TOP 7: THE ARCTIC OCEAN...
...where temperatures fluctuate between -20 and 3, where the mountains are made of ice--and the ocean, too.
You've trodden the sandy deserts of Central Asia and North Africa, perspired beneath the unrelenting Pacific sun, tested your physical limits on the lofty slopes of Chile. The time has come to broaden your horizons and seek adventure where temperatures fluctuate between -20 and 3, where the mountains are made of ice--and the ocean, too. Thus, to the sun-soaked among you, we present this month's somewhat frigid TOP 7 ADVENTURES ON (IN, ALONG) THE ARCTIC OCEAN...
DEADHORSE
{
GETTING THERE
Two-day ride by bus from Fairbanks, along the Dalton Highway. Alaska Airlines and Frontier Aviation also offer daily service to Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay.
}
At number seven: DEADHORSE, a town with a permanent population you could count using just one hand (seriously) and lying on the far northern coasts of Alaska. Watch the sun over the Arctic at midnight, when the light might suggest it's 10am. Easily spot the abundant wildlife along the Arctic's shores--Arctic foxes, caribou, Dall sheep, even grizzlies. Witness the Northern Lights in all their glory--you may never find such a splendid front-row seat. Be warned, however: this is not your average tourist spot--it is first and foremost an oil town, and when visiting you will be one of only a handful of tourists, if not the only one. That being said, there is lodging available. We suggest Prudhoe Bay Hotel. In terms of being extremely off of the beaten track, any adventurer would be hard-pressed to beat Deadhorse (honestly, how could we resist?).
Consider standing witness to YUKIGASSEN in Vardø, Norway. What, you may ask, is Yukigassen? A snowball fight of massive proportions--with roots in Japan and conducted according to strict rules created by the Japan Yukigassen Federation. Vardø happens to host an annual European Nordic Tournament, in which teams of seven players each vie for gold, silver, and bronze medals on specially-measured "courts." Crowds of fans gather, shouting slogans, cheering, and waving flags for various countries and teams. The town of Vardø itself is located on an island and connected to the Norse mainland by an undersea tunnel.
CHURCHILL (population: just under a thousand), in the Canadian province of Manitoba, has earned our fifth spot. Yes, the International Hydrographic Organization lists Hudson Bay as a part of the Arctic, so Churchill is fair game. Nicknamed the "Polar Bear Capital of the World," there may be no better place in which to view the mighty Lord of the Arctic than here in this small town, perched as it is on the very edge of the Arctic tundra. The town has outfitted several buses into "tundra buggies," in which you can participate in a sort of "safari on ice" in search of the great white animals. But polar bears aren't all this town offers--the water itself presents the adventurer with another of nature's marvels: the Beluga, or "white whale." Between two and three times the size of an adult human, the Beluga whale typically travels in pods and is known to be highly playful. From Churchill, Beluga sightings are common during the summer.
LORD OF THE ARCTIC
Though it requires a special permit and is only accessible for a few weeks in the summer, we had to add FRANZ JOSEF LAND to this incredible list of lists. After all, isn't it a place's extreme inaccessibility itself that lends an air of mystery to it? It would be a difficult challenge to find a more remote place that Franz Josef Land, a group of almost 200 mostly uninhabited ice-covered islands in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. A surprisingly wide variety of cruises and other tours offer packages that include this cold, icy place--though weather and other environmental conditions sometimes pose problems. The biggest limitation for most of us peasants: the usually double-digit prices. Ah, inaccessibility.
SVALBARD, not far from Franz Josef Land, commands our number three slot.
Far more accessible than FJL, Svalbard is home to several small settlements (it even boasts a university--the highest institution of its kind in the world). Here you will find plenty of opportunities to see Beluga whales, polar bears, and giant concentrations of birds. The Northern Lights are also particularly resplendent here.
SVALBARD
If you are seeking to test yourself physically--and test your nerves at the same time--you might consider DEEP-SEA SCUBA DIVING in the half-frozen Arctic Ocean. Sound like fun? If your immediate answer to that interrogative was yes, then this may be your "journey to surpass all journeys." There are some major hurdles, though, not the least of which is the fact that there are very few organized scuba dives in the Arctic Ocean. Those that exist do mostly shallow dives near the shore, and even they seem to operate irregularly. There is an answer, however! But it will test your motivation, for the requirements are steep. Your task: seek employment in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2005, this government organization conducted one of the only--if not the only--deep, deep Arctic Ocean dives ever. The team photographed the ocean floor and even discovered new species. If that isn't adventure, then we don't know what is. So. Ready to apply?
{
SOLAR ECLIPSE
Date of the eclipse viewing: 1 August, 2008.
Length of the eclipse: 2 minutes, 23 seconds.
}
THE ICE-BREAKER
For the rich (or those planning to be), an excursion to see a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AT THE NORTH POLE will certainly fill the proverbial Wanderlust Canteen of any-a-wanderer. This isn't your average expedition to the North Pole, which can usually be accomplished via several (albeit expensive) sea and air options. On the contrary, in order to see a complete solar eclipse at the North Pole more than once in your life, you'll have to live to be over a hundred (and be able to remember things from your infancy!), because it only occurs about once every century. One company, Travel Quest International, has organized an expedition to the North Pole for the express purpose of witnessing this singular event (there are still a few spots available!). The Yamal leaves the Russian port of Murmansk, heads almost straight for the geographic North Pole, then circles back to Murmansk through Franz Josef Land and around Novaya Zemlya--in 17 days. A visit to the North Pole alone would probably warrant our #1 spot--but adding to it the opportunity to see a once-in-a-century total solar eclipse left us no choice but to place it here, at the top spot, alone, on the pinnacle of Top Something Lists anywhere.
At number seven: DEADHORSE, a town with a permanent population you could count using just one hand (seriously) and lying on the far northern coasts of Alaska. Watch the sun over the Arctic at midnight, when the light might suggest it's 10am. Easily spot the abundant wildlife along the Arctic's shores--Arctic foxes, caribou, Dall sheep, even grizzlies. Witness the Northern Lights in all their glory--you may never find such a splendid front-row seat. Be warned, however: this is not your average tourist spot--it is first and foremost an oil town, and when visiting you will be one of only a handful of tourists, if not the only one. That being said, there is lodging available. We suggest Prudhoe Bay Hotel. In terms of being extremely off of the beaten track, any adventurer would be hard-pressed to beat Deadhorse (honestly, how could we resist?).
Consider standing witness to YUKIGASSEN in Vardø, Norway. What, you may ask, is Yukigassen? A snowball fight of massive proportions--with roots in Japan and conducted according to strict rules created by the Japan Yukigassen Federation. Vardø happens to host an annual European Nordic Tournament, in which teams of seven players each vie for gold, silver, and bronze medals on specially-measured "courts." Crowds of fans gather, shouting slogans, cheering, and waving flags for various countries and teams. The town of Vardø itself is located on an island and connected to the Norse mainland by an undersea tunnel.
CHURCHILL (population: just under a thousand), in the Canadian province of Manitoba, has earned our fifth spot. Yes, the International Hydrographic Organization lists Hudson Bay as a part of the Arctic, so Churchill is fair game. Nicknamed the "Polar Bear Capital of the World," there may be no better place in which to view the mighty Lord of the Arctic than here in this small town, perched as it is on the very edge of the Arctic tundra. The town has outfitted several buses into "tundra buggies," in which you can participate in a sort of "safari on ice" in search of the great white animals. But polar bears aren't all this town offers--the water itself presents the adventurer with another of nature's marvels: the Beluga, or "white whale." Between two and three times the size of an adult human, the Beluga whale typically travels in pods and is known to be highly playful. From Churchill, Beluga sightings are common during the summer.
Though it requires a special permit and is only accessible for a few weeks in the summer, we had to add FRANZ JOSEF LAND to this incredible list of lists. After all, isn't it a place's extreme inaccessibility itself that lends an air of mystery to it? It would be a difficult challenge to find a more remote place that Franz Josef Land, a group of almost 200 mostly uninhabited ice-covered islands in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. A surprisingly wide variety of cruises and other tours offer packages that include this cold, icy place--though weather and other environmental conditions sometimes pose problems. The biggest limitation for most of us peasants: the usually double-digit prices. Ah, inaccessibility.
SVALBARD, not far from Franz Josef Land, commands our number three slot.
Far more accessible than FJL, Svalbard is home to several small settlements (it even boasts a university--the highest institution of its kind in the world). Here you will find plenty of opportunities to see Beluga whales, polar bears, and giant concentrations of birds. The Northern Lights are also particularly resplendent here.
For the rich (or those planning to be), an excursion to see a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AT THE NORTH POLE will certainly fill the proverbial Wanderlust Canteen of any-a-wanderer. This isn't your average expedition to the North Pole, which can usually be accomplished via several (albeit expensive) sea and air options. On the contrary, in order to see a complete solar eclipse at the North Pole more than once in your life, you'll have to live to be over a hundred (and be able to remember things from your infancy!), because it only occurs about once every century. One company, 