( CNN ) -- Traversing the infamous Northwest Passage was an experience unlike any other I 've been through . During a grueling 14-day expedition through the ice-strewn Arctic , our seven-man team faced challenges that not even the intense training we went through beforehand could prepare us for . It is one thing being told what the Arctic is like : seeing it and living it firsthand is quite another . The only one among us with adventure experience was Bear Grylls , our unflappable expedition leader , but by the time we finished we all felt like hardened veterans . From our start point in Pond Inlet , to the pride and relief of reaching Darnley Bay a fortnight later , the journey covered 5700 nautical miles . And if you 're imagining us in an ice-breaking ship , think again . This was all done in a rigid inflatable boat , making us the first crew ever to navigate the Passage in such a vessel . As if creating that piece of Arctic history was n't a thrilling enough prospect , the encounters the journey threw up -- from rescuing a fellow explorer ( and his dog ) from an ice choke , to stumbling across the possible remains of legendary Arctic explorer Captain Franklin -- made the expedition truly unforgettable . Both those incidents , however , were reminders that in the excitement and adrenaline of adventure , it is easy to forget the all-too-real dangers that the Passage has for centuries presented to those who take it on . Ice chokes , growlers ( floating icebergs ) and freezing winds during the day , and turbulent seas when night fell ( with a member of a team knocked unconscious during a particularly heavy storm ) served as a constant reminder that we were very much at the mercy of the environment . Standing guard with a shotgun during an overnight stop at Ross Point , scanning the horizon for grizzly bears , certainly brought that feeling home for me . Perhaps the most frequent emotion I felt , however , was amazement at seeing up close the reason that brought me to the Arctic in the first place . The expanses of ice-strewn water in the Passage are an incredible sight , but they are also a brutal reminder of the climate change that has so changed this landscape . There is a certain irony that the isolated seas of the Passage , the very outer limits of the populated world , should represent a universal concern for the world as a whole . In embarking on the trip , we each knew the challenges that we would personally confront , but in the shifting ice we saw a vivid metaphor for maybe the biggest challenge facing all of us . It is now almost unanimously acknowledged that industrial development and rapid population growth has modified the environment in which we live , and some of the changes in global climatic conditions are already obvious . Nowhere is this more poignant that the Northwest Passage . Until 30 years ago this series of very deep channels that wind through Canada 's Arctic Islands was frozen all year round . In the last few years , however , changing climate has caused the ice to thin and melt , and during the summer months it is now possible to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific . In 10 years , the legendary Passage could be open sea . This is why Future Capital Partners decided to back the expedition . Whilst raising awareness about the effects of global warming and fundraising for charity , we hoped we were also able to promote the role of businesses in reversing -- or at least slowing down -- the global warming process . Crossing the Northwest Passage you understand why this is just the beginning of what has to be done .
Expedition through Northwest Passage showed declining glaciers . Comment: Changing climate has melted ice making it possible to cross from Atlantic to Pacific during summer .