Just cracked 10 years working on the Slope and it feels weirdly big

I hit my 10 year anniversary working on the North Slope last week (Prudhoe Bay, where the winter nights feel like forever). Honestly, I almost forgot about it until my foreman mentioned it during shift change. It got me thinking about that first winter up here when I showed up with a cheap sleeping bag and thought I knew everything. Spent my first week freezing in the camp until a old timer loaned me his extra liner. That moment changed how I pack for rotations now - I always bring backup gear for the basics. Anybody else have a rough first week that taught you something about surviving up here?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry_moore5521d ago

Man, that first rotation story got me thinking about my own first week up there. I showed up in January with a pair of boots that were three sizes too big because I thought I could just stuff extra socks in them. By day three my feet were so blistered I could barely walk from the truck to the pad. Had to tape up my heels with electrical tape from the tool room just to finish the shift. That old timer loaning you a liner sounds like the kind of thing that makes this place bearable.

jordancoleman21d ago

Electrical tape on heels though? I mean blisters suck but like are we really acting like that's some kind of survival story. You could have just borrowed boots from the tool crib or asked the safety guy for a blister kit. Stuffing socks in boots that don't fit is just begging for a bad time, not really a badge of honor. I get it's cold but c'mon, a little common sense goes a long way up there.