It’s hard to believe just how good these trips are.
OK, granted, I’m marketing my own tours here, but that doesn’t make me wrong.
On both trips of the season, the aurora appeared on 3 out of 4 nights. We lost one night on the first trip to a snowy evening, and one on the second trip to a no-show aurora (though it felt like we could get sunburn from the brightness of the stars). I’d call that a pretty darn good ratio. In fact, I’m not sure many places can compete with that.
The southern Brooks Range has had well above average snow this year, and it was chest-deep in Wiseman. Despite this, we had exceptional weather. Mostly sunny, no brutally cold days, and aside from one evening snow shower on the first trip, no precipitation. On both trips we were able to make a day trip north from Wiseman, over Atigun Pass and onto Alaska’s North Slope. No matter how many times I’ve made that drive, I continue to be surprised by the diversity in landscapes and habitat of the Brooks Range.
Wiseman lies along the shore of the Koyukuk River, one of the major drainages that flow south out of the central Brooks Range. As you drive north, the river gets smaller as tributaries branch out into remote valleys. Further, the river has been reduced to a tiny stream, usually iced over in winter, but with occasional open leads of clear tumbling water. Trees grow scarce, and scattered until eventually, the road makes the climb to the Chandalar Shelf, and leaves all the spruces behind. Though not yet on the north side, the Chandalar’s, open, treeless expanse feels truly arctic.
Another 10 miles and the road climbs steeply up to Atigun Pass, the high point of the Dalton Highway, and the continental divide. Frequently, the weather is terrible up top, with cold winds tearing across the pass, blowing snow, and low visibility. Not so this year! We were able to easily drive down the north side of the pass into the Atigun River Valley, and the true Arctic.
Though not involving the northern lights or night photography, that day is always one of my favorites of any trip to Wiseman. With bluebird skies on both trips, it was a bright and sunny trip that offered rare photo opportunities of the snow-covered Arctic.
But it’s the nights of the aurora that really make this trip special. On the first trip, we had mostly quiet, but colorful displays, with a few booming moments here and there. The lights were consistently early to appear in March, and we rarely had to wait long on our nightly explorations. We even had to make some “emergency aurora stops” when the lights decided to take off, while we were on the road to our next locations.
During the April trip, we got skunked the first night. Though it was glassy clear, and the stars were blindingly bright, the aurora never made an appearance. It occurs to me that that might be the first time I’ve ever had a clear night in the Brooks Range when the northern lights did not appear at all. Usually, there is some kind of aurora, even if it’s just a pale curtain, visible only to our cameras. Not so the first night of April. And that worried me.
I didn’t need to. For the next two nights the aurora absolutely rocked across the sky. Overhead in booming curtains of green with hints of purple and pink. At times it moved so fast, even one-second exposures on my cameras were insufficient to keep the lights from blurring. The snow-covered mountains and forest were lit in an ethereal green, and I had to tell my clients to just stop making images for a moment and just watch.
It’s important every now and then to just watch the northern lights. Our eyes and minds are just as effective as our cameras as recording devices, and we shouldn’t ignore them.
The final night of the second trip, a few participants begged out, looking for an early night, but with a couple others, I wandered down to the river near Wiseman to photograph a rare, blue-hour display of northern lights. In April, the nights in the far north are growing short, and the blue hour lingers until nearly midnight. But when the lights appear early, it makes a unique combination of colors, and we spent a happy few hours photographing until true dark overcame the blue, and the lights faded.
Those were some darn good trips this season. I can only hope that future years can compare!
Next year’s trips are already sold out, but I’m accepting waitlist spots, and may open one more space on each trip may become available. Contact me if you’d like to be included on that list.
And due to the unprecedented interest I’ve had for these trips, I’m already accepting reservations for 2021! Two trips are on the schedule: 13-17 March and 1-5 April, 2021
Check out the details, and contact me if you’d like to sign up, or have questions.
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