Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

[kuhio98]

Wow Lisa! Thanks for sharing. I concur with Johanna's post. More! Tell us more!

My question though, is there a big difference in temps between Anchorage and Prudhoe Bay?

Right this minute it is -5 F (-22 C) in Prudhoe and 43 F (6 C) in Anchorage. Looks like when I fly home on Thursday, I'll be leaving winter and heading into spring!

[ramanth]

Wow! What a nice change.

[kuhio98]

That was amazingly fascinating! BUT, it makes me want to know more, more, more! Do you work for BP or Ford? Are you 'on' round the clock while you are on your two week stint? Is this the coldest place on earth? Do you live 'on site'? If not, are you worried when you travel to/from work? Do you live on a compound? Do you leave the compound? What do you do/is there to do in your free time?

When it is super duper cold (below -20), what sort of gear do you wear to stay warm? Is there fear of frostbite within minutes at certain temps? What happens when someone is out driving and the truck breaks down? Is there a need for an immediate response?

You have your own room? (as when I think of dorm room, I think of 4 people). Shower facilities? Meals are cafeteria styled? Do you have cable TV? A gym?

Sorry if I am prying. All of these things (and I didn't even ask all my questions) are really interesting to me.

I promise to get back with you and post answers and photos if possible in this thread.

[kuhio98]

I think I answered all the questions, but if not, post 'em here.

That was amazingly fascinating! BUT, it makes me want to know more, more, more! Do you work for BP or Ford? Neither. I work for a company called Mactec. BP had subcontracted out some of their maintenance work. I work for the fire and gas department.

Are you 'on' round the clock while you are on your two week stint? I work from 6:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. 7 days a week. We do not have a night crew for our work. But, a lot of facilities do. When I fly home on Thursday, my alternate (Sue) will fly up and work. Think of it as job sharing. We each work 2 weeks out of the month while the other one is off having a good time with her critters. (Sue has 2 Goldens that are the sweetest things).

Is this the coldest place on earth? I don’t think so. I imagine that the coldest place on earth would be in Siberia or Antarctica. Ok, I Googled it and found: Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth, with the lowest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth of -90 °C (-130°F) having been recorded there in 1983 at the Russian Vostok Station.

Do you live 'on site'? If not, are you worried when you travel to/from work? Do you live on a compound? Do you leave the compound? I am lucky enough to live and work in the same building. I just need to walk through camp and I’m at work. Never even have to put a jacket on. But, most people live in camp (the name of my camp is BOC – Base Operations Camp) and work at another location. Each morning, they get up, eat breakfast, pack a lunch and catch a shuttle bus to their facility. Yes, I leave the camp/compound. I usually borrow a truck from our motorpool to drive over to another facility if I need to check something out.

What do you do/is there to do in your free time? There is a movie theater in the camp, gym, swimming pool, and a basketball court. But mostly I’m so exhausted after working 12 hours, I go to my room. Take a shower. Watch some TV and zonk by 9:00. Then get up and start all over the next day. Some of the guys have converted a trailer into a recording studio. In their spare time they play guitars, drums, etc. I’ve sung with them a few times. It’s fun, but it takes me HOURS to fall asleep, after I lie down, so I usually go straight to my room unless I need to do laundry.

Here’s a photo of the some guys I work with in the game room.


Here’s one end of the gym


Here’s the other end of the gym. The pyramid thing is the roof over the swimming pool.

[kuhio98]

When it is super duper cold (below -20), what sort of gear do you wear to stay warm? Is there fear of frostbite within minutes at certain temps? What happens when someone is out driving and the truck breaks down? Is there a need for an immediate response? I once broke down during the middle of a blizzard. While I was in the facility, the wind changed and so a lot of snow blew in and clogged some filter in the truck. I got about a mile down the road, and the truck died on me. All of our trucks are equipped with radios, so I radioed for help and they came and picked me up and towed the truck back to camp.

Here’s an example of our winter gear.


This is a wind chill chart that we go by to see how long a crew should be outside during cold weather. When it’s too cold to work safely – we stay in camp and catch up on paperwork.


This is a photo of a truck after a blizzard. It wasn’t a bad storm. Last year, we had one that completely covered the trucks. They looked like little loaves of bread sitting out in the parking lot! One time the snow blew under my truck and lived it off the ground! Seriously, it packed in there like concrete and the wheels were off the ground. Took the guys a few days to dig me out.

[kuhio98]

You have your own room? (as when I think of dorm room, I think of 4 people). Yes, I am lucky enough to have my own room. I share a bathroom and shower with the room next to me. Some people have to share a room with another person. I did that for years so I enjoy having my own room now. Shower facilities? Meals are cafeteria styled? Yep. Breakfast served from 5-7:30, Lunch from 11-12:30 and Dinner from 5-8. It’s all FREE! Do you have cable TV? Yep. Which is nice because I’m too cheap to pay for it at my house. A gym? Uh-huh. I’ve played volleyball there and walked the track, but mostly I’m a couch potato.

Dining room – No alcohol allowed. They are drinking orange soda and “near” beer.


Snack bar – popcorn machine, hot dogs, chips, soup and lots of hot chocolate and coffee.



Sorry if I am prying. All of these things (and I didn't even ask all my questions) are really interesting to me. You’re not prying. Ask away! I’ll do my best to answer.

Here are some other photos I think you might like.

This was a drill exercise with the fire fighters and rescue squad.


Caribou herd (last spring) right outside my window. They are unimpressed (and unconcerned) with our presence.


This one is funny! I wasn’t there when the photo was taken, but the guy to took it told me that a mama bear and her cubs were in the parking lot when a truck drove by. Mama shooed her babies to safety. Since there are no trees in Prudhoe, they climbed the safety ladder (on the outside of an old tank). Once the truck passed, they bawled and bawled trying to figure out how to climb down. They eventually figured it out. We call this one TEAMWORK! The bears have radio collars so that they an be tracked so we can get out of their way when they are coming through.


Hope you enjoyed the “visit” to Prudhoe Bay.

[sirrahbed]

I loved my visit to Prudhoe Lisa The everyday details and pictures are very interesting. I remember that such details of our family living on military installations used to fascinate some folks even though that is all I have ever know so it surely was not interesting to me. Thanks!!

I can see why you love Alaska and that the job is perfect for you. I also hate heat and do not tolerate it well. I loved living up in South Dakota and never really understood why most folks grumbled all the time. It is great that you are able to live in the same building where you work and that you have good amenities. Many of the things you describe remind me of military alert facilities - bet they use some of the same service contract vendors