Our trip to Nome, Alaska could not be complete without a trip to the top of
Anvil Mountain to see White Alice. On a clear day, towering above Nome you can
see several creepy towers that remind me of the fins on the alien spacecraft
that parked on the ocean flow in the movie The Abyss.
Okay, now that I look at the pictures of the spaceship, I want to take that back, the fins on the ship look more penis-like. White Alice isn’t penis-like:
What, you ask, is White Alice.
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| White Alice as seen near Nome, AK. |
White Alice Communications System was a telecommunications system
the government put up in Alaska when we were sure the Russians were going to
come and get us (otherwise known as the Cold War). At the time, it was the most
advanced technology available, so the DOD set forth to spend tons of money
constructing 80 stations that formed a network which would allow folks in remote
places to communicate that the "Russians are coming" (you really can’t see
Russia that well from Alaska - no matter what politicians say). These
sites were characterized by large parabolic, troposphere scatter antennas as
well as smaller microwave dishes for point to point links.
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| Four antennae still stand above Nome. The side panels have all been removed (Compare them to the shot with the Northern Lights in the sky posted above). |
The system was supposed to be a reliable form of communications to
very remote areas. Even in the 1960s a long distance call from Anchorage to the
Lower 48 would require residents to go to one location downtown to place a
call. These structures were going to vastly improve our communications.
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| The structures are very large: Michael is sitting in the jeep parked to the right. |
Construction began in 1955, and the system was dedicated in 1958. In
the end, 71 of these facilities were constructed all over Alaska. They were deactivated
in the late 70s – becoming obsolete technology because of satellite
communications. Gee… I wonder how much the government spent on something used
less then the life time of most of the cars I have owned in my life. I know my
Chevrolet Avalanche cost me $40,000 in 2002 and it is still running. I think I got a better deal on my
truck.
Today, many of these 71 sites have become listed as contaminated
sites, now managed by Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation because
of PCB usage and fuel leakage from storage tanks. It is likely the cost to
clean up some of these sites will far exceeds the cost of construction. How
much was the price tag for this project that was only used for 20 years and now
requires clean up? $300 million! Initial estimates were $30 million, but the
contractor underestimated the maintenance cost (surprise). Perhaps a White
Alice site is analogous to a penis: we keep getting fucked. ( I realize now
that I am beginning to sound like Galena Goldstone – perhaps I should stop
hanging out with her?)
Where are these sites in Alaska?
One such sites is easily accessible in Nome, so you can bet I wanted
to go check out the place. Older photos I have seen of the site still show it
with the side panels on the large antennae, and like I said, they are really
creepy and big. We drove up the mountain and found that although the site had
been fenced off, someone had ripped off all the gates and dropped the fencing
on both sides, making it easily accessible. Now I did think for one minute
about my track record and cops, but luckily no one was around this time and I
was able to see the site and take a few photos. Unfortunately, all the panels
have now been removed and it’s not as creepy as it used to be. Bummer.
Finally, what does this entire top secret Russian-driven
communication have to do with film stars? It was rumored that the system would have been named Alice White had there not
been an actress with that name at the time. Thus it was reversed to White
Alice.
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Alice White - American Film Star. Photo from: Vintage Threads
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