The traditional signpost on remote military bases, here at Thule, shows the base is slightly closer to Moscow than Washington.
A Canadian transport plane sits on the runway in front of a hangar at Thule Air Base, Greenland. The U.S. military northernmost base bills itself at the “Top of the World.”
Most of base at Thule is walkable. But a taxi is on call, and each office or shop has a few pickups for the airmen or contractors to use. Still, standard bikes and serious mountain bikes can be found. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
In the crisp air at Thule, with snow on the ground, the sun can be blinding. “Dark glasses are recommended,” according to the base welcome packet. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
The chapel at Thule Air Base, called “the First Church of Thule,” at left. In the distance at left is Saunders Island, and past the piping that carries all the plumbing and electrical for the base, Mount Dundas. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Mount Dundas is framed by the piping that carries all the utilities for heat and water. There is no digging, or building on, the permafrost.
Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A collection of some of the fascinating rocks found in Greenland on a ledge of one of the barracks buildings used by the Danish contractor personnel at Thule. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
The Thule Museum on base houses a number of historical artifacts from the base and surrounding area, including this traditional dogsled.
Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
On Jan. 21, 1968, an Air Force B-52 crashed on the sea ice of North Star Bay. The aircraft was carrying four hydrogen bombs on a mission over Baffin Bay when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft. This is a door recovered from the plane, at the base museum.
Mount Dundas, shot from the base pier. A landmark for mariners for hundreds of years, the mountain is iconic for the base, appearing on coffee cups and sweatshirts sold in the base BX. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Even in late summer, icebergs such as this near the large pier ply the waters of North Star Bay. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
The base once hosted more than 10,000 U.S. military personnel, including soldiers using mortars and ground-to-air missiles. “As with any ordnance, all of it did not detonate,” according to base literature. In the distance, top right, is the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
In the crisp air at Thule, with snow on the ground, the sun can be blinding. “Dark glasses are recommended,” according to the base welcome packet. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A hockey tournament took place while Canadian forces were deployed to Thule in support of Operation Boxtop, in September. The Danes won the tournament, held at the base fitness center. On the wall, the U.S., Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic flags. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
“Archies,” or Arctic foxes, this one a whiter variety than most seen there, hang around the base dining facility. The base occasionally has a polar bear pop by, but Arctic foxes and Arctic hares are a constant. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A contract flight arrives each Thursday morning, and the command staff goes out each time to welcome visitors and returning and new personnel. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A Canadian C-17 sits on the runway at Thule. The Canadian Air Force used the runway for two weeks for its Operation Boxtop II in September and October, resupplying Arctic bases including Canadian Forces Station Alert, the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world.
At 76 degrees, 32 minutes north, Thule is by far the U.S. military’s northernmost location. There is little ground transportation outside the capital, Nuuk; all passengers enter the Thule world through these doors. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
The edge of the Greenland ice sheet, very near Thule. A half-hour ride from the base gets you close enough to hike to a striking ocean of ice, some two miles thick at its peak. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
The edge of the Greenland ice sheet, very near Thule. The reporter was invited on a hike the day before by a Danish doctor he met just walking on the base. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Storm shelters line the roads between the main base at Thule and the satellite sites a few miles away. Each has two beds, bedding, a foot locker with food, a propane heater and a direct line to the base operator to call rescue services. Winds and blowing snow can arrive with little warning.
With Mount Dundas in the distance, Outdlaq Qujaukitsoq moves his kayak into position to demonstrate how the native Inuit use the boats to hunt and fish. Qujaukitsoq and another man spent about 20 minutes rolling their kayaks in the icy water. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Malik Kleist paddles his kayak toward a demonstration, past two hangars on Thule Air Base used in the Clint Eastwood film “Firefox.”
Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Malik Kleist rights his kayak with the help of his fellow kayaker, Outdlaq Qujaukitsoq. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Outdlaq Qujaukitsoq comes up for air while demonstrating how to roll his kayak in front of a small but appreciative and apprehensive crow watching from the Thule Air Base main pier. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A few dozen spectators watch two Inuit men demonstrate how they use kayaks for fishing and hunting. The pair rolled their kayaks for about 20 minutes in the icy waters before joining the crowd for some restorative narwhal soup and seal stew. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Narwhal soup is dished out to the workers at Thule Air Base during a weekend of demonstrations of Inuit life. Seal stew was also available, and one could purchase slabs of beluga and musk ox. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Seal stew.
Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
One of the many Greenlandic contractors working on Thule buys a piece of beluga whale from an Inuit man from the nearest village, Qaanaaq.
Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
First Lt. Matthew Smokovitz at his “blue nose” party the night before leaving Thule. Those stationed at the base become members of the “Royal Order of the Blue Nose.” With so many well-wishers, Smokovitz wound up with a bit more blue. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
Arctic foxes, or “Archies,” hang around outside the base dining facility at Thule. The base has a lot of foxes, and Arctic hares dot the hillsides. Musk ox can be seen on occasion, as are polar bears. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
A Canadian C-130 passes Mount Dundas and approaches the runway at Thule as the sun sets over Baffin Bay. Some houses of the abandoned village are seen in the foreground. Patrick Dickson/Stars and Stripes
If there’s anything sadder than seeing the headstones of toddlers, it’s seeing them in an abandoned village above the Arctic Circle.
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