Caribou Camp on the North Slope

Last weekend, Chrissy and I visited Brent's renowned caribou camp on North Slope for an extended weekend of skiing and leisure in an absolutely amazing location. We left Fairbanks on Friday at the trailhead around 10 pm, where we enjoyed a great night sleep after a long day of travel on the haul road. The next day, we traveled 8-9 miles west to the camp by ski. Our gear was picked up at the trailhead by a couple of mushers, so we were able to travel lightly. The ski to the camp was fantastic...perfect weather, great conditions:


Camp itself was pretty impressive...Chrissy and I had our own wall tent w/ woodstove:


There was also the main multipurpose tent (an incredible 12 x 20 ft), where everyone can hangout, cook, huddle around the big stove:


Some other features of camp...a lounge chair where you can bask in the sun and contemplate the Brooks Range to the south (my feet):

Also, a patriotic Alaskan flag amid caribou antlers and dogs:

An amazing thing about being on the north slope in April is the extreme temperature swings. During the daytime, it can get up to 40F in the sun. But at night, once the sun goes down, the temperature drops quickly, sometime down to -30F. Here I am, bundled up for the evening:



Brent is in the process of running all of this ~48 dogs right now to determine which ones will make the best race dogs. Unfortunately for Brent, he is only in a position to maintain around 40 dogs, so a couple of dogs are not going to make the cut. Fortunately for Brent and us, we might be willing to help him out:


This is Chrissy getting snuggly with Beaver. Beaver is about 10 months old, is very furry (like Freya), and has a very calm demeanor for a puppy. Because Beaver is so furry (and big), chances are he will not make the cut for the dog-team. Don't you think he'd be a good companion for Frey?



While our ski in was light because we didn't have to carry any gear, the ski out was another story. Heavy packs and heavy sleds made the traveling a little slower, but with this gorgeous weather, we weren't in any hurry.