Biathlon 2020 – Part 1

I was packed and ready to go on the morning of January 21.  Frank gave me a ride to the airport.  Night was still present because of dark season.  My watch displayed 7:45am but outside it looked like 7:45pm.  We arrived at the airport at 8am.  The two female cadets arrived several minutes later.  The only large items we were bringing were the skis, poles, and boots.  The organizers would be providing the .22 calibre competition rifles.  We checked in and then waited for the plane to arrive.  Several other passengers arrived to check in.  We would be travelling on a regular Canadian North flight. 

(I should note that First Air & Canadian North have merged into one airline.  Unfortunately, Canadian North was chosen as the name of the newly merged airline.  First Air sounds better to me.)

The plane arrived just after 9am and was refueled by the ground crew.  We boarded twenty minutes later.  Competitors, coaches, and officers were allowed to travel in civilian clothing.  The flight to Iqaluit was mostly uneventful.  I was surprised the food was provided by Big Racks.  A fire gutted the Iqaluit restaurant in November last year.  Maybe the owner & his staff are making the food somewhere else while the building gets repaired?  Whatever the reason, the chicken sandwiches we were provided were alright.

Iqaluit Deep Sea Port.
January 21, 2020.

We saw the sun as the plane approached Iqaluit.  I was expecting the pilots to land the plane at the northern end facing south but instead they flew around and landed on the southern end facing north.  This enabled me to take another picture of the town’s deep sea port.  It looked exactly the same as it did in November.  We deplaned and entered the spacious red terminal building.  We waited several minutes in the Arrivals Area to collect our luggage.

Family of Eight (2008).
Tim Pitsiulak.

The Iqaluit terminal is decorated with many Inuit works of art.  There are murals, paintings, carvings, and sculptures on display.  One of my favourite works happens to be located in the Arrivals Area but you might miss it if you don’t look in the right spot.  The work is by the late Tim Pitsiulak and it’s called, “Family of Eight” (2008).  The mural depicts a family of eight people on one atv and it’s painted on a high ceiling.  I like it because I’ve seen that many people and more on an atv in Nunavut.  I would like to own a framed copy one day.

We took a taxi to the hotel.  We would be overnighting in Iqaluit instead of Ottawa.  We were given separate rooms.  We spent the rest of the day shopping, eating, and walking around town.  Several friends & extended family members came to the hotel to visit the cadets.

We were back at the airport in the early hours of January 22.  We checked in, waited around, and then went through security.  We met the two Iqaluit air cadets from 795 on the secure side at the departure gate.  I introduced myself and handed them envelopes containing important information about the competition.  We boarded the large Canadian North plane for Ottawa.

Flying above the clouds to Ottawa.

Suburb.

The plane arrived in Ottawa after a three-hour flight.  Our next flight was to Edmonton but we had to wait several hours before boarding.  Thankfully, there are numerous food outlets on the secure side for people to satisfy their appetites.  Speaking of outlets, there’re also plenty of electrical outlets for people to charge their electronic devices.  Previous generations were “glued” to books; now it’s smartphones.  Same behaviour, different device.  We finally boarded the Air Canada plane in the late afternoon.

I wasn’t expecting the first hiccup in the trip to happen so early.  When the plane entered Edmonton airspace, the captain informed us the airport was experiencing blizzard-like conditions.  The captain tried twice to land but was unsuccessful.  We were diverted south to Calgary.  The first thing I did when the plane landed was inform my superiors.  As we all know, we’re not allowed to make phone calls during flights.  I was instructed to stay on the plane with the cadets and wait. 

Waiting for our luggage in Edmonton.

For the next two hours, the flight crew kept everyone hydrated & fed with bottled water & snacks.  The captain kept us updated every 30 minutes.  The new regulations introduced by the Federal Government last summer made these tasks mandatory.  I didn’t realize how far behind Canada is when it comes to air passenger rights.  The new regulations are a step in the right direction but critics say more needs to be done.  Unfortunately, we weren’t deplaned.  The option to deplane was given to individual passengers, but with the following conditions: you wouldn’t be allowed back onto the plane; your checked luggage wouldn’t be taken off; and you were on your own for finding accommodations in Calgary.  Surprisingly, several people did choose to get off the plane.  The captain was finally given clearance to fly back to Edmonton.  Looking back, in the time we were stuck on the ground (2 hours), we could have been deplaned to stretch our legs and use the washroom facilities.        

  

We landed in Edmonton late at night.  The time was well past midnight when we met the captain, tasked with picking us up, in the Arrivals Area.  Thankfully, she hadn’t been waiting long.  We picked up our luggage & skiing equipment, and loaded them into the military blue van.  The captain got behind the wheel and drove us to CFB Edmonton.  We would meet the other northern cadets there. 

To Be Continued . . .