out fishing or doing ice measurement in the area... relaxing time and good mood anyway. Snow is falling incessantly for two days. So much so that it ends up tumbling down the mountain...

Read more about ongoing field work, by Joannie Ferland, GreenEdge coordinator.

Because of bad weather, our team is staying in town today, while our little family is sheltering on board Vagabond.

This week, pupils had 3 day trips! Time to play, slide, fish in a lake or in the sea, visit Broughton Island caves, see Vagabond or discover GreenEdge ice camp.

This year, I felt more and more excited with the idea to see by myself what Eric's pictures showed us. And despite my inexperience, Sunday I could have this nice birthday present: some wonderful moments of free diving under the vast blue ceiling!

Controlled inspirations (being oppressed by the thick diving suit) to compensate my excitement, happiness to move in the water, to feel it infiltrated by my hairs floating outside the suit, but not feeling the -1,8°C cold water! We have to tame the environment to get the measure of it, to delight the slight dizziness under 1 meter of ice, observing 20 meters below a little diver collecting clams in a perfect lightness.

Marcel Babin, director of GreenEdge, spent five days with the crew in Qikiqtarjuaq and at the ice camp. Read also GreenEdge's blog.