Video editing services provided by Atiigo Media Inc. Music provided by Bear Mountain.

The thought of scuba diving in Iqaluit never crossed my mind; that is, until an email arrived in my inbox from a soon-to-be friend with a signature that included “Arctic Kingdom, Dive Program Coordinator” – wait, what?! My interest was piqued.

Of course, Arctic Kingdom is known for its epic northern adventures: from casual weekend getaways to Northwest Passage cruises to floe edge scuba diving safaris. But this summer, Tour Iqaluit, a local subsidiary of Arctic Kingdom, was also offering diving in Frobisher Bay.

So I rallied some friends and planned a scuba diving trip with Jamessee, an Iqalummiut who had been waiting to go diving in Iqaluit for seven years, Francois, a Quebecois who repped a Pang hat *almost* the whole time, and Rob, our fearless dive master who has spent a large part of his life submerged in Lake Malawi.

Having not been diving in eight years and having only dived in equatorial climes, there were a few lessons learned. Here’s what to expect when scuba diving in the Arctic:

Different: Clumsy gear

In Southeast Asia, all I needed was a shorty wetsuit (and some Muay Thai boxing shorts over top for good measure). In Iqaluit, a dry suit, wet gloves, neoprene hood, and thermal layers add some complexity to the experience. The extra gear takes a bit of getting used to, but luckily Tour Iqaluit offers a dry suit orientation in Upper Base Lake beforehand.