ALASKA
LEFT: A set of whale jawbones, planted in the sand to make a macabre gate in the community of Utqiagvik
ESSENTIALS 100 miles RUSSIA
AR CTIC O C EAN
Chukchi Sea
Utqiagvik
Prudhoe Bay
Barter Island NOR TH SL OPE Kaktovik North Slope
ALASKA USA
Fairbanks CANADA
B eauf or t Sea
Getting there & around
whaling exhibit, I meet guide Dorothy Levitt. “It should be snowing by now,” she says, glancing out of the window grimly. “Instead, we’ve got all this rain. That’s aff ected our hunting season — there’s less traffi c on the tundra because it’s so wet.” Dorothy is quick to acknowledge that the
oil industry has altered the way of life up here, but she believes climate change will have an even bigger impact. She’s spent her whole life in the northernmost reaches of the 49th state and explains that despite the challenges, there’s no shortage of people willing to come up when accommodation is available. Whether they can endure it or not is another thing. “We’ve had teachers arrive in August,
go into a sort of culture shock and get on the next plane back south,” Dorothy says, smiling. “Lots don’t last until Christmas, but it really depends on how you react to the environment.” How about the darkness? I’m Scottish
and, even at those comparatively generous latitudes, coping with parsimonious winter daylight is a challenge for most, and impossible for some. “I don’t think the darkness really bothers us too much here because we grew up with it,” says Dorothy with a dismissive wave of her hand. “We tell our new friends: don’t think about the remoteness too much, and don’t seclude yourself. You gotta stay involved.” This applies to the whaling celebrations,
too. Dorothy is Iñupiat but she also has some Scottish and English heritage. Both sets of forebears were lured here by commercial
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nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
whaling in the early 1900s, and while the limited hunting that takes place today serves a diff erent purpose, it does still happen — to considerable fanfare — every spring and autumn. Summers are reserved for hunting walruses and seals. I’ve never previously heard of people
eating walrus: an animal with a hide so thick as to be almost polar bear-proof. How does it taste? At this question Dorothy wrinkles her nose: “Well, OK if you boil it for long enough.” The Heritage Center has detailed exhibits
looking at the minutiae of what it all means spiritually and economically to the Iñupiat. In another room, Native Alaskans make handicraſt s and scrimshaw from walrus tusks. Outside, lengths of baleen call to mind pampas grass as they fl utter in the Alaskan breeze. All the remnants of these great creatures would seem more gruesome to me if they weren’t being put to use, weren’t so vital to the Iñupiat. “When the spring whale is caught,
we have a big celebration, including the blanket toss,” continues Dorothy as we start to say goodbye. I’d heard this custom was originally devised to help spot whales in the distance (with no signifi cant hills around, a scout would be launched into the sky, a few feet of additional height improving their vantage point). Dorothy starts laughing before I’ve fi nished asking her if this is true. “I dunno about that,” she chuckles. “I think somebody was pulling your leg — that bit is really just for fun.”
British Airways and its partner airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, offer the most effi cient route to Fairbanks, with a single stop in Seattle.
ba.com
aa.com
alaskaair.com Average fl ight time: 15.5h. From Fairbanks, local tour operators organise charters to the North Slope. These light aircraft face weather-related delays so fl exibility is built into itineraries.
When to go
It’s best to visit between May and September, which sees highs of 8C and lows of -9C. Outside of this, fl ights become less certain and the weather colder (dipping below -20C from December to March). However, leaving it later increases the chances of seeing the Northern Lights. By winter, most of the bears will be out on the sea ice.
Where to stay
Latitude 71 BnB, Utqiagvik. From £303 per night.
latitude71bnb.com Marsh Creek Inn, Kaktovik. Price on request.
marshcreekinnak.com Pike’s Waterfront Lodge, Fairbanks. From £77.
pikeslodge.com
More info
Kaktovik Arctic Tours.
kaktovikarctictours.com Iñupiat Heritage Center.
nps.gov/inup/index.htm Explore Fairbanks.
explorefairbanks.com
How to do it
GONDWANA ECO TOURS has seven days at the North Slope, bookended by nights in Fairbanks, from £6,100 per person based on two people sharing. Includes accommodation, meals, transfers, internal fl ights and polar bear guides in Kaktovik. Excludes international fl ights.
gondwanaecotours.com
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IMAGE: GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
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