for a redneck going here?
56° 43? 35? N, 111° 22? 49? W
The best advice I could give you is to take up heavy drinking and throw this thought away. They have crap up there called snow. It's supposed to fall out of the sky and be 1/4 the moisture of water, but only happens after it gets cold enough to make a redneck run for the Kentucky Deluxe.
Just because you like hockey doesn't mean you have to go to the motherland.
🙂
Get ready to learn about real friendliness! Is this a vacation or work?
Its not a for sure yet, but its looking more and more likely by the looks of the people that are getting added to the email chain.
Work. 21 days on and 7 off. They fly me home for the off time each month. 6mos to 2 yr duration.
Oilpatch, or mine? Either way, you'll live in a camp. And 21/7 will make most into hard binge drinkers when it's -30 below and dark and windy the other 3/4 of the time. No matter how much you enjoy your job, you'll come to dread that flight up.
If it's the oilpatch and you're in the field, get a 24-32 oz plumb bob, some chain grips, some kneepads, and a good headlamp with a battery pack you can put next to your body where it's warm. You don't want to have to carry a heavy coon hunter's lamp.
And work out those arms so you don't start catfishin' halfway through a day of chaining. They do a lot of chaining to the thousandth with third order gear and no spring scales in the northern oil patches where winter is typically high season. "Pull hard and temperature correct" is the rule. Practice "throwing" a chain if you want to impress.
In the winter, white bunny boots at minimum. -140 Sorel or Northern Outfitter mukluks are even better. Bring extra gloves and liners, you damn sure don't want to lose one in the wind...
Also, get the best vest you can get in a size big enough to fit over your arctic gear. Avoid the plastic-ey chartreuse reflective strips. They crack in the cold and make sharp edges. The white cloth-y type is better on a cold weather vest.
GoreTex gear is great for blocking wind, but also peels and cracks in extreme cold. The "3-layer" stuff holds up a little better, but flammable clothing is not going to be "legal" to wear on pads or around any facilities.
The Nomex/down winter gear you'll be issued is great over fleece, but any exposed skin will freeze, and you'll come to look forward to the time when your facemask freezes solid so your warm breath makes it back to your ears and neck. Bring extra facemasks too. They get funky when they thaw after a 12-hour day.
If you do much sledding, you'll want some good goggles in clear or amber. Helis don't fly in the winter up there, and shoulder seasons bring the risk of rotor icing. I've been in 2 tail rotor incidents on the North Slope...
Fall is blackfly season. Early summer is peak 'skeeter season. Blackflies are worse. You ain't gonna believe the bugs in the high latitudes until you experience them. Google "Bug Shirt"...
Also, bring rain gear and get used to working in the rain. The second drop that hits you is just TS. If you run a gun, have a little chamois to dry off the eyepiece when it fogs, because it will no matter how well you control your breath.
If you're in the field up there, the guys you work with will get you lined out pretty good. Field surveyors up there are considered pretty special. You'll have a certain degree of awe and respect from the rig hands, wellhead techs, welders, and electricians who work in shelters. It's an adventurous lifestyle. Remember to get out of your Nomex and dress nice for dinner. You're not some glorified plumber. You're a surveyor.B-)
You make it sound so enticing!!! How could he resist???
Yeah, well... I didn't cover the daily crew prize for the biggest snot icicle. Or how to keep your safety glasses from icing up. Or the dreamy mystical world you can't avoid when your eyelashes load up with frozen breath...;-)
> for a redneck going here?
The one thing that is common to all Canadians is that they like all things American except Americans.
As far as work goes, it's more pleasant and productive to work after it freezes over than it is in the summer. Easier to get around, fewer bugs. The cold is an issue, but it's so cold that it's dry, which makes it bearable. 40 degrees F and raining feels colder to work in than -20 degrees.
>You ain't gonna believe the bugs in the high latitudes until you experience them.
Yeah verily, brother.
Just a word of caution. It can be real hard on relationships when you're gone 3/4ths of the time. That 7 days home goes by real fast and the other 21 real slow. Plenty of folks around here work up on the N. Slope and while the $ is good, there's a price to pay and I'm not talking frost and bug bites.
"The one thing that is common to all Canadians is that they like all things American except Americans."
Yeah. North of a certain line, no one is going to be the least bit impressed by a smooth drawl and some pointy boots...Best to just downplay that sort of thing. Especially in Canada where it's easy to get branded as a carpetbagger taking a good job away from a Canadian. SRSLY.
Mr. Bush,
Your advice is stunning in it's detail. Sounds like you survived a round or two.
You could write a book for anyone contemplating that kind of move. Is there that big an audience for that book? I have no clue.
You kept your advice to personal items and surviving in that environment. What about the surveying? Oil and mining come to mind, but is there any boundary work being done? ALTA surveys? Mortgage surveys? Again, I have no clue.
Is there construction staking? Does GPS work up there? Are there low-ballers and bottom-feeders up there killing the "honest" surveyors? lol
Finally, is alchohol avaialble? Is there a 7-11 for Slurpees and stuff? I have no clue.
Thank you for your time and I will listen to your answer on the radio.
JA, PLS SoCal
Not sure aboot the Canuks, but we tossed the hiway chains away long ago! Almost all total station/data collectors and were moving over to GPS when I left 25 yrs ago! Don't think that Canada is that far behind the times. Good luck, have fun (most camps are dry tho'!:excruciating:
-JD-
Do They Still Teach You To Walk On Permafrost?
I remember The North Slope recruiter at Lehigh University 40 years ago. He said people laugh at seeing a bear walk on permafrost. He says you to will have to walk that way, like a baby with a big load in his diaper.
Paul in PA
> for a redneck going here?
>
I would say your crazy. Your redneck body will go into shock from the climate changes going back and forth. Whats left of your redneck mind will not be able to handle the social changes. Hey, we were all thinking it. I was brave enough to say it. 😉
@JD-
Go to work for either of the "Ls" or that "B" outfit in the field on the 'Slope, and you will pull a chain for module moves, setting conductors, VSMs/expansion loops/slides 'n glides, etc. - Any kind of stakeout work inre steel. You'll do it often too, because everything's steel except for pads, pits, and ice roads.
They're extremely technically competent, use high-end Leica conventional gear, they're quite expert with most things to do with GPS and highdef and aerial surveying, and they can put their fingers on anything they've done in the last thirty years in moments - but they get paid very well to do things a certain way. And oftentimes up there in that specialized world, that way still involves chains, bobs, and beer legs.
They're quite aware that it's statistically impossible to reliably chain to .001' (+- .002') interpolating nonstandardized Nubian add chains with a least count of .01' and no scales in a 20knt crosswind @ -25 below, but they get paid to make those bolt holes line up. And the way they make that magic and keep their business partners warm 'n fuzzy is with old school hi-way chains. Even in this day and age. B-)
I don't know about Canadia either. But it's the same oil companies, and welders and plumbers and erectors everywhere know they have to be good with a survey chain and eat their Wheaties before they can even begin to argue with a triple-checkin' surveyor with a survey chain. 😉
@JA- Thanks for the kind words.
I think "Deadliest BM" would make a great documentary. Except everyone sounds like Kenny when they're bundled up in the wind. And you know what always happens to Kenny... 😀
The 3 survey/civil houses formed to service the North Slope oilpatch are deeply rooted in Alaska. KBR, Bechtel, or even surveying operations owned by (other) Alaska Native Corporations would have a tough time trying to break into that business, much less anyone less connected.
While there are lots of good firms out in the toolies and in FAI, ENA, and JUN, Most of private or Government Alaska gets surveyed out of the Anchorage area where you can buy whatever gear you want and whistle up anything from a Super Cub to a C-130 in 5 minutes if it's inconvenient to fly commercial.
North Slope Borough is officially "Damp" and tightly regulated, but the villages are dry and everyone has a gun. E of Barrow an N of Coldfoot, I think you might could get a beer if you fly out to Kavik Lodge to hunt caribou...
Inside the gates of the oilpatch, you may as well consider getting a appletini at a mosque in Yemen as long as you're fantasizing... 😀
Fort Mac is definitely high stress surveying. Big money, but you have to produce every day without fail. Safety requirements can be extreme, not really surprising given the weather and distances involved. If you have trouble with booze, drugs etc then stay away - the temptation to use can be high and the stuff is readily available.
Sheep Shearing
Pipelining? Or seismic?
