Weekend Video: The first road to reach the Arctic

Summer is the time for road trips, and for some a simple trip to the beach just won’t do it.

The Dempster Highway is North America’s only road that runs all the way to the Arctic Ocean. Starting just south of Dawson City in the Yukon, it stretches 1,000 km north through the Northwest Territories before ending in Tuktoyaktuk, the northernmost town in Canada reachable by vehicle. It is unpaved, poorly maintained and served by just three fuel stops and a single mechanic, but the payoff is a landscape that rivals anything abroad.

In this Weekend Video, a traveller who has been to 54 countries describes a drive that filled a travel void no foreign trip ever could. With his companion Emi, he spent most days in silence, letting the views of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories do the talking. He also offers some practical advice for anyone tempted to make the journey themselves: come prepared, because on the Dempster, help is not on the way.