More to come, maybe. Postimages.org is suckling ballz right now. Always short on time.

I am not affiliated with nor represent any of the companies or equipment shown. My friend Dick is from Texas and he sent me these, wink wink. Can't tell you or I would have to .... you. He's been on the Slope for 6 weeks, worked 13 and 14 hour shifts each day or night and is getting rather edgy.... He's taking a few days off in Anchorage next week....

Trippy Aurora

First time I saw the sun itself in 5 weeks.

Work nights so.....

Harvesting ice chips from a lake.

You crazy sumbitch!


Nice pics.

Cool (literally) pix....... Especially the northern lights. On the south shore of Lake Ontario we only get some see them maybe 2 or 3 times a year and they're nowhere near as good a show as in the far north. Always wanted to catch a real good Aurora show after growing up listening to my dad talk about how fantastic they were when viewed from the middle of the North Atlantic when he was on convoy duty in WWII.

Working on a project building a series of ice roads into virgin terrain... The road is at least 35' wide and will support at least a 1.6 million pound oil rig. Going over terrain that'd call for a big dozer but we're building it totally atop the surface using snow, ice chips and water which is damned soon ice. Creek crossing? No problem, build an ice bridge... Not level, ice wedge. Over a pressure ridge, ice ramp. Slowly but surely we're getting out there. Tough somebitchin place. Really tests the equipment. Frontend loaders, water trucks, dump trucks and finally a grader... Tbc.


Dick has been on nights for a month and, well, for pictures, it's this... Surprised by the frequency. A couple of nights this stuff was horizon to horizon. Pics make it look brighter than actual, but, it's rather spectacular as it is a fluid moving light show. Seen some purple red yellow too. Not perfectly clear that much here... Fog and blowing snow plus our exhaust and water vapor from the spread... Some of my favorites.




Thirty years ago it was a lot harder to photograph this. Now, night mode on the phone.

A nearby area. Easy going.



Our, I mean Dick's whole operation was moved out over a series of weeks on big tundra ATVs called Rollagons. That way we could reach further sooner than just running out from "town". In a couple of weeks we will be connecting to the world and 1000s will come here and similar places on the Slope.... A cell tower was just erected at our pad. Pad, Gravel pads or ice pads, ours is ice, about 6?acres. We're building a few runways so crews can be flown in and out! Big chitting money. A company I am not affiliated with is dumping billions on this winter's projects.

I saw nothing, heard nothing, and didn't know ANYONE was working up there.

Stay safe.

Geno

Dick has a keen eye. A Dick from TX, huh?

What are the odds? Anyone we know?

Very interesting Dick, keep it coming
Does it need to be rebuilt every year or is it permanent?

It goes away in the summer. Bunch of these are regularly built each year. Dick's current project is a one shot deal, followed by, could be massive development.... Can't predict, but, don't rush out and buy that electric car just yet, Dick's heard we'll not need them.

That's for real north right thar, awesome Boomer thanks for taking us along
So when does it usually melt too much and kick you guys out of there?

Don't know. Building is to continue into April. Amazing the amount of stuff out past the end of the Gravel roads.

Here's the current situation. Sit and check equipment. Cold shutdown. Negatory 47 now. Of course we park downwind and suck exhaust.... Majority of the crew would rather be working. I will sit but rather sleep some extra.

It gets worse, no hot bunking and the roomy is on opposite shift so we don't have see each other..
Cell service is a blessing.




Modular camps. Seen four story.... Some are damned nice, some horrendous. We're now in a two story camp built from about 30 units that is OKish.

This one is a two piece self contained 12 man remote camp. Two Rollagons and bam, home sweet home.
[url=https://postimg.cc/BPQ6TWpb]

Carl,

Have you seen my grinders working yet?

Ice ice baby, too cold, too cold.

Hey buddy! Well. There are a few I've seen. One called the Dinosaur!

He's referring to the machines that grind or chip layers of lake ice that we haul out to build road with. Rigged onto front end loaders. Some are forward operating and some backward. They'll tear up a section, row by row, then pile it up and load it with frontend loaders. About 3-4 ft of ice on the small lakes here. Just travel and grind on the grounded sections. Sometimes we'll hit a sandbar or some grass or dirt that sucked up into the ice and this dirty chips are only used in the base. Any dark material in the road surface will heat up and cause meltouts in the spring.



I'll sneak out and grab a shot of the business end of one, when I get damned bored and need to stretch.

When they're talking, "when it warms up to minus 40, we'll go to work.," you know you're f'd.

Mine is the front-mounted unit.

Here's the Dinosaur. Front mounted but run in reverse. A pain in the neck but makes perfect chips.

THATS BETTER.

Also, captured in a two minute rush, underdressed like a driver, are a couple of the standard rigs. A Maxi, which is a short dump box trailer combo and a water truck.

This is like what Dick is currently driving.


He prefers these bigger badder 6 wheel drive articulated rigs but we're broke down. Sent out on a rollagon then lowboy to Deadhorse repair return. Nothing is fast.

Some old rigs in use, tank tough somebitches. CAT and Kenworth. MEGA

Great pics, MB.

Years ago one of my kids was up there building those roads.
Told me they were using 100 yard belly dumps...
Said first time he jumped in one it felt like you were going 100 at 20 mph..
Little bit of a learning curve on handling one..

Take care out there.

Take your [bleep] somewhere else jag

I hit like 36 the other day and it was like I was NASCAR!


Contraction guys say it is a learning curve here, literally no hurry. Slow and steady and taper off from there. They literally have said if Dick made one turn a shift it'd be OK, just don't f'k anything up.

his endless flood of prescription drugs are kickin' in, it's just that time of the evening...

He told me they disassembled those big dumps and hauled them to Arizona to work the off season.

I wonder, there's some bigger roads made annually I could see them used on. The Colville Road apparently has like 6 lanes or some chit. We're all about getting the drill rig in and out.

They've been out here in seismic trucks and based on that, billions are being thrown at it to see what'll flow. I expect 5 years from now, this will be a major production area. F'ck OPEC. MAGA! Living out past the Gravel is tougher than other Slope gigs but not as bad as others.

We had a guy show up here, un diagnosed diabetic. Started to have issues and all strings were pulled to get him to Anchorage. He's alive. Unforgiving sob out here.

No worries buddy.

It's all good. Now, back to the grind....

Thanks, MB.

He told me they used those big rigs in rock quarries down south. Took a entire flat just to haul a couple tires/wheels.
Amazing equipment and capable is such extreme conditions..

The money spent in exploration is ridiculous, don't be surprised if they never even come up with a valid hole after all that work, it happens.... but they can more than afford it, great write offs...

Any good massage places in Anchorage? LOL

I'd start that quest at the Bush Company. http://www.akbushcompany.com

Oil workers are their specialty......

Well, I think Dick was the only person in camp, any gender or rank, that didn't have a hard on for the Super Bowl..... It's crazy here. Also, we regularly say men and women, and nobody minds. Have not heard a single racial epitaph. Nobody seems scared of joos. Nobody is a sack of Nazi loving chit like TRH and Bris toe. Multiple Maga clothing articles to be seen.

Dick used the word 'demobilize' and had fingers pointing at him as a fancy talker. LOL


Surprised to see nobody has romeos for their casual shoes... WTF tennis shoes?

My buddy is up at alpine right now. Sent me a quick note the other night, that it was -71.

If I’m talking hookers, bush is the last thing I am interested in

Alpine is one of the big, located out 'past the end of the Gravel roads' layouts I've mentioned. Everything by air except over ice roads... No doubt overrun with folks right now as the road has been open for a couple of weeks or three now. Dick will pass through there on the way to R+R but previously flew there.

Negatory 71 windchill is no BULLCHIT. It that here now, easily though no anemeter in hand... I have learned to bundle up even going out for a couple of minutes. Put the gloves on before grabbing the hand rails! Pee downwind per usual. Guys say this is more like early January Temps. Have not had any big blows.

Are you asking for Dick? Does Dick have a sore back? If Dick ain't sore now, sounds like he will be soon.

Did Dick ever get binoculars to tell a wolverine from a snowmobile?

Dick has three days to relax. Seeking good firm massage, maybe Thai.

Did magically receive a Kowa bin here just after going to night shift. The 8x here and the 10X is back in Tejas. Don't see much at night. Goofy little Arctic fox run around in the lights. A rabid looking big ass red fox. Occasionally Ptarmigan with take flight in the equipment lights. Still no polar bears, wolverine, mammoth, or MuskOx. Daylight til about 4?pm now. Soon night shift will have some evening light.

Anything new?

Cool pics! Friend of mine works the "slope" Never shows any pics though. Now I have a better idea what his job is like.

Deflave has allegedly been forcibly removed from the building.

Oh, the horror.



Parting shot. Bedtime is getting nearer... Still negatory 47.

It's like eastern Wyoming!

Want ice? A few miles south you'll find this ice berg the size of Delaware, 2300 square miles. It broke off the Antarctic ice pack in '17 and is slowly floating north. Usually bergs this big break up but this one hasn't yet. They figure it will when it get more into the open ocean. They've been watching it constantly as it approaches the main shipping lanes. The main berg is easy to keep track of but if pieces break off, they could be hazardous.

Great shots of the aurora borealis, be cool to find a dark spot and try your hand at a short video....

They hiring?

Great stuff. Dick deserves a big pat on the head!

Thank you for posting that Boomer.

Thanks for posting this. Pretty incredible. Keep it coming Dick.

Possibly... PM me. CDL A with tanker and Hazmat mostly.


Update
See if I can find anything interesting to post for Saturday night. Hovering near negatory 49-50. Tired.





That sucker will be around for a while.



We'll see. Usually in the work flow. A brief stop doesn't garner too much attention. Lol

Great pics Boomer.


Does equip and vehicles run 24x7 up there? When used or not.

Thanks for the Dick pics Boomer.

Yes. We're all diesel here and everything is running unless fubar. Fifty engines or thereabouts. Generators, heater trailers, light plants, crew vans, water trucks, loaders, pickups, fuel trucks, graders, a Tucker snow cat, pump houses, snow blower, chippers, rock trucks, maxis, winch truck, crane, potable water trucks, all working or running high idle 24/7. Roughly 60 persons for now. Generally the boss won't allow gasoline on the rig but got overruled by the client for a van for the telecom guys that got the cell service going. It will be going out tomorrow. Imagine the bill, for just sitting here watching for leaks! Diesel is our life blood. Would get damned cold real quick without.


Just sitting we've had multiple big rig tires go flat, a grader threw a rod, a few rigs have had radiators go to chit.


Dick says he'll pack up in the morning, sleep until my ride is here and then start the journey out. Rollagon, then ground transport maybe a van, spend Sunday night at another camp. Fly to the big city Monday.

It's warming up. Above -40, might start getting things going.




You betcha. Always a pleasure to show....

Great pictures and interesting info Dick
Just to change things up a bit we have had 15 inches of rain and huge seas here over the weekend but a T shirt and shorts is fine if you are out of the rain

Damnation that's a lot of rain! Those burned areas you mentioned get nailed? Almost certain to be a heck of a mess.

You ever get north of the line?


Warned up fast here to negatory 30F already. And hardly a breaze. Downright warm compared to last night.

Some sights from my outbound journey so far. Warmed up, negatory 20. I shed the longjohns for the last leg to the airport.



A big ass mobile rig. There's two pieces there. Looks like a high dollar machine.


Dick saw this. Transport thingy. Crane weighs 80,000.


A camp.

Another camp unit.

All shown are beyond permanent roads.


A neighboring outfit crane move alt view