Comments on: Alert, Nunavut: Top of the World

By: roch

roch — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:06:21 +0000

i have spend 6 month in alert (september 5 1995 to march 5 1996) and had a great time. as for the mailling and general supply as tampoon, at the times they was a weekly flight from trenton ontario wich took care of that and also we had a corner store were we could buy souvenir and stuff.
The flight was aproximately 7 hours.
on the station on our off time there was some club wich we could participate.
We had a radio station CHAR FM, a fair library, a photo club,a curling ring ,a music club where you could partake a ban or learn an instrument,a gym, and thhers activities. there has been a long time since i am sure there is some change since

By: John

John — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:42:20 +0000

Very interesting! Until a couple of days ago, I did not even know this place existed. I would love to see it myself someday, just so I can say I’ve been there – except I don’t know how that would be possible.

I bet it’s an awfully long plane ride too!

By: David

David — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:27:48 +0000

Sorry to burst the myth but there are NO permanent residents in Alert. DOE pers have spent up to 13 or 14 months in Alert at a time however. I spent six months up there on my first tour to Alert and a year on my second/third tour. I’d go back again tomorrow if I could. The 2009 Alert reunion is this month in Leitrim outside Ottawa. I was lucky to attend the 50th anniversary reunion last fall. My best to all Alertites and to all my fellow Zooites.

-David-

By: Kikadee

Kikadee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Canadian Forces Station Alert is manned by the Canadian military. Some of them–the “permanent residents”–used to serve there for a full year, but I think now the maximum stay is six months. They’re even awarded a badge, medal or commendation of some description at the end of their rotation, and are proud to be among “The Frozen Chozen.” The Canadian government arranges to have supplies flown in (via Thule, Greenland) and as for what they do all day, they’re usually working. At least, as a taxpayer I sure hope they are! On occasion, they’ll hire private contractors, so civilians sometimes make it up there, too. It’s got a pretty decent cafeteria, by all accounts, a gym, bowling alley, but yeah, it’s definitely not a four-star resort. Looking at my fiance’s pictures from when he served up there last summer, the decor is stuck somewhere in the early 1970s: wood panelling and bright orange curtains. As for tampons … well … let’s just say if you’re a single lady, maybe CFS Alert is the place for you. Fiance reported about three women to seventy+ men : ) I assume they bring their own feminine hygiene products.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:40:00 +0000

I didn’t find any information on the permanent residents. It’s possible they could be military, like maybe the commanding officers. Or maybe the director of the lab and family. That information came from the census bureau.

By: holly

holly — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Anthony, right on.

I’m wondering how they get newspapers and little things, like coffee filters and tampons. The hunting is probably not great, how do they get food? I can’t imagine what you would do with most of your days if it’s too cold to go outside.
I’ve concluded that each resident orders in Pizza Hut everynight and play World of Warcraft all day.
The end.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Who are the crazy people who would live there permanently?!?!?!

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Jon, that’s one thing I learned from the earlier post about the coldest places on earth. Now I can convert C to F in my head when it’s cold, but I don’t do so well when it’s hot!

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:01:00 +0000

I was wondering why you gave the temperature at the top in Celsius. Then I remembered that it wouldn’t matter, since -40 is the only temperature that has the same value in the Farhenheit and Celsius scales!

By: Kikadee

Kikadee — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Nice to see this, Miss Cellania! My fiance spent a couple summers serving at CFS Alert, and he’s got some pretty amazing photos, and stories to tell about how the guys manage to pass the time up there. Let’s just say that beer contributes to the residents’ inevitable weight gain as much as the food!

He also saw plenty of wildlife–has a video of one of his co-workers running scared from an arctic wolf, across the tundra towards the safety of a truck! It’s pretty amazing to see what DOES manage to survive in those harsh elements.

The fiance was very moved by the monument to those who died in the crashed planes. The wreckage is still there, you can wander right into the twisted fuselage and see how far the parts were strewn. He says the only thing worse than having to fly up there in a Hercules is dying up there in a Hercules.

Oh, and they have a bowling alley!