Northwest Passage finally open

I may be mistaken, but my reading of the latest imagery from the Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis from the National Snow and Ice Data Center indicates that the Northwest Passage is finally open and clear of sea ice, just a few weeks before these Arctic waters will begin freezing up again. The passage opened on August 21, 2007, which was the record low year for Arctic sea ice extent, and again on August 25, 2008, but was not open in 2009 (to the best of my knowledge.)

-- Jack Krupansky