VE8RCS/VY0 and Alert, Ellesmere Island

We've been hearing them and some of us have worked VE8RCS/VY0 and no doubt they are causing some good pile ups on the amateur bands where they show up. A couple of nights ago they were on the low end of 40 meter CW (7.009MHz). They sat there for a little over four hours pounding out the contacts. Check out Scott Crouse's special CFS Alert web site for up to the minute news and some great photography from this DXpedition.

Ellesmere Island is part of the North American IOTA Group. The designation for Ellesmere is NA-008 for the information exchange during a contact with VE8RCS/VY0. This is a rare one no doubt. Here's a map showing Ellesmere Island and the surrounding area including part of Greenland and Thule air base.

Ellesmere Island is the largest island of the Queen Elizabeth Islands located off the northwest coast of Greenland. The island is about 500 km wide and 800 km long and has an area of about 200,000 sq km. It is the most rugged in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Cape Columbia, at latitude 83º07' N, is the most northerly point of Canada, and Barbeau Peak, at an elevation of 2,616 metres, is the highest point in Nunavut. The settlements are all quite small, including Eureka, Grise Ford (Aujuittuq), and Alert. Alert is the northernmost community in North America.

Alert is an unforgiving place where night and day dominate the seasons. From late March till the middle of September there is 24-hour daylight. And from the middle of October until the end of February, the sun does not make an appearance, culminating in 24-hour darkness. To make matters worse, temperatures rarely move above the freezing level. And in an emergency situation, help may not come very quickly, as only two ships have ever reached CFS Alert!

(Ellesmere Island website)