Free Four Degrees Celsius by Kerry Karram

forming ice on the tail plane elevators and rudder, gradually weighing the tail down. The force of the storm then threw tremendous waves bearing large pieces of ice far up on the shore smashing the elevators and rudders. All hands worked nearly all night hauling her further ashore.”
    Besieged by Arctic blasts, freezing rain, and darkness, the men attempted the near impossible — to turn each aircraft around, facing outward, to protect the more fragile tail assemblies. As they laboured, the wind broke the thin ice up into a sharp, churning mass, cracking and shifting under their feet and slicing their legs. The spray slammed into the tail of Vance’s ’RK, freezing on contact, its weight pulling the tail and rudders down and destroying the tail assembly. Having been the most exposed, and the one that had not been changed to skis, it bore the brunt of nature’s assault.
    In the morning light, the men stood at the edge of Baker Lake. They were exhausted, soaking wet, cold, and disheartened — they had not been able to save the severely damaged ’RK. It looked like a wounded bird, with its tail and rudders broken and its wings poised at odd angles. T.W. Siers, the maintenance manager for Western Canada Airways, described the event in his report: “In the dark the machine was turned 180 degrees in so confined a space that the task seemed utterly impossible when seen in daylight.” [4]
    Knowing there was no possibility of fixing the damaged plane without parts and tools, the men continued to prepare the remaining four planes to fly out to Bathurst Inlet. The Fokkers ’SQ and ’SO had been changed over from floats to skis without problem, but the Fairchild had both main shock absorber struts missing, and the tail ski and tailskid had not been sent. Nevertheless, the mechanics managed to fashion struts from a radio mast.
    Tommy Siers documented the work done by the mechanics during the wait at Baker Lake: “The mast was made of 3” galvanized pipe. The ends were heated and flattened, then a piece of keel strip was taken from an old motor boat and driven into the flattened ends and bolted into place and holes drilled for attaching to the machine.” [5] Since the mechanics couldn’t find any large bolts, they used the standard hardware bolts, most likely made from softer steel. It was the only choice they had, but one that would present a grave problem in the future. Siers used an ordinary garden shovel for the tailskid, and they continued to do their best with what they had at hand, which proved to be remarkable in retrospect.
    It wasn’t all work, however. The men did take time to play a few rounds of darts during some well-deserved down time. Nadin fashioned a dartboard out of a large tree trunk. He cut a two-inch piece off the end of the trunk, about the right size for a board, and with soft wire sectioned off the dartboard and numbered the sections. He then crafted darts using round pieces of wood, fitted with salvaged gramophone needles. Nadin then found a way to make feathers out of paper. Such pastimes provided a welcome distraction from the problems they were facing. [6]
    While the mechanics were working on the aircraft, Cruickshank and the other pilots continued hauling gas on Dominion Explorer dogsleds to a small lake about one mile away, where the ice had formed a good, solid base. This ice would allow the planes to take off with lighter loads from Baker, land on the solid surface of the smaller lake, and then load the planes for their flight to Bathurst. But they still needed a takeoff runway to accommodate ski planes.
    Dog teams like Cruickshank’s were the primary means of transporting goods in the Far North. Travel by dog team is anything but easy, and no matter how well-trained the team is the musher can be subjected to “decisions” made by the dogs and be tossed or taken for quite the ride.
Karram Family Collection.
    Finding a suitable place