Yukon's spectacular northern lights through the eyes of a person living with color vision deficiency using EnChroma glasses. Photo courtesy of Dan Carr. Color blind conversion by EnChroma

  
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Travel Yukon, an arm of the Canadian province of Yukon’s department of tourism and culture, has collaborated with EnChroma, a leading producer of glasses for colorblindness and low vision, to make the showstopping northern lights more accessible than ever before for the colorblind, and provided one Canadian with the chance to see this natural phenomenon in full color for the first time. Russell Basilio experiences colorblindness. He sees color in dull hues, especially red and green, which leaves him to interpret the beauty of the world through shapes and textures.

In order to demonstrate the power of this new accessibility, Travel Yukon took Basilio on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to experience the northern lights in their truest colorful form. “Growing up colorblind I always knew I saw the world differently. My sister would describe things to me like the northern lights, but I never really understood what that meant,” said Basilio. “To experience the northern lights in color with my sister by my side was a gift.”

“With dynamic lights and fantastic hues of greens, purples and reds, the northern lights are one of Yukon's most beautiful natural phenomena,'' said Robin Anderson, global marketing manager at Travel Yukon. “We are grateful for the opportunity to have worked with EnChroma to allow Russell to discover what makes the Yukon one of the best places in the world to experience incredible northern lights viewing.”

Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma, commented, “The Yukon truly is larger than life but, for the hundreds of millions of people with colorblindness across the globe, many of its most spectacular and colorful scenes can’t be fully experienced or appreciated. We’re so excited to partner with Travel Yukon to give Russell and future visitors the chance to see the northern lights in all their glory.”

Canadians looking to learn more about R Basilo’s adventure can watch his journey by clicking here.

EnChroma's collaboration with Travel Yukon is the latest in a series of partnerships designed to raise awareness about colorblindness and the solutions for it. To learn more, read our recent article, "When Creating Solutions for Colorblindness, EnChroma Colors Outside the Lines."