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Sixty years ago tomorrow, the "Frozen Chosen" founded this tiny outpost at the top of the world and opened up the High Arctic for the first time to weather research.

"We were really isolated. The only thing you could do was work, otherwise the mind could wander and you were likely to go crazy," recalled Justin (Jud) Courtney, 87, who led the joint Canadian-U.S. effort to build five northern weather stations six decades ago.

The group's first stop was Eureka, on the west coast of Ellesmere Island less than 1,000 kilometres south of the North Pole, on April 7, 1947.

They arrived in the morning aboard a DC-3 aircraft equipped with landing skis, and by 7 p.m. the five Americans and Canadians were transmitting their first weather report to the world using a four-watt radio powered by a hand-cranked generator. The weather that day was sunny and -38.

Since then, the station, which is now exclusively operated by Environment Canada, has generated thousands of weather reports and helped keep the rest of the country informed about what kind of conditions to expect from the Far North. The research is also now helping scientists around the world track and analyze climate change.

Mr. Courtney, who was 27 in 1947 and working for the Canadian weather service, said the need for the stations became obvious during the Second World War. "The Arctic was a blank area for us when it came to weather reports. From time to time, we'd get weather roaring out of there and it would take everybody by surprise," the St. John's native said in a telephone interview from his home in Penticton, B.C.

The weather stations became a top priority after the hot war ended and the Cold War began, along with fears of Russians invading.

The men were sent by the U.S. and Canadian governments to act both as weathermen and human flagpoles. The Americans originally dispatched were soldiers, while the Canadians did the meteorological work.

"They were really the Frozen Chosen," said Al Gaudet, Eureka station's current manager. "They came here to absolutely nothing and within a few hours they had their tents up, a hot meal and were sending out a weather report."

The "chosen" would barely recognize Eureka today. The makeshift tents are gone, replaced by state-of-the art buildings and equipment, including a relatively new staff residence Mr. Gaudet has nicknamed the "Sheraton of the North."

However, visitors to the station, which has an annual budget of $2.3-million, will realize quickly this is no resort. The main entrance to the staff barracks is a heavy meat-locker-style door, and the cluster of snow-encrusted buildings teems with computers and high-tech meteorological gadgets.

Mr. Gaudet, 55, a divorced father and grandfather, has worked in Eureka since 1999, travelling in and out on two three-month stints a year from his Calgary home. For years, a Eureka posting was called "sovereignty service."

"Some days, it's like living on the pages of National Geographic," he said about the majestic snow-covered mountains and tundra outside his frosted window. He was once surrounded by 12 of the island's famous and harmless Arctic wolves, which are larger than husky dogs, and recalled the experience as "awe-inspiring." Technology has helped ease the isolation, although newcomers still receive lessons in coping.

Mr. Gaudet said he's often asked whether the Arctic weather station is witnessing climate change up close. "We just collect the data," he answered, adding that it's up to scientists to use that information to interpret what's happening to the Earth.

He said that while in the satellite age much of the station's work could be done from space, their presence helps verify the information collected and then sent to Environment Canada offices for analysis and distribution. Of the five original Arctic weather stations, only three are still manned.

Mr. Courtney, who survived a plane crash at another Arctic station in 1949, is humble when asked about his contribution to helping set up Eureka. "It was a job, and I wasn't particularly happy about being away from my family," he said. Mr. Courtney was married with one child and another on the way when he left for his year-long post at Eureka. "But it was one of those things I had to do."

Essential facts

Weather: Located in a polar desert, the weather station observes months of dark, frigid days, but not a lot of snow. Precipitation averages 6.4 centimetres annually. The record high is 20 degrees, while the record low is -55.3. The average high in July, the warmest month, is 6 degrees.

History: The station sent its first weather report on April 7, 1947, and was the first of five High Arctic weather stations built by the Canadian and U.S. governments after the Second World War.

Today: Eureka also hosts a military outpost and one of the world's northernmost permanent scientific installations. The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory conducts atmospheric research and studies subjects such as the ozone layer and climate change. Eureka's population fluctuates constantly, but there are permanently eight Environment Canada staff rotating through on a continuous basis. Supplies are flown in once a month during the winter, and every two to three weeks in the summer. Two years' worth of fuel are socked away in case an annual sea lift doesn't arrive.

'The Garden Spot of the Arctic'

Eureka is home to a wide array of animals and plants, and the area transforms during the summer months from a barren wasteland to a sea of flowers such as Arctic poppies and purple saxifrage. The area is inhabited by Arctic hares, wolves and foxes.

TEXT: KATHERINE HARDING; GRAPHIC: MIKE FAILLE