The Green, Green Sky

As a birthday present to myself, I flew up north to Whitehorse, in hopes of seeing the Northern lights. I booked the trip during a crescent moon, so that the sky would be as dark as possible. The only thing I was crossing my fingers on was that there was clear visibility. Cuz you can go at the most opportune time and season, but if there’s any cloud cover, you are up the creek.

And I had booked for 2 nights, so that doesn’t give me a lot of chances.

It turns out there was nothing to worry about. when I landed in Whitehorse, it was sunny and clear, with blue skies as far as the eye could see.

Our tour guide from Northern Tales Adventures took myself and a dozen other tourists to the Best Western Gold Rush Inn, located downtown. We checked in and were given the afternoon to ourselves to unwind, so I got some lunch, walked around downtown and took in the sights of the rustic mining town (the main drag where the hotel is situated is only 4 blocks long).

We were instructed to meet down at the lobby at 10pm to board the buses that would take us out into the woods for night viewing. I was surprised to see that there were about 60 of us, some having already been here for a couple of days already.

Our cabin in the woods

It was a half an hour drive to the woods, away from any light pollution. We all got off the buses and were divided into 5 groups, as there were 5 cabins, although we were free to walk anywhere we liked. The cabins had insulated walls and were heated by the wood stove. To make sure we were all warm, there were plenty of hot drinks and snacks. There were additional teepees set up outside, lounge chairs for viewing, as well as, roaring fire pits to help spread us out.

Aurora borealis uplights

Within 10 minutes of us arriving, the aurora borealis started. Slowly, at first and barely visible. It was streaking the top of the tree lines in the distance. Its direction from right to left. Then slowly streaking upwards. Lots of oohs and ahhs. And over the next 3 hours, the auroras streaking overhead to form bands across the sky. It was a pretty magical sight to behold.

A band of aurora borealis streaking overhead

In real life, the Northern lights are not as in your face as pictures and videos have you believe. That’s because those images are manufactured with ISO speeds, long exposure and hours of filming. When you see it with your own eyes, it’s a lot more subtle. More mystical. More supernatural. It’s no wonder my friend Mat used to lie down on the ground in Norway to watch auroras form.

At first, I thought it was a letdown, when compared to the pictures and videos I saw. But pretty soon, I realized I like this more. It was like nature’s up lights shining across the sky and diffusing like cotton candy. We didn’t get any dancing ribbons across the sky, but we got a couple of bands. It was very tranquil and beautiful.

But even more so, was the wall of stars behind us. It was the most incredible display I’ve ever seen. Thousands and thousands of stars twinkling. In my opinion, it could even rival the Northern lights!

Stars galore

It didn’t even feel cold, even though the temperature was -14C. It’s a dry cold up north and as long as you were dressed properly, you could be out for hours and it would be fine. (the hot drinks helped too).

I had 5 layers on top, consisting of light, breathable tops, a sweater, a cardigan and snowboarding jacket. Down below, I had on tights, thermals and snowboarding pants. and to top it off, a scarf, 2 pairs of ski socks, gloves and a toque. Yes, I felt like the Michelin man, but at least I was warm.

Our viewing came to an end around 2am. We boarded the buses, just as the Northern lights began dissipating. It was a quite the successful viewing, despite my fears of the aurora activity level being forecasted as low to moderate.

One of our tour guide told me that the aurora forecast is not always accurate and that it just gives an indication of what might possibly happen. But you don’t know until you’re out in the woods.

It had been forecasted as low activity for days, when in actuality it had been consistently good viewing the past week. Well, except for Thursday night (the night before my arrival), when the aurora made its appearance at 130am, right when the tourists were getting back onto the buses. And even then, it was barely a visible streak. And that is why people normally book 3-5 night packages, to increase the odds of seeing the northern lights.

We had lucked out tonight. The aurora borealis greeted us right off the buses and stuck around for the entire time we were there. Thank you nature.