Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Here Comes the Sun

A few days ago, the sun returned to Barrow ending 64 days of absence. It was only visible for a short time but people were celebrating it's reappearance. During the flight north this morning, it was dark and foggy for much of the way and even as we were approaching Deadhorse, the first stop on the flight, you couldn't see any lights during the approach. It felt a bit eerie with the fog visible in the landing lights but you couldn't see anything on the ground until passing over the end of the runway. The pilot reported that it was -54°F with a 10 knot breeze which only added to the eerie feeling. For those interested, that equates to -84°F with windchill. Cold in anyones book.

I'm in Barrow to work on the network and VoIP infrastructure as part of my project. It's much easier to get some things done when no one else is around using the network. Not much else going on except getting ready to leave for Ethiopia in a little more than a week.

12 comments:

  1. How can you beat a sunrise like that! But Richard, talk about climate shock from -54 to +75 (tomorrow's predicted temp in Addis Ababa) that is a (is my math correct????) 129 degree difference (Holy...Sh!!!!).
    That being said, hope you have time for a few photos, looking forward to them.

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    1. I believe that we are also travelling to lower elevations a few days after arriving and it is closer to 90°F but planning on taking lots of pictures. Not sure of the Internet availability there so not sure I'll be posting...

      It was a beautiful sunrise/sunset. The sun never really got that high nor was it providing any warmth.

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  2. -84 HOLY Doodle that's cold. I hope you have a good trip, looking forward to pictures when you return.

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    1. That was with wind chill and not a real temperature. The front door of the plane was open for about 45 minutes and by the time we headed to from Deadhorse to Barrow, it was getting pretty chilly. Barrow, where I am right now, is considerably warmer at -29°F and, so far, no wind. We'll see if it lasts into the weekend when I head back south again.

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  3. Ethopia! Shit you get around. -84.....mmm...not my cupof tea. Goos tuff though.

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    1. After about -30F, it doesn't really matter any more, it's just cold. The wind really does have a profound effect at these temperatures.

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  4. OMFG that is cold. I thought -40 was bad when we were in Edmonton one year, but those temperatures are too cold.

    I understand it is a windchill, but still. I am sure you can get used to it and dress accordingly, but yikes. That has to be cold even for a polar bear.

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    1. It gets windy in Edmonton which would make it feel a whole lot colder. And I don't know about the polar bears, after all they choose to go swimming in the ocean through openings in the ice.

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  5. Ethopia will be quite the change after these temperatures... gosh, that's friggin' cold, eh!

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    1. I think I'm looking forward to those warmer temperatures. Though I'll probably be commenting on the heat after the first day...

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  6. That must be a very special sunrise. Absence makes the heart grow fonder or something like that. Congrats on this first sign of approaching spring.

    Alaska to Ethiopia - quite a contrast, both in culture and climate. Safe journeys!

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    1. I think it is. many people in town mentioned that they were really looking forward to it since it marks the beginning of Spring. Not as in "Spring flowers" but longer, very bright, cold days.

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