@ NATE: Tower erectors in Alaska face extreme weather, challenges

OKLAHOMA CITY–Tim “Huey” Burnham, president of operations of Alpine Tower and Technology in Wasilla, Alaska, leads a tower company that must overcome the unique challenges of operating in a tundra of rugged conditions.
The firm has approximately 27 tower workers and started in 2003, performing work similar to most tower companies: inspections, raising and lowering microwave dishes, attaching antennas and running lines. However, Burnham’s company has one caveat that sets his crew apart. Where they work, he says, it averages 30 below zero and generally has gusts of wind at 20 miles per hour. Temperature swings throughout a year in Alaska can range as low as 50 below zero to highs in the 90s and are wildly unpredictable in such areas as Fairbanks.
As a full-service company, Alpine Tower and Technology also has offices in Anchorage and primarily covers the whole of Alaska, which is more than double the land size of Texas in excess of 663,000 square miles of territory.
The summers bring in swarms of mosquitoes and other kinds of wildlife including moose. If near a river, especially during salmon season, bears may populate the region. It’s common for tower climbers to carry weapons on a build if it becomes necessary to scare off an animal. Forest fires also become more typical in summer, and thick smoke can cover the ways in and out of a build.
Getting from place to place isn’t always convenient, either. Tiny cargo planes carry workers from locale to locale, crammed with equipment and personnel.
“I think Alaska bush pilots are probably the best pilots in the world, per capita, because they have to be,” said Burnham.
Sometimes hitching a ride with locals is the custom after the plane lands, as there are no cars to rent and the ability to use four-wheel drive vehicles is necessary. Local schools often serve as hotels for Alpine Tower and Technology’s crews, providing gyms or garages to stow gear, cook meals and sleep.