An isolated city with barely any people might sound like the setting of a horror movie — but it’s where Jamie Loan calls home.
The 36-year-old moved to Whittier, a seaside town in Southern Alaska, seven years ago with her husband Kyle, 37.
Sitting on the banks of the Prince William Sound, and nestled between glaciers and mountains, the average winter temperature in Whittier is somewhere between a rather chilly -18C and -12C.
And while the sea might be home to an abundance of wildlife — including orcas, humpback whales and sea otters — it’s not quite so busy on land. In fact, the last census counted just 272 residents.
For Jamie and Kyle though, this was all part of the appeal. Such a small population means the housing market isn’t exactly competitive, in fact, almost all of the people here live in the city’s only high-rise building, officially the Begich Building (or the BTI) — a 14 storey block with 150 apartments.
Jamie and Kyle however, went for waterfront living, and were able to snap up their own condo for a steal, at just £15,000.
‘Treacherous’ winters
Jamie and Kyle both grew up in Alaska, so aren’t phased by Whittier’s extreme climate.
While tourists — up to 700,000 annually — flock here in the summer months for sea kayaking tours and hiking, the winters can be brutal, with lows reaching -20C, and winds of up to 60mph.
Jamie says that the city is regularly blanketed in 40ft of snow, leaving families trapped in their homes.
And, from November to March, the sun stays so low in the sky that it hides behind Whitter’s mountains, leaving residents without proper sunlight for weeks on end.
Icy conditions also mean that the roads freeze over — although the town does have a handy solution for getting around.
Underneath Whitter, there’s a network of tunnels which locals can use rather than trudge through the snow. ‘Residents frequently use the tunnel to the school, the pedestrian tunnel from the residential side of town to the harbor front, and more,’ says Jamie.
‘A lot of people think it’s creepy, but it’s innovative! They go under some roads and railroad tracks, and protect from high wind and blowing snow. We get gnarly storms here. They’re also great shortcuts.’
Whittier’s children have even taken to making the tunnels their own. ‘The school kids color and write positive affirmations in throughout the year as well,’ she says.
The town itself is also only accessible via a tunnel, officially the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a 2.5 mile stretch of road that cuts through a mountain, and the longest of its kind in North America.
It operates on a strict schedule, with cars only pass through each way once per hour — and it shuts completely at 11pm. There are also several safe houses along the route, in case of an emergency.
Even with the tunnel though, Jamie says getting around is ‘treacherous’.
Jamie shares: ‘We lost three more community members two weeks ago in a wreck on the road, so using it is a gamble.’
Instead, she prefers to plan ahead, ensuring their freezer is always stocked, and limiting grocery shops to just once or twice a month.
However, winter isn’t all bad as far as Jamie is concerned. She says it’s the perfect time of year for skiing and sledding — and it’s also when she can look to the skies, and see the Northern Lights.
‘Everyone here is like family’
In Whittier, everybody knows everybody — after all, they’re all next door neighbours.
The BTI was originally built to house the US military in 1957. At the time, Whittier was promoted as the ‘City Under One Roof’. As well as the 150 apartments, the BTI also has a convenience store, a post office, a police station, and a laundrette.
Back in the 1950s, the army constructed another residential building, the Buckner Building, which had a bowling alley, a small jail, and a cinema — although this fell into disrepair and has been abandoned since 2016.
The BTI is also home to the PO boxes of everyone in the town, as no one has an actual address.
Jamie and Kyle, however, live in a smaller apartment block by the water, Whittier Manor, that’s situated above the town diner — where meals are as cheap at £7.50.
Jamie says: ‘You really get to know people, like a family, especially in the winter, when we’re all here by ourselves.
‘We spend all of our holidays together. We all do either a big potluck or go to the diner and everybody’s all together, eating and laughing, and the kids are playing and singing karaoke, it’s heartwarming.’
During the summer months, Jamie runs a hiking tour and a historic tour,and then works as a substitute teacher in the winter.
Whittier school has only 60 pupils, aged between five and 18. Jamie says it’s great place to grow up, with all the kids regularly enjoying multi day kayaking and camping trips.
‘It’s not remote — we have a road’
Compared to a number of other Alaskan cities, Whittier is actually quite well-connected. In fact, 82% of Alaskan communities can only be accessed by plane.
Jamie notes: ‘Some people in Alaska would say that Whittier is not remote because there is a road.
‘But if you’re looking at a map, everything around it is just mountains and glaciers and forests for hundreds and hundreds of miles and in every direction.
‘I think what draws those of us that live here to Whittier is that we do have a road, but you have space to roam and adventure.’
Despite Whittier being dubbed ‘the weirdest town in America,’ Jamie emphasises how her and her husband have been able to enjoy a ‘really fun lifestyle’ living in this unusual city.
‘We have a lot of time to travel and experience stuff that people who work year-round aren’t able to,’ she says.
The best of Whittier
While Whittier might be somewhat of a ghost town in the winter months, it attracts tourists from all over the world when the temperatures are quite so chilly.
Many visitors arrive in Whittier by boat, as part of excursions or longer cruises. As well as the sea life, you might also spot some bears roaming around on the shore — and it’s always worth looking up, as eagles fly in the skies here too.
Boat and kayaking tours also take tourists up close to the glaciers that surround Whittier —Prince William Sound, the body of water that Whittier sits on, boasts one of the largest concentrations of tidewater glaciers in the world.
Perhaps the most breathtaking is the Portage Glacier, which has its own visitor centre. Chunks of ice are routinely hauled out of the water and brought into center, to give visitors a chance to touch the ice.
Back on dry land, the Horsetail Falls trail is popular. This two-mile hike takes you post the dramatic Horsetail Falls waterfall, which flows over a sheer rockface.
And finally, when you want to warm up, and refuel with some well deserved food (and booze), the Anchor Inn is where its at. The only bar and restaurant that’s open all year round, this three-storey family-owned spot is the centre of the town’s social scene. It’s also just across the road from the BTI, so a chance to mix with the locals, and find out what life is really like in Whittier.
