City of lights (page 3)
That peppy optimism has transmuted into melancholy ruin as some of the abandoned outlying
buildings fall into decay. A connecting tunnel has collapsed, wooden walls lean like sentimental
drunks, and useful components like copper wiring have been salvaged by Churchill’s
thrifty residents. Even in the unblinking winter sunshine, the range seems haunted by the
disappointed ghosts of scientific boosterism. (It’s probably no accident that one of
the movies sitting next to the TV in the centre’s lounge is John Carpenter’s The
Thing, a paranoid horror movie set at a remote polar research centre.)
ASTRO A GOGO
Getting there Churchill is 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, but don’t try to drive
there. The town can be reached only by train, airplane or cruise ship. Via Rail offers 2-day
train service from Winnipeg and several airlines run multiple flights daily.
Staying there
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre’s dormitory- style rooms serve
scientists and travellers alike, with each room housing 4 to 6 people. Room and board is
included in each vacation package.
Playing there
The centre offers several five-day vacation options, on themes such as subarctic
wildflowers, beluga biology and encounters with polar bears. Roger Woloshyn’s next
aurora and astronomy program runs Feb. 19-24, 2009. (204) 675-2307 www.churchillscience.ca
|
Any eerie associations are briskly dispersed by the warmth and pragmatism of the centre’s
staff and volunteers. They’re allrounders, ready to peel potatoes, shovel out stuck
trucks and field questions about history, geography and, of course, weather. All the employees
have to demonstrate firearms proficiency, in case they need to protect guests from polar
bears. Bear stories abound, including one about the guest who admired the lovely polar bear
statue on the roof. (There is no statue on the roof — just the occasional bear.) But
Goodyear assures us, “We have never had anyone hurt by a bear, and we have never had
to hurt a bear in defence of life or property. And it’s been 32 years.”
Goodyear is a serious research scientist — an expert on ringed seals — but when
he’s hosting tourist groups, he has the tact and timing of a really good concierge.
Even though we’re up all hours of the night, there are plenty of daytime activities,
including a trip to the small, wonderfully eccentric Eskimo Museum and snowmobiling into
the deep, pillowed quiet of the boreal forest. On the morning of our snowmobile excursion,
Goodyear gathers everybody into the lecture room and writes on the chalkboard: “Snowmobiling:
No exposed skin.” He pauses, then underlines the last bit. Basler, who regularly snowmobiles
to work, had a tiny air leak in her mask the day before and has ended up with a “frost
nip,” a cute name for something that can burn, peel and scar.
Cold is such an implacable and powerful force in Churchill that it has to be factored into
even the simplest tasks. Still, I can’t help thinking that the punishing temperatures
are crucial to the northern lights experience. The centre’s heated rooftop dome offers
a comfy viewing spot, but its enclosing arc softens the sense that you’re encountering
something far beyond yourself. This might be why representations of the aurora rarely work:
video footage can seem like Hollywood special effects and photographs can veer toward kitsch.
To really feel the northern lights you need to get out there on the frozen ground, with nothing
between you and the immeasurable reach of the night sky.
Alison Gillmor lives in Winnipeg, where she writes on film, art and design. Dawn Goss
is a photographer based in Erickson, Man.
|
