Flying to Barrow, AK

[mar]

Eye of the beholder

What drives me nuts is the whole political mess we have gotten our country into over a piece of flat, baren, waste land known as ANWAR. And before anyone jumps in here from the tree hugging, bear petting, sandle wearing, latte drinking group - let me say this. If you have not been there and looked at it with your own eyes, you have no idea what you are talking about. If the Govt wants to test nukes in country - here are two great locations - Nevada and the Arctic - because there is nothing there you can hurt - its already a waste land.

Do I know you? I know a few of your colleagues but I will never understand this attitude.

I simply don't have the time to be eloquent but I *have* been there. Deadhorse, Umiat, Barter, Kaktovik, Alpine, even Old Crow.

Just because it's not the Grand Tetons doesn't mean it's not grand. It doesn't mean it doesn't have value (ecological and social)...

...but if you can't see it then forget it. In other words, if I have to explain it then you'll never see it. Sure, nuke it. That's a valuable sentiment.

Hoping for more in 2005.
'mar'

 

[Pull & Rotate]

Don't know why anyone would choose to go to Barrow. If you do go I would recommend the month of June.

 

[LT. Dangle]

Frontier Flying Service flys to Barrow at least once per day. When I worked there they used to have two flights per day, so you would have to check their schedule. They use a 1900 and you have to make a few stops along the way, but if you're not in a hurry it might be kind of fun. The flight leaves Fairbanks and goes to Barter Island, Deadhorse, and Nuiqsuit before making its way to Barrow. Their website is frontierflying.com

 

[Hovernut]

I went there last May, just after the 24-hour sun started shining. My buddy was flown up there by a local and I j/s'd. Loads were tight from SEA, but the FAI-BRW was a breeze. Nothing like deplaning out of the aft galley with both engines idling with the reverser buckets deployed!

We were there 3 days to evaluate/fix a hovercraft one of the locals purchased to run back to the fish camps during the thaw. We stayed at his house and were treated to a 'local' tour. Never saw so many snowmobile and auto hulks in the yards since my days living in northern NM! They throw nothing away!

My advice to you is to go before the thaw because all the whale meat and caribou in the 'eskimo fridges' (their front yards) will provide quite the ripe experience when the place muddies up. Nothing like eating fresh-killed whale! Nor seeing one butchered in the neighbor's front yard!

A visit to the 'top of the world' is one helluva experience, and if you're lucky on the return trip, the 737 crew will give you an astounding tour of Denali if it's out. It sure was nice to see AK up close and personal after seeing it through a periscope and submarine escape hatch a decade earlier!

www.amphibiousmarine.com my friend's business....might post BRW pics there sometime soon.

 

[coolyokeluke]

I was in Barrow in July for all of an hour. It was about +3C, blowing 20kt and overcast at 100'. We asked a local when the last time it snowed. "end of June". Then we asked when it would snow again. "could be any day now". There was lots of garbage strewn about. I doubt they have access to a dump and it would cost a bundle to haul it out.

 

[OtterFO]

Barrow is a one day trip, come in on the morning jet and leave on the evening jet. If you decide you MUST spend the night, stay at the airport inn. DO NOT stay at the Top of the World Hotel next to the bank.

I arrived in Barrow one January evening and finally escaped just under 3 years later. The average eskimo (Inupiat) displays their wealth by spreading it across their front yard. Watch out for native foods like Muk Tuk (raw whale blubber), Oonalik (Boiled whale blubber). Whaling season is late spring and early fall. If you are there in the middle to late summer the muk tuk is anything but fresh. Trust me, its tough enough to eat when fresh. Ogrook (bearded seal) is usually cooked and a pretty good meat. If someone offers you TuTu (caribou) make sure its been cooked, not prepared. Prepared means frozen raw and thinly sliced.

Trash disposal requires a person take the trash from their yard and place it in one of the 3 dumpsters placed on every street. The borough does a great job of emptying the dumpsters and taking it to the dump on the north side of town... However it requires some effort to actually take the trash to a dumpster.

Don't take any alcohol with you when you go. Barrow is "damp" which means alcohol can not be sold within the city limits and there are strict limits on how much can be brought in for personal consumtion. It also requires a permit. bootlegging is a felony.

Things to do in barrow:

Top of the World tours: all day bus tour of Barrow, including a stop at the Will Rogers/Whiley Post memorial, a tour of Illisagvik College, the native cultural center (worth an hour or two) Also a tour of the StukPak (grocery store) Hang on to your wallet.

Arctic Adventures: Tours of Point Barrow, Uses a couple of ford econoline vans with lift kits and 36" tires. Bunna, the lead tour driver is native and spent almost his whole life in Barrow. He is also a hell of a cribbage player....
Stay away from the guys doing point tours in the hummers, they sit too low to the ground and have lousy views.

Eat at Pepe's mexican reastruant. Its a step above Taco Bell, and not cheap. But you will meet Fran Tate who once gave Johnny Carson an Oosik (walrus penis bone) on live TV.....

If the Brower's Cafe is still open you get great views of the beach with your meal.

If you can get a feel for the old culture of the Inupiat Eskimo stick with it. Because almost all of that is gone. Spend a little money and purchase a handmade Baleen Boat or a seal skin hat.

good luck, what ever you do, dont get the erge to move up there......

 

[dtoften]

Don't forget to do the glacier tours in Prince William Sound.

AK737FO, you read my mind about people who have never been there telling Alaska what they can or can't do.