Each spring Pagnirtung hosts the Nunavut snowkite festival, attracting windsport enthusiasts from various disciplines like traction kite flying, snowkiting, paragliding, snow sailing, and even hot air ballooning. Snowkiting in particular has seen a large increase globally (it's the fastest growing adventure sport) and the Canadian Arctic is no exception. These days it's easy to look out the window and spot several multi-colored snowkites dotting the skyline in Pangnirtung. The same is true for Iqaluit and most of the other 16 Arctic Communities. "As a mode of non-consumptive self propelled transportation, snowkites have proven to be both an invaluable tool and toy for many Nunavut residents" says snowkite instructor Martin Hanzalek during an interview with Nunavut News North. "It's not just adventure seekers that are out there enjoying snowking. Hunters, researchers, and dogsledders alike are seeing the value and efficiency arctic wind travel provides. It's a great tool and an amazing backup for when your snowmobile breaks down. I certainly never leave home without one.
Pangnirtung is located close to the entrance of Auyuittuq National Park, the first National Park to be established in Nunavut and the one best known for it's glaciers and mountains. Auyuittuq is Inuktitut for "the land that never melts". The arctic circle runs right through the middle of Auyuittuq park which is also home to Mount Thor (featured in a James Bond film) and the Penny Glacier, an ice sheet rivaled only in size by Antarctica and Greenland.
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