Caribou Chasing at Sondrestrom

Photo by Richard Wright, 61st and 17th TCS Navigator, August 1960

Unknown crew member passing the time at Sondrestrom Air Base by chasing caribou across the tundra. In the 1990's there are around 3,000 reindeer or caribou in the Sondrestrom area. The caribou are in a natural period of decline due to a shortage of reindeer moss. During the 1960's, until the early 1970s, it has been estimated that there were 40,000 or more caribou in the vicinity of Sondrestrom Air Base.

Things to do in Sondrestrom before chasing caribou:

Visit the Base Exchange twice a day
Go to the same movie every night
Buy Cracker Jacks at the movie
Have a beer in the Fox and Hare, Caribou Club, or bowling alley
Play ping pong
Go bowling
Play shuffleboard in the club
Throw darts in the club
Go fishing at Lake Ferguson
Play badminton in the gym
Play basketball in the Sondy gym
Have a drink in the Fox and Hare or Caribou Club
Shoot pool in the Caribou Club or Fox and Hare
Go for a hike
Play Bridge or Pinochle
Catch the bus to DYE I or Holsteinberg
Paint rocks to look like "hooters"
Go fishing in the Fjord
Visit the Sondrestrom hobby shop
Play the slot machines in the Fox and Hare or Caribou Club
Look for garnets at Garnet Mountain
Drink the infamous "reconstituted" milk
Scrounge around at the Sondy dump
Attend "Happy Hour"
"Saddle up" the rotating beacon on Sugar Loaf for a "ride"
Chase Willie the musk ox
Chase Caribou

Please feel free to forward any additions to this list.