I’m beginning a blog thread on what is rapidly promising to be my most adventurous trip of the year! 
So, just a couple of days ago I found out that I’m traveling to … Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Where??? Zoom out of the google map that you get from the above link, and it’s, clearly, NORTHERN Alberta… Note that it’s the end of the line - it literally is at the end of highway 63, about 6 hours north of Edmonton.
I will be there from Monday, January 21, through Friday, January 25.
Here’s more information about this place:
Wikipedia entry on Fort McMurray
http://www.fortmcmurraytourism.com/
And here’s where I will be staying:
(The lady at the hotel who took my reservation information over the phone said “Massa… su… chu… shu… sett?” And it was all I could do to keep from cracking up…)
This is promising to be cool Well, literally too! But, really, some interesting things about this trip:
- The town (technically, not legally a town, according to Wikipedia) is near one of the largest oil sand fields in the world.
- Oil sands? I’d never heard of them before this week, but there they are. Haha! Take that, Saudi Arabia! We have oil too!
- Well, not technically “we” Americans, but that could change in a hurry if Emperor Cheney wakes up grumpy one of these days…
- The company I’m visiting is one of the largest cheeses in town: Suncor Energy
- Here’s how Suncor describes their Fort McMurray operation.
- I will be teaching Suncor engineers how to use our scientific software tools for data analysis and algorithm modeling.
- Apparently I will be working at “Tar Island 1, Fort McMurray, AB T9H3E3.”
- I’m somewhat conflicted about training at a big oil company whose primary method of getting at the oil sands is open pit mines, in an area that looks just stunningly beautiful.
- The Suncor mine uses the “largest trucks and shovels in the world.” The neighboring rival Syncrude mine is the “largest mine in the world.”
- However, if neutral technology (such as our scientific software) can be used to develop cleaner and more efficient mining methods, perhaps the tradeoff is worth it in terms of energy independence from the Middle East… but… the environmental impact… the continued dependence on oil… the corporate lobbies…
- Screw it - we need a revolutionary Apollo program for energy NOW! Call your local congressman or senator or their rival candidate!
How interesting is the trip going to be? Well…
- When the guy from Suncor called us to ask for the training, he told our manager “please tell the trainer to bring a heavy jacket.”
- I asked the guy how cold it got, and he said that this week it was -20C. According to Wikipedia, temperatures around -40C are common in the winter.
- Yeah, we wussie Americans need to convert that to Fahrenheit. Did you know that there are only TWO countries in the world that use the Fahrenheit scale?
- Oh alright alright, -20C translates to a balmy -4F, and -40C is, coincidentally, -40F. Woohoo!
- This is the first trip in two years that I have officially reserved an SUV with Avis.
Some fun logistical thoughts:
- My first thought when I saw where I was headed was: “COOL!”
- I am certainly bringing my pocket camcorder and camera.
- I am certainly going to drive around exploring.
- I am certainly going to enjoy seeing the Northern Lights!
- My second thought was: “How the heck am I going to get there?!”
- They do have a small (one runway) municipal airport. Air Canada and WestJet (a Canadian low-cost airline) fly there sporadically.
- I fly out of Hartford at 6 am (!) on Monday morning. Air Canada flies me on a ten seater (!) turboprop to Toronto, and I switch there to a regional jet for a 5 hour (!) flight to Fort McMurray. I get into Fort McMurray at noon on Monday.
- I fly back at 1 pm on Friday, to Toronto and then to Hartford, getting home around 10 pm on Friday.
- Speaking of Air Canada, this story didn’t reassure me any… But Air Canada is Star Alliance so I will get around 5000 United miles!
- In shocking testimony of just how yuppie my mindset has become, my third and fourth thoughts were:
- Do they have internet access??!
- Do they have Starbucks??!
I’ll continue to post updates and insights as I prepare for the trip and as I run into interesting cross-cultural anecdotes! Stay tuned!
January 10th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Two words for you, man:
Yak tipping.
It’s like cow tipping, but in Alberta.
YEEEEHAW!!!!
January 11th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Hari,
Say hello to the sleigh dogs for us…
http://www.iditarod.com/
Kevin
January 11th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Thanks Kevin! Actually, that reminds me, there’s this AWESOME book written by a guy from Minnesota, who decides, out of the blue, to run the Iditarod. It is EXCELLENT. Check it out on Amazon or other fine retailers:
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
by Gary Paulsen
January 11th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Hari-
I remember seeing a prime-time news series on this company (and sand-pit mining in general) recently. I think the first episode was all about the pros, and the second all about the cons. Although I may be misremembering it altogether. But yes, helleeeeeoooowwww! There’s Oil over here, too - and LOTS of it…
January 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Last time I was in Edmonton, AB, eh, (5-6 hours SOUTH of Ft MM, in February, the temp, not the wind-chill, was -50. Just so you know, eh, at minus 40, Celcius and Ferienheit coaless; after that, well, eh, you’re dead anyway.
If they have an Earl’s by now, eat there, eh! Great steaks & surroundings. It’s a happening place.
WestJet is JetBlue for Canada, eh.
Don’t come back adding eh to every thing you say, eh.
Abdul
January 11th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I thought going to Minneapolis in February was bad!!
Do people actually live there??
Good luck!
Rocio
January 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hari,
In preparation for your trip, might I your palest friend (thus most like a Canadian while not actually being a Canadian), recommend to you, O beautifully tanned and bronzed one, to watch the episode of “Pale Force” titled “Canadatown.”
http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O‘Brien/Pale_Force/video/episodes.shtml
Further mandatory reading would be found here - http://particle.physics.ucdavis.edu/Canadians/
“Well Known People Who Happen to be Canadian” - this will allow you to “name names” and reference some of their own heroes, building common ground.
And most importantly, remember to bring a hockey stick with you. Why? Because Canadians love hockey. There have been documented cases where spontaneous hockey games will just breakout in the middle of meetings, lectures, or in the middle of other hockey games.
Oh, and by the way, read here
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=aawildlife.agmoose
to learn What to Do About Aggressive Moose. Handle aggressive Canadians the same way.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Looks like you JUST missed flying a narrowbody to YMM (Fort McMurray)…AC stopped the 319s this week. But the E90 really isn’t a regional jet…it’s actually a quite nice aircraft. Good luck at Toronto…you’ll need it!
Oh, and according to the Great Circle Mapper (http://gc.kls2.com), you’ll get 2142 miles each way (BDL-YYZ is 500, YYZ-YMM is 1642), for a total of 4284 roundtrip, excluding bonuses.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Adam, that is one FUNNY link about aggressive moose
I tried reading it with the following substitution: I used the word “engineer” for the word “moose”, and it became SO funny!
Example:
When engineers are on a road, driveway, or trail or when they are lying under a deck or up against a house, they are often trying to rest. When people repeatedly approach them closely or chase them away, engineers become stressed. Each engineer has a different breaking point, but if they are harassed enough, many engineers will act aggressively.
Is it okay to feed engineers?
No. It is illegal and very dangerous. Engineers that are fed by humans often become aggressive when they are not fed as expected. They may attack the next person they see if the person has no food to offer. Don’t feed engineers, and ask your neighbors not to feed them.
Heeheehee
It’s fun to try other words too… try replacing “moose” with:
- Adam
- Canadians
- Patriots Fans
January 12th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Hari, you’ve definitely got the crowd to keep you warm on this trip!
Excellent ethnographical exegesis. Precious phenomenology. You go, Guy!
I’ll be reading for the connections you make between their talk-on-site and chances for an Apollo plan for energy. The tips on how to handle aggressive Canadians, as well as when to drop appropriate names are priceless! Indeed, I’ll be just as interested in the repartee here, among you and the characters already ‘gathered.’
I heard part of an interview on WMUA the other day, about a new anthology by Elizabeth Kolbert, “The Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing On The Arctic and the Antarctic.” I can’t find the audio file (darn), but I was intrigued: http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/the-ends-of-the-earth-158572/
Kolbert also wrote “Field Notes from a Catastrophe.” Here’s an (older) interview from Grist, with interesting comments from readers, too: http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/04/10/roberts/
January 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
dark ally - glad you are on board!!
The repartee should be interesting indeed! We might as well try and get a journal paper out of it, no? 
I had never heard of Kolbert, but I think I have heard previous NPR interviews of her, sounds vaguely familiar. I’ll be certain to check out some of her writings! I also plan on engaging the local populace to do some preliminary interviews of local folklore on climate change in the area. Apparently Fort McMurray is a classic oil-driven boomtown - there may not be many “locals” there - but I’ll have an SUV and a “thick jacket”… what more do I need to strike out into the tundra?!
January 12th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Oh, and my Starbucks too! Now if I could only find my pocket Hello Kitty GPS……
[No, no, really, I'm not THAT yuppie...]