Karl Krüger will attempt it next summer.
In June 2017, Karl Krüger had a revelation while finishing the Race to Alaska (R2AK), a 750-mile stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) event: He didn’t want the two-week adventure to end.
“Every day was hard, but that last day was the rowdiest as it was pouring rain,” says Krüger, a 47-year-old from Orcas Island, Washington. “My radio was dead and I couldn’t talk to ships going by. I was very much on my own but I also felt really confident and in my groove.”
Once he was back on dry land, the sailboat captain set his sights on an even more daunting challenge: the world’s first SUP of the Northwest Passage, a 1,900-mile waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans north of Canada. He’ll attempt it in July 2020, covering up to 50 miles per day for two months, with no support crew by his side—just himself, his board, and his paddle. Overnight, Krüger will sleep in his tent on small land masses, ice sheets, and hamlets when possible.
Aside from pushing his body to the limits, Krüger also hopes the expedition will highlight the impact that climate change and geopolitics have on the native Inuit people. (They have taught him many lessons about living off the land as he’s preparing for this trip—more on that below.)
“Paddling the passage is only possible because the ice doesn’t stay frozen throughout the year anymore,” Krüger says. “Climate change caused by our use of fossil fuels is changing the locals’ relationship with the land even more.”
As Russia, Canada, Norway, and the US compete for access to oil and gas resources under the melting waters, environmentalists fear how these efforts will affect nearby communities. US-based Arctic Oil & Gas Corp. has already claimed exclusive rights to develop in the Arctic Ocean.
These advances are causing palpable tension among the local Inuit people as they battle between their need to be part of the global economy and the loss of their traditional lifestyle, Krüger explains. His journey will be captured by a film crew (who will meet him sporadically in random hamlets along the route) for an upcoming documentary titled The Next Thing.
This interview has been edited and condensed for publication.
Photos: Liv von Oelreich