About Us
Find about who we are, our history of 25+ years in business, our social responsibility and what guests of Weber Arctic are saying
Who We Are
A family of polar explorers. Richard, Josée, Tessum and Nansen have spent the past 25 years exploring the polar regions. Having lead some of the first polar expeditions to successfuly reach the North Pole, set speed records at both poles, recipient of the Order of Canada, renowned Arctic Wildlife photographer and worldclass polar guides, the Weber family knows Arctic. They’ve skied, kayaked, hiked and explored across Canada’s far north.
Our History
The Arctic is one of the last unspoiled areas on earth, it’s somewhere everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Richard and Josée first began exploring the Arctic in 1985, and in 1993 they ran their first commercial trek to the North Pole - and Weber Arctic was born. From 1993 to 2000 the Webers organized skiing, hiking and kayak adventures throughout Nunavut.
In 2000, Arctic Watch on the shores of Somerset Island in the Northwest Passage was purchased because it offered so much of what the Arctic holds - all in one location. Guests can kayak with beluga whales; fish for arctic char; go ATVing or river rafting; see icebergs, polar bear, and muskox; visit archaeological sites and bird rookeries; hike the Badlands; and so much more. Since the existing structure had been empty for several years, it required a lot of hard work to prepare for guests. In 2007, a bulldozer was driven across the ice of the Northwest Passage from Resolute Bay to Arctic Watch. It took a week, but enabled them to build an airstrip so now guests can comfortably fly direct from Yellowknife, NWT in three hours. Arctic Watch has a short summer and is only open for the months of July and August enabling guests to take full advantage of the midnight sun.
By 2008, it was time to look for a location for a second Arctic lodge. The Webers found it on Ennadai Lake in the Barren Grounds. The original structure was built in 2002 as a fishing & aurora borealis lodge that ran from 2003-2005. In 2013 after partnering with Aleeasuk Idlout and Aziz Kheraj of Resolute Bay, Richard and Josée reopened the lodge and renamed it Arctic Haven. The location is a perfect complement to Arctic Watch - it’s an equally magnificent, yet completely different region of the Arctic. Home to hundreds of thousands of caribou, wolves, wolverines, foxes, birds and more. Experience world-class fishing, hike alongside caribou on their migratory path, kayak the 84 km long lake, and snowmobile. Arctic Haven offers adventure packages in the Spring (April-June) and Fall (End of August - September) - the perfect time to take in the majesty of the northern lights.
In 2022, with the extremely unfortunate decline of the caribou population, the Weber Family decided to close Arctic Haven. Read more on the press release here.
In 2015, the Weber Family took the next step towards building a new basecamp. Having led numerous expeditions across Baffin Island, the Weber family knew that the fiords of Baffin held good skiing with the potential for a heli-skiing site. An arctic adventure that would not only show guests a unique arctic mountain setting, but provide access to the world’s northernmost heli-skiing tenure in a place that few have ever set foot upon. Nestled amongst the granite walls of the Arctic cordillera, Basecamp Baffin was born.
In 2024, Nansen & Tessum founded Weber Powder - The Backcountry Adventure company in British Columbia. See more at www.WeberPowder.com
Testimonials
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We understand that booking a trip like this is a big endeavour. Please reach out to us with any questions that you might have regarding your upcoming adventure.
Social Responsibility
The Arctic is an environmentally fragile area. Due to the locations of Arctic Watch, we are keenly aware of the sensitive nature of the land and wildlife that surrounds us, and as such, we strive to make as little impact as possible. The maximum number of guests per week at Arctic Arctic Watch is 26. These are the numbers we feel the land can support and not disturb the animals. Our airstrip has been designed to decrease the impact on the environment. A system of trails are maintained to prevent scarring the land. At Arctic Watch water is sourced from the Cunningham River. The black sewage is mulched and deposited in a small lagoon (4x2 metres), where it naturally breaks down. We have two of these small lagoons, and it takes approximately six or seven years to fill, by which time the other one is ready to be used again. Grey water is filtered then pumped out of the camp to a specially prepared bed where it evaporates and is absorbed back into the gravel. We use environmentally-friendly products are used for cleaning. Additionally, we take care to ensure our garbage is handled in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Metal, glass, plastic and non-burnable garbage is packaged and returned to Yellowknife. All burnable refuse is disposed of in our incinerators. The federal government makes yearly inspections to ensure that all of our systems conform to the environmental standards.
The changes to the Arctic climate have been drastic over the last few years, therefore we keep the number of guests to a minimum so not to disturb the local ecosystem.