From March 14 to April 15, 2026, Chantale Dufour and Thomas Sonveau skied about 500 kilometres without resupply, from Schefferville to Kuujjuaq. Sylvain Lamothe followed by snowmobile with the camp, and he took the pictures.
Northern Quebec, from Schefferville to Kuujjuaq54°48′ → 58°06′ N−40.4°C
Opening photo: Sylvain Lamothe.
There is no road between Schefferville and Kuujjuaq. It's 379 kilometres as the crow flies, and about 500 along an old route of lakes and valleys that links Naskapi territory to the Inuit of Ungava Bay (Espaces).
From March 14 to April 15, 2026, two skiers covered it. Chantale Dufour, 58, a retired nurse, and Thomas Sonveau, 45, originally from Belgium. Sylvain Lamothe, Chantale's partner, followed by snowmobile with the camping gear, and he took the photos on this page. They travelled 32 days without a single resupply point between the two villages.
“2 weeks with highs below −30°C and nights below −40°C (not counting the wind chill!)”Chantale Dufour, Schefferville-Kuujjuaq expedition
There were blizzards and 80 km/h winds. A binding broke, and Thomas Sonveau finished the crossing with a ski on one foot and a snowshoe on the other (Espaces).
Schefferville was founded in 1954 around an Iron Ore Company of Canada iron mine, which closed in 1982. The town has 244 residents today. It borders Matimekush, an Innu community of 661 people, and Kawawachikamach, a Naskapi community of 641, is fifteen kilometres away. You get there by plane or on the Tshiuetin train, the first railway in Canada owned and operated by First Nations. The record low there is −50.6°C, on February 7, 1950.
Sylvain Lamothe lives in Schefferville eight to ten months a year. A documentary photographer, he freelances for the Innu community, and for years his subject has been Nitassinan and its people. He puts it this way on his website: “Technological tools are the brushes I use to light up the elements of nature beyond the 55th parallel, and its Innu, Naskapi and non-Indigenous inhabitants.” His exhibition “Tshikauinu assi, Mother Earth” explores the relationship between the Innu of Matimekush-Lac John, their territory and their life in modern society.
“I use the power of the intimate portrait to tell either the emotion of a long life spent at the heart of Nitassinan, or the hope of a youth on whom the future of a Nation rests.”Sylvain Lamothe, text from his exhibition “Tshikauinu assi, Mother Earth”
He and Chantale also founded a walking club, Mamu Pemuteitau, “let's walk together” in Innu-aimun. She is its president, he its secretary-treasurer, and its board has five Innu members and three non-Indigenous members. The club walks with the communities of Matimekush-Lac John, Kawawachikamach and Schefferville, and wants to mark trails with Innu-language signs made by students at the community school.
On April 15, they arrived in Kuujjuaq, formerly Fort Chimo. It is the largest village in Nunavik, with 2,668 residents, on the bank of the Koksoak River, about fifty kilometres from Ungava Bay. The record low there is −49.8°C.
Back home, Chantale wrote to us about her neck warmer.
“The milkweed neck warmer was the only thing standing between our faces and the bite of the cold.”Chantale Dufour, back home
“An excellent product for covering my face during my 32-day ski expedition, no frostbite!”Chantale Dufour, after the crossing
In January 2024, she had already left a public review of her mittens.
“I mostly use them for Nordic skiing. My hands stay dry and warm, they're easy to take off and put back on quickly, and the seams are holding up well this time. In extreme cold, I add a shell… nice product, I love my mittens!”Chantale Dufour, public review, January 10, 2024
Sylvain Lamothe's photo journal
Thirty-two days of photos, taken by the man who followed by snowmobile with the camp.
Sylvain Lamothe
Documentary photographer, ScheffervilleHe lives in Schefferville eight to ten months a year and freelances for the Innu community. His subject, for years now, has been Nitassinan and its Innu, Naskapi and non-Indigenous inhabitants. His exhibition “Tshikauinu assi, Mother Earth” tells of the bond between the Innu of Matimekush-Lac John, their land and life today.
Chantale Dufour
Skier, president of Mamu PemuteitauA retired nurse, she came to the Matimekush-Lac John nursing station in 2020 and chose to stay. In spring 2026, she skied from Schefferville to Kuujjuaq: five hundred kilometres in thirty-two days. With Sylvain, she founded Mamu Pemuteitau, “let's walk together” in Innu-aimun, a walking club whose board includes five Innu members.
Espaces, April 20, 2026. Radio-Canada, Place publique, April 15, 2026. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Schefferville and Kuujjuaq records. The Weather Network, April 2026 record.
Photos: Sylvain Lamothe. Quotes: Chantale Dufour's comments on the Lasclay Facebook Page on September 21, 2026 and October 2, 2026, her public review of January 10, 2024, and Sylvain Lamothe's texts on his website, translated from French.
What they wore
Pieces insulated with milkweed silk, a hollow fibre that holds still air.
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