Arctic Deadhorse

Towards the Arctic along the Dalton Highway

This time we had to compromise with an organized tour as visiting the Arctic alone is quite difficult. The Dalton Hwy is certainly not suitable for the transit of normal cars. The road surface is not the best, if you then consider that there are more than 600 km in this state it becomes impossible. Moreover, rent a car rentals that rent normal cars do not allow use on dirt roads and it would be necessary to equip yourself with a specially equipped off-road vehicle.

It is in fact necessary to have an additional spare wheel and some spare parts to be able to intervene in case of need. Ask for help along a stretch without services for 240 mi. it can be quite dangerous. It is also obvious that the GSM network does not work, therefore a safety rule would require you to have a satellite phone with you. All things doable but extremely expensive. Furthermore, with this tour we can go there by plane and return by minibus, being able to see everything from two extremely different angles. With the help of good weather luck this will be the right move of the whole tour.

The aspect we least appreciate is the cut that has been attributed to the excursion. As we could have imagined, we are the only ones who are excited by finding ourselves in such a wild world, while the organization includes a whole series of leisure activities that are little suited to the magic of the place. After all, those who participate normally belong to the tourist species and not to that of travellers. Our group is also substantially represented by individuals who are not very dedicated to adventure and are rather inclined towards comfort. We have difficulty bonding with others precisely because of the different inclinations that have brought us here.

We remain totally indifferent to the sirens of gift shops who instead attract to them the few who have dared to seek the Arctic. Being able to come to the end of the world to see such intact nature, with a few exceptions, represents for us an opportunity that we consider unique and a privilege that must be fully grasped. The thirst to see and understand becomes almost maniacal, every moment must be dedicated to learning how life happens in these parts: starting with plants, moving on to animals and ending with men. Places where individuals often have to defend themselves and even fight against nature to survive, from a perspective diametrically opposed to ours, where it is weakened and stringent limits must be imposed.

Flying to Deadhorse over Yukon and Brooks Range

At 7.30 with the pilot Bill and 3 others from our group let's take off towards Deadhorse (70° north latitude) in a flight that to define as unforgettable is still an understatement. You can clearly see how Bill knows how to maneuver the Piper with skill, making the plane sway now on one side, now on the other to allow him to see the landscape better below.

In 2 hours we are at the destination airport flying at an average height of 3,000 metres. when we have to pass on Brooks Range, otherwise the cruising altitude is around 2,000 metres. The sky does not present a cloud until near the coast, where there are the classic fogs which today fortunately are not very thick and allow for a quiet landing. A strong and icy wind in the afternoon will also take these away, however contributing to further cooling the climate.

Along the journey we cross the Yukon, whose length exceeds 2200 mi. and which on Sunday we will cross on the only bridge located in American territory (three others are in Canada). The view from above offers the spectacle of the great river flowing slowly and sinuous with a whole series of meanders around it. It has a very large basin that collects all the waters that flow down from the Alaska Range in the south to the Brooks Range in the north. Crossing this last chain allows us to see from above mountains that are not as high as those further south but still rich in glaciers, also given the latitude. Even in these parts there is talk of glaciers in constant retreat, as in the rest of Alaska.

North Slope and arrival in Deadhorse

Everything north of the Brooks is called North Slope as it is precisely one slow and steady descent which slopes towards the Arctic Ocean, where all the waters flow. The chain represents only a third of a longer cordillera that caps North America. The remainder is located in Canada.

Along the journey we also fly over some gold mines located in an almost inaccessible position in the middle of the mountains. Precisely the position, together with the fogs that often loom, made the small landing strip missing two planes, whose wreckage we see below us. Bad omen for those who find themselves on a similar aircraft, dampened only by Bill's voice who reassures us that Deadhorse airport is easier to approach. In the last stretch we clearly see two parallel lines that cut the ground: one is la Dalton Hwy, the other is the pipeline that transports oil to the south.

Deadhorse, extreme oil field

Deadhorse is a village that could easily be on the moon or another planet. It exists as a service center for the Prudhoe Bay oil facilities, from which America gets much of its oil needs. The field workers live here and are parked winter vehicles. Despite being an area with little rainfall, in winter (i.e. for about 8 months) traditional vehicles are not used, but rather strange vehicles similar to snowcats, with special tires that replace the tracks, capable of moving easily on snow-covered surfaces. Some are real pick ups with rubber tracks. In some cases, to harden the surface, water is spread which, when frozen, creates a layer as if it were asphalt. This system is used regularly on the Dalton Hwy.

At the airport we are picked up by the minibus with which we will continue the journey, which marks a temperature of 34° F (corresponding to +1.1° C.). In case we hadn't figured it out yet, we are in the Arctic. But in Fairbanks they told us that the severity of winter is felt more there than on the coast, where the ocean slightly mitigates its impact. What makes the difference is that here the storms sometimes make the climate at the limits of survival.

We are transported to the our hotel accommodation a few km away. These are containers used as bedrooms, which in other seasons are moved and used on the pack to host scientific researchers or operators within the oil fields. We sensed from the start that we would have to drink very little at dinner. Not so much for the alcohol risk: the area is so-called "dry". This means that the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited. The first beer is probably at least 300 km away.

What convinces us of water moderation is the fact that the toilets are housed inside the large container kitchen and refectory. To get there you need to go out and cross a 20 meter courtyard. Fortunately (or unfortunately) they say that white bears do not frequent the area in this period as they are engaged in seal hunting on the ice which is located on the summer edge of the pack ice. A limit which unfortunately is retreating year after year.

Life at Deadhorse Camp

Spending a night in Deadhorse Camp turns out to be a very worthwhile experience. In fact, we share food and services with the employees of the oil companies and we can understand how difficult it is to work in these latitudes. It doesn't take long to understand how the phone becomes an essential element for maintaining contact. Even if they are housed inside the large block that contains the kitchens, life coincides with work. The few leisure activities are necessarily indoors, therefore there are work shifts of 12 hours a day for two weeks in a row. They then return home for the same amount of time. The companies offer food, accommodation and flights to your destination (via Fairbanks or Anchorage) included in the already generous salary. 400 to 600 people work there.

That the majority of workers are men can easily be seen from the fact that there are many more male bathrooms than female ones. Furthermore, it is an area where femininity is little suited to work and external conditions, despite having seen several ladies employed in professions that have much to teach the delicate gentlemen of our latitudes.

Buildings cannot have foundations due to permafrost. They are therefore supported on the ground by large feet similar to skis. Many of these prefabs can slide or have wheels.

In the morning we still have a couple of free hours and we take the opportunity for a walk along the Dalton in the last km that lead to Deadhorse, crossed by frequent (for the place) trucks loaded with pipes for drilling and everything necessary for the functioning of the fields. Calling it a country makes no sense, there is absolutely nothing beautiful about it and it doesn't even pretend to be. It is actually a set of metal buildings hosting workshops and all kinds of professional services necessary for mining activity. However, it remains extremely characteristic and has no equal anywhere else in the world.

They are stored outside container generators or TV or meeting rooms. At the same time there is also a huge car park where an incredible number of expensive machines are lined up. It is the kingdom of Caterpillar with its mastodons dedicated to earthmoving, but also to every other need in some way linked to extraction. Everything seems to stand still, while in reality everything is moving in this city where technology is applied to the far north.

In the midst of all this realm of mechanics, we see the frequent lakes we encounter swans and other birds capable of resisting the rigors of the cold. Not far from our accommodation a caribou walks around grazing on lichens waiting to join its herd to perform the migration. However, he must be careful: further south the hunting has begun and in the following days we will see many of them lying on pickup trucks or their horns on the roof racks of pickups.

Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean

We return to the base where we eat a couple of sandwiches that we had brought with us and we meet Emma, the young guide and driver who will be with us for the remaining two and a half days. The other members of the group are a rather mature and multi-ethnic company: two German ladies, an Australian couple, a Chinese mother and daughter and a French woman of Moroccan origin. On a single minibus we see the 5 continents represented in some way. Only the Americans are missing, but the guide is.

Around 3.30pm we head towards Deadhorse for an official visit to this convulsive amalgam. We visit the northernmost General Store in the world, where absolutely everything is sold and also represents a socialization center for those who work in the area. On the lower floor there is a large hardware and various tools department, while on the upper floor there are souvenirs and purchases for the home. Since everything represents something new, it is worth carefully observing everything inhabited, half or simply a tool that is within sight.

For example, it attracts our attention in a sort of way crossbar from which electrical wires hang complete with a grip on the bottom: connected to the cars they are used in the winter months to prevent the engines and various liquids found in the vehicles from freezing. We will learn later that this system works with temperatures down to -40°, above which the engines are kept running 24/7, i.e. continuously.

So let's start Prudhoe Bay which is located a few km away. It is not a country, but a very large oil field close to the ocean. For safety reasons it was necessary to communicate the personal details in advance to the body that manages the control of the oil fields. We are ready to go and visit the actual installations.

It all begins at the Caribù Inn, a hotel/residence where we see a film sponsored by BP that explains how the drilling and extraction of black gold take place. They do not fail to point out how maximum attention is paid to preserving the environment and the well-being created in the population, primarily the natives, is underlined. After this smattering in the Arctic room we are ready to leave.

Contrary to what we thought, Deadhorse is nothing more than a camp with a very limited surface area compared to Prudhoe Bay, whose extension occupies the entire coastal strip and penetrates a few kilometers inland. It is a veritable mess of drilling stations that reach out to the open sea. Access to the latter and consequently to the ocean is in fact prohibited to private individuals, permission must be obtained and you can only go in groups accompanied by staff.

It being understood that in these times there are never too many security measures, everything smells of large lobbies and the desire to prevent uncontrolled intrusions. Just think of some ecology extremists without having to get to actual terrorism. In this realm, BP has the lion's share, but Shell, Exxon and Conoco Phillips are also in the mix. Even if we see the fields limited to what is granted to us, it is inevitable to understand what interests are at stake and what the political-economic lobbies that interact and govern them are. The impression one gets from this coincides with that of the imperialism that many Americans have, in stark contrast to the high standards of civility and respect that instead characterize individuals.

But let's get back to our adventure in the north of the north. With the Arctic Ocean Shuttle minibus driven by a diligent local ranger we pass the access checkpoint with the order that it is forbidden to film it. We wander between what are called DS (Drill Site) and points where the gas sucked in with the oil is reintroduced into the subsoil. The pressure of the gas thus injected will increase the rising pressure of the oil. At the same time, the gas stored in these natural underground containers represents a bank from which to draw when the need arises.

Everything is connected with gas pipelines or oil pipelines which converge at pump station nr. 1, from which the pipeline arrives in Valdez. From the outside it is all a network of ducts and suction or pumping blocks. The drilling is essentially carried out in winter, as is the work offshore, taking advantage of the frozen sea and therefore accessible by vehicles equipped with special tyres.

We finally reach the Arctic coast that extends as far as the eye can see. At this moment the pack ice is several hundred km away, also due to global warming which is increasingly moving the edge of the ice pack further away. Polar bears are currently found in these places. We are told that plantigrades do not frequent the area much even in winter, or at least not like in Barrow where they are literally at home. The wind is freezing and the perceived temperature could even be below zero.

In winter the sea freezes for about 15 ft. (4.5 m), forming a single plain that unites land and sea. To get here there are three possible ways: the Dalton Hwy by land, by air or by barge circumnavigating Alaska. The latter system is used for heavier transports but the season lasts a maximum of two and a half months, therefore it is used for the transport of bulky infrastructures to be assembled on site. On the pebbly coast there are many trunks now smoothed by the salt: we are told that they come from Canada, carried out to sea by the McKenzie and then brought back to shore by the waves. Just before reaching the sea we come across large accumulations of gravel, they say it is contaminated by oil but it is not possible to understand whether they are sediments extracted with the liquid mineral or whether they are the consequence of disastrous leaks or other accidents.

Industrial activity began in 1968, while towards the mid-1970s the pipeline became operational, the construction of which lasted 5 years and represented the largest private investment in the history of the oil sector. It is still one of the largest extraction sites, providing 40% of the oil needed by the USA and a good percentage of the gas. Before the deposits were exploited industrially, the Indians were already drawing from the outcrops to collect the flammable liquid and use it for combustion in lamps.

Ironies of the North: Deadhorse National Forest

At least on paper, great attention is paid to the safety aspect against possible pollution. There is a group specialized in the identification and remediation of oil leaks, which has sophisticated means at its disposal for the intervention. At the same time each area has a fire brigade. There is also a first aid medical center, in the event of more serious accidents a doctor is immediately sent from Anchorage who takes care of putting the injured person in a position to be airlifted to Anchorage itself or to Fairbanks.

In an attempt to give a pleasant appearance to the agglomeration where no shrub grows larger than a few tens of centimetres, the Deadhorse National Forest, consisting of three trees made of wooden planks and painted green. Above stands the name of the sponsor, one of the companies operating in the area, it seems to belong to Dick Cheney, George W. Bush's former vice president.

Near the Arctic coast there is an area of sand dunes where in winter grizzlies come to dig dens and create a refuge for winter hibernation.

After a couple of hours the ranger takes us back to the Caribou Inn where we had met and thus ends the tour of the oil plants. A tour of great interest in which we were given interesting insights into an activity we had never seen before. Everything happened in a careful way not to provide information that could in any way conflict with the interests of the companies and under the watchful eye of those who guided us. Furthermore, the strategic sensitivity of the place and the potential risks to which it is subjected must also be understood.

There are also three intrepid men with us motorcyclists (including a woman) who have covered the entire Dalton Hwy. They say it is not particularly difficult, the only big problem is having to stay concentrated on the road in front of you. The slightest distraction and you end up thrown off your horse, maximum attention for a dirt road route that is superior to the one between Turin and Rome on the outward and return journey. One of them (they are all on BMWs) made the journey by motorbike from the southernmost point of the USA in Florida to the northernmost point. They are 5500 mi., much more than the famous coast to coast which extends from east to west.

Evening in Deadhorse

Having returned to our compound for a simple yet pleasant buffet dinner in the prefabricated structure that serves as a refectory, before going there to rest we think about how nice it would be to see the sunset, which these days arrives very late even though it no longer reaches the so-called midnight sun, which can be seen at this latitude for over a month. All this leaves us thinking well until around 10.30pm the mists descend, bringing a minimum of darkness, preventing us from seeing the fireball sink to the west. It will probably never get completely dark at night, but we don't spend all the time contemplating and we take advantage of it for a restful sleep in one of the most northern communities in the world. We enjoyed plenty of clear skies today, on one of the rare clear days in this extreme part of the northern hemisphere.