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Cape Newenham
AFS
1952
to 1984* |
| Name of Ski
Area: |
Cape Newenham
AFS (Air Force Station) |
| Location: |
Western Alaska, 150 miles south of Bethel, on the coast of the
Bering Sea. |
| Type of Area: |
Ski
Hill, Sledding Hill |
| Dates of
Operation: |
1952-1984
(*in 1984 the minimally attended radar was installed) |
| Who Built It?: |
The
United States Air Force built this Long Range Radar Station. |
| Elevations: |
~600'
for the Lower Camp, ~2000' for Top Camp
|
| Lifts: |
A
tram ran from the Lower Camp to the Top Camp. The tram was
installed to transport people and supplies to the mountain top.
But the tram could also transport skiers! |
| Facilities: |
A
full-service remote Long Range Radar Station camp with airfield that would
support over 100 servicemen. |
|
History: |
Cape Newenham AFS was one
of the ten original aircraft control and warning sites of the
Alaskan air defense system. Construction of the site began
in 1950 and after a two year delay became operational in 1954.
Minimally Attended Radar (MAR) became operational in 1984 and
from then on only a handful of contractors were needed to
maintain this radar site.
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| Sources of
Information: |
Scott Turney;
Carter Morris; The
Online Air-Defense Radar Museum - www.radomes.org/museum/;
Pete Alexson |
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The
Hurricane of September 11th, 1955 - Article courtesy of Morris Carter |
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Morris Carter sent this article to ALSAP. It shows how
severe the weather at Cape Newenham can get. And in this
case - how bad it got when he was there. On September 11,
1955, after 24 hours of gale force winds, hurricane force winds
that topped 120 mph battered Cape Newenham. These sudden
and violent winds killed two servicemen and injured 10 others.
The bubble on the radar was lost, buildings were blown over and
tents that troops lived in were flattened. Click on the
article to the right to expand it to readable size. |
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Skiing, and
a Close Call with an Avalanche, at Cape Newenham in 1981
by Scott Turney |
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Hello Tim,
I have lived in
Alaska since August of 1980. My first winter as a cheechako was
spent at Top Camp on Cape Newenham AFS as a civilian Radar
technician working on the USAF Advanced Early Warning Radar
System. It was a mighty long and brutal winter, with winds well
over 100mph on a fairly regular basis. But in early Spring of
1981, I made the acquaintance of a guy nicknamed Crazy Joe, a
transplanted Texican. Joe had worked out there for a few years
and had brought two complete sets of downhill skis, boots, and
poles. Being a bit crazy myself from living with three
alcoholics in a tin box topped by a giant golfball with no
breaks for five months, I offered to buy one of the two sets
from Joe.
Our routine was
to tell George (the site manager) we were going up to check the
cables on the open air tram…then we would trek across the saddle
sitting 2000 feet above Bottom Camp, kicking footholds in the
frozen crust up the ridgeline to the top of Ol’ Jagged, a mere
4-hour journey. And when we reached the widest of three
avalanche chutes, we would sit down, pull on our (old-fashioned)
leather ski boots, kick the cornice off and flip a coin. Winner
got to go first. It was insane but the three minute screamer
was a huge adrenaline rush, much akin to leaping out of a good
airplane with no parachute.
I nearly had to
retire those skis later that Spring...one day in early May 1981,
I had emerged from the dome to find sparkling skies and
temperatures in the twenties – and best of all, the wind had
STOPPED after three weeks with no mail or fresh supplies from
Bottom Camp. I spotted a Twin Otter landing far below – and
knew it was too good to miss this opportunity.
I hauled the
skis out the back door of the radome, and followed the gradually
descending ridge toward the ocean. It was a four mile trip and
one I had enjoyed before on at least three other descents. As I
skied across the face of a rounded peak, just 50 feet from the
top of the ridge, I heard a ghastly sound…KAWHUMPF! I cranked
my head around and a two foot crack was about to make me do the
splits. God was not ready for me to check in that day. Without
reasoning it out, I got the skis off my feet, and jumped up and
over the 8-foot rock wall I had been skiing below. How did I do
it? I still don’t know. But what I witnessed next freaked me
out pretty bad. There were huge rectangles of snow eight
to ten feet thick tumbling and sliding down the mountain below
where I had been only moments before.
A year later I
was attending the University of Alaska in Anchorage (I’d left
the Cape and gave up a gravy job). My wife and I met Todd Miner
and Bill Babcock, instructors of the Arctic Winter Survival
classes taught there. Later I joined the Alaska Mountain Rescue
Group, and learned about avalanche safety from Doug Fessler. We
climbed for a few more years, advancing to crevasse rescue and
other valuable mountaineering skills. I have a much healthier
respect for the Mountains now. And I encourage the people we
meet to get trained before they head into the back country.
Scott Turney |
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"Scotty",
Currently employed by Boeing on Shemya Island, Alaska |
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~
DOCUMENTS ~
(Courtesy of
the Cape Newenham
Veterans MSN Group)
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1956
Indoctrination Pamphlet |
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Proof that skiing was
a recreation option for Cape Newenham troops from the get go can
be seen in the Cape Newenham 1956 Indoctrination Pamphlet by
Joel Cooper. Page 6 of the pamphlet states: "Skis and
snowshoes are available for use by all personnel." And the
pamphlet cover even had drawings of two skiers. |
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On the right is a
segment of the 1956 Indoctrination Pamphlet cover showing
drawings of two skiers. |
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(Click on page to
expand to readable size) |
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Cover |
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
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Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
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Page 8 |
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~
PHOTOS ~ (All
Courtesy of The Online Air-Defense Radar Museum, www.radomes.org/museum/
Go to this great web site for many more pictures of Cape Newenham AFS) (click
on any image to expand it) |
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~
MAPS ~ |
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This
large scale map shows where the Cape Newenham AFS was located relative
to Bethel and the rest of Southwest Alaska. (click
on this map to expand it) |
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A
zoomed in view of a topo map shows the location of the Top Camp and
Lower Camp of the Cape Newenham AFS. The area of the tramway that
connected the camps was where skiing took place.
(click
on this map to expand it) |
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| Research
Correspondence |
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[Larry Smith - 01 January 2006 email excerpt]
Cape Romanzof, 795th AC&W Squadron is still active as a minimally manned
long range radar site (LRRS). In the summer of 1984 the Air Force
installed an
AN/FPS-117 radar system at the site. Contractors now do the maintenance
and take care of the equipment. I understand that it now only takes 3 -
5 contractors to do the maintenance and all the 150+ blue suiters that
used to run the sites when we were there have been eliminated for the
past 20+ years.
Somehow, I feel left out of it all. Of course, when blue suiters ran all
these Alaska sites it took a lot of folks - in all AFSCs - to do the one
year remote.
The "Cape" was activated in April, 1953 so just think of how many people
had to pull a "remote" away from their families for the 31 years before
technology could make it so that only a handful of people could run such
a radar!
Now, multiply that by all the Alaska radar sites then in existence and
some that only operated for 5 or so years before "they" were closed
up... and.. that's a lot of personnel resources and support costs
associated with keeping a "thousand" plus blue suiters (and civilian KPs)
PCS to an Alaska Radar Site.
Of course, then, it was necessary due to the "Cold War." Now, it's
necessary for other reasons to keep control of our airspace over Alaska.
But, for the past 21 years it's being done with fewer people.
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[Pete Alexson - 08 May 2019 email ]
I was herring fishing in Togiak, AK. a couple weeks ago. I hiked
up Cape Newenham and skied, much to my surprise I found an old gondola.
Also found an old military plane crash site in the same area. It
was a great ski, very James Bond like. Loved to see they have been
skiing there since 1954!
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Do
you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to
contribute about this
ski area? |
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