My Winter Slope Trip

I have been to the Arctic Circle in January when the sun doesn’t come above the horizon.

I left on Monday toting approximately 70 lbs of arctic gear and flew from Anchorage to Deadhorse. My gear bag contained a parka, bib overalls, heavy boots, arctic mittens and a balaclava made of wool of course, all of this in the height of fashion. (No – not really.) My gear is supposed to keep me warm at 30 below in a 30 mph wind for 30 minutes – it is heavy. It also contained my overnight bag. I was spending one night so I had two complete outfits packed just in case we didn’t get back due to fog. My travel ensemble consisted of Under Armour, jeans, sweater, winter coat, head band, work boots, and leather gloves. You guessed it! I was overdressed for all of the indoor work we did.

Unfortunately, because of the time of year, we flew every flight at night and I was unable to see Denali or the Brooks Range coming or going. There wasn’t any wildlife wondering in our paths either. We landed in Deadhorse without any problems, got on the bus and started our hour long trek to Kuparuk. We passed by the start of the TransAlaska Pipeline and several other well sites. Temperatures were approximately -10 to -6 with fog and blowing snow.

The control centers and drill camps are very nice inside for the conditions that rage outside. The cafeterias are always open, and there are lounges, weight rooms, movie theaters and libraries for when the crews aren’t working their shifts. I toured some of the facilities including a drilling rig and we took time to drive to the Bering Sea. It was covered in ice and I didn’t get to dip a toe into it this time.

Tuesday, we headed to Alpine via a Twin Otter aircraft as the ice roads weren’t complete. We landed on a gravel and snow packed runway. The sky was absolutely clear and glowing a nice pink color at midday. I took the picture above from an ice road to a drilling rig. Ice roads are exactly that – a road made of ground up ice and then sprayed with water. It is just like standing/driving on a skating rink. Now where did I leave that Zamboni….

I hope the picture conveys what the tundra looks like. (I took it about 2 pm.) This area receives less than 6” of precipitation a year and it is flat. Distances can be deceiving, especially on clear days, similar to Las Vegas (without the people, smog, lights, traffic, buildings, etc.) It is very easy to think a facility is a short distance away. There is snow everywhere, but very little accumulation. It is dry enough that it simply blows from point to point and back. Every time we traveled anywhere, it was with arctic gear. If we weren’t wearing it, it was in a compartment somewhere. Weather changes very quickly and to breakdown can be deadly if you aren’t prepared.

As the day came to a close, because it had been clear, the temperature was definitely getting colder. I believe it got down to -35 that night. I missed it though as we headed back to Anchorage returning by 8 pm. Of course it was snowing here - as it is now.