Yesterday was the start of the 2010
Yukon Quest sled dog race here in Fairbanks. A 1,000 mile race from here to Whitehorse, Canada (reverse in odd numbered years), it is said to be the most difficult due to the varied terrain and harsh weather.
Despite overcast skies, it was a much more pleasant day to watch the start than
in 2008, when it was around forty below zero. The start line is on the frozen Chena River in the heart of downtown, below the Cushman Street bridge. It's quite a sight watching hundreds of excited dogs anxious to get running.
New this year, most of the racers can be
tracked online thanks to GPS devices. By this evening mushers have already started to arrive in Circle, 162 miles northeast of here on the Yukon River.
See more photos and a few video clips
Active but dim aurora on February 3rd
The aurora borealis has been rather infrequent in appearances during my time here in Alaska, due to the current solar minimum. The sun has an eleven year cycle of activity, and the current lull has been recently be said to be the most severe in a century. Things are expected to turn around soon however, with activity already on the increase, and could reach a maximum by 2012.
NPR had
a story the other day about the fear the past few years have created a false sense of security. Airlines have greatly increased the number of transpolar flights, taking advantage of the solar minimum and new jets with longer range. With increased magnetic activity near the poles however, communications could be disrupted.
Some Londoners are even worried about satellite broadcast disruptions of the upcoming Summer Olympics there. It will be interesting to see what will happen as technology has become so much more advanced and a part of daily life than it was around the last maximum more than a decade ago.
At the end of December I escaped to the midlatitudes for a couple of weeks back in Northern California. It was nice to spend some time with family and friends, though as always the time seems far too short.
Yesterday was the northern hemisphere's winter solstice, when the Earth's tilt is furthest from the sun. The short days and low sun are particularly noticeable at high latitudes. In Fairbanks, there was just three hours and forty-two minutes from sunrise to sunset, and the sun only reached a few degrees above the horizon. This results in very little energy being absorbed by the ground (less than four watts per square meter), and consequently when clouds clear out temperatures can easily fall to forty below zero.
More than in years past the low angle of the sun was particularly noticeable to me. Behind a low hill or looking out an east facing window one might not see any daylight. Even at midday it would appear the sun was setting by its golden glow along the mountains of the Alaska Range.
Due to the elliptical orbit of the Earth, the sun's return is not very fast in winter. While in the spring day length can increase by as much as eight minutes a day, it is currently increasing some number of seconds. January is often the coldest month in Fairbanks, and temperatures to forty below have even been recorded in March.
Snow starting to accumulate in late October
Winter was a bit late in its arrival, but it is now fully upon us. After an initial dusting at the end of September, the snow stayed away until nearly Halloween. The first significant snowfall didn't start until October 26th, with the first inch of accumulation two weeks later than average and 7th latest in the last hundred years. It was a good start though, with 5.3 inches over three days. Six inches have fallen so far this month, about half of normal.
Late November cold snap
Last week saw the first bit of cold hit the Interior. Temperatures stayed below zero the whole week, and reached down to 34 below at the airport on Saturday, before rebounding back above zero Sunday evening. Other, more isolated spots like Bettles and Fort Yukon reached down into the 40s below zero.
October 14th aurora borealis
The days continue getting shorter, soon to be around five hours of daylight. With the switch back to standard time, sunset is rather early at around three in the afternoon. Unfortunately despite the darkness and quite a few clear nights, the aurora remains elusive. Since September, it has only been visible in town once and was not very bright.
View from Angel Rocks towards the highest point on the trail
On Sunday, I joined a couple of friends on a hike in the
Chena River State Recreational Area east of town. Starting at mile 49 Chena Hot Springs Road, we took the Angel Rocks to Chena Hot Springs Trail. The trail is around eight miles long, but very quickly climbs around 2,000 ft in elevation. The landscape is littered with granite tors, molten rock that cooled before reaching the surface millions of years ago, that have been exposed by weathering of surrounding dirt. The area also shows signs of the massive 2004 wildfire that swept through.
The top of a granite tor
At the trailhead, not much higher in elevation than the university, there were patches of snow up to an inch or two deep. Climbing upward the amount increased a fair bit, with drifts up to about a foot. This made finding the already seldom marked trail more difficult, and walking across the scattered rocks more of a minefield. Treeless tundra at the top of the ridge made the trail-marking cairns more visible, as well as affording views in all directions of the surrounding wilderness.
Topographic map showing our approximate path (click to enlarge)
The amount of daylight in Fairbanks is rapidly decreasing, with a loss of around seven minutes each day. The equinox is not until next week, so there is still more than twelve hours of light, but there is also plenty of darkness, allowing the aurora to once again be visible.
- posted September 16, 2009
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Topographic map showing our approximate path (click to enlarge)