The Arctic Circle, Alaska / January 2020
After our expedition to Antarctica, we found ourselves compelled to visit the Arctic also. A land of beauty, desolation and frigid cold. Cold of -40 degrees C and below. And with a desire to push north was a far as possible, our limits were going to be tested to the max.
Join us as we venture through the northern bounds of Alaska and into the Arctic Circle during a punishing winter.
On December 27, 2019 we boarded AIR NZ NZ6 from Auckland to LAX before connecting on a Delta flight to Seattle and finally onto Fairbanks.
Just before landing, into Fairbanks, the pilot made an announcement that it was -40 degrees C and to start wrapping up as it was going to be super cold. Coming from a NZ summer and in a complete rush post Christmas, I found myself in jeans and a t-shirt without a jacket. All of my extreme weather gear was in my checked luggage and out of reach. Oh well, it was only a short distance from the aircraft to the terminal. When I deboarded the plane, the cold hit me like a tonne of bricks. I found my eyelids freezing shut and my bones in serious pain. My fully charged phone lasted less than a minute before shutting down. My camera refused to turn on. Welcome to one of the most extreme locations on the planet.
Over the coming ten days, we had a plan to try and push as far north as possible, deep into the Arctic and emerge somewhere out on the Beaufort Sea or Chukchi Sea.
We collected our 4×4 off-road vehicle and headed to the city of Fairbanks. Fairbanks had an almost big city feel about it. Highways, big hotel chains. shops and fast food restaurants everywhere.
Because this is literally my definition of hell, we left immediately and based ourselves in a small wood cabin a couple hours further north. This place was super cosy and even had a yurt we could stay in.
Budget accommodation option near Fairbanks
The push north started relatively straight forward. The roads, whilst slippery, weren’t too bad. This was ice road truckers territory and we passed many of the spots notorious for jack knifing in the popular TV series. We continued north along the Dalton Highly, following the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Shortly after, we arrived at the Yukon River. It had frozen over completely and so we decided to walk from one side to the other.
Two hours later, we arrived at the Arctic Circle sign. We were now officially within the Arctic Circle. It was a great feeling. We pushed further north and onto Cold Foot. It was bitterly cold and just generally painful to be outside. The driving conditions weren’t safe. Blizzards made it impossible to see and snow was piling up everywhere. If we got stuck, no one would be there to rescue us. Nature was at its most savage and most lethal. We decided to pause.
The next day, the situation deteriorated even further. Our plan was doomed and we had to head south as soon as possible to avoid getting ourselves into more danger. It was disappointing, but we still had hopes of seeing the Chukchi or Bering Sea.
Back south and just north of Fairbanks, we had a bit of fun with some dog sledding.
That night, we joined a friend who was into Aurora chasing and captured some stunning images.
After chatting with some locals and a few pilots, it became clear there was no way for us to get to the Chukchi sea due to incoming storms and freezing temperatures. So we changed plan again, and boarded the Aurora Winter Train bound for Anchorage. This 12 hour journey was stunning and we had the train mostly to ourselves.
Arriving in Anchorage was still cold, but nothing like what we had experienced further north. It was much easier getting around here and after picking up another rental, we headed south towards Homer. At this point, we finally got to witness a frozen ocean.
We also spent a bit of time exploring around Girdwood and the Alyeska Ski Resort area.
We’ll be back some time soon, better prepared and hopefully with more favourable weather to finally push further north – all the way north.