Life Below Zero

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TheCracker:

Please note that "cold" in East Texas is not the same as "COLD" in Alaska. I have experienced both and East Texas cold during an Ice Storm is like a mild spring day (I lived in the Dallas area for 18 years). Also, it is rumored that the mosquitos in Alaska have to check with Air Traffic Control before taking off. Have experienced them, I am inclined to believe the rumors. Imagine so many mosquitos on your hand that you can't see any skin.

Alaska is beautiful, hard country. However, I prefer it to East Texas. I do not prefer it to West Texas, but that is a different story...
 
Also like the show, but don't think they have done a very good job explaining why "Sue" is up there. The good news and the bad news is that these shows are edited by producers to make them entertaining but also reasonably "real". With Sue it has been more about her miserable situation which doesn't make sense because it is after all a hunting / hiking / adventure camp in season. Those other structures are for housing, food prep, and supplies for the people who visit or pass thru as they head out to hunt or whatever.

My guess is that she has plenty of "emergency" gear if she is hit with a SHF event. Go to the web site for Kavic River Camp for more on the place.
 
Interested to see the post dissing the 44mag or 45-70. I have never met an experienced Ak vet who would suggest a SW500 over a 44mag for any number of reasons. The main one is availability of ammo. If you've ever been to AK., you know what I mean. I agree that a 12g is the best go to gun for bear defense, with the 44m as backup in a pinch.

Smoke'm if you've got them [SW500 or 454C] and take the time and $$ to get good with them. A whole lot of AK's who live and frequent the bush, won't leave home without the 44 on their hip and some type of long gun at hand. The handgun should not be your first or only choice.
 
TheCracker:

Please note that "cold" in East Texas is not the same as "COLD" in Alaska. I have experienced both and East Texas cold during an Ice Storm is like a mild spring day (I lived in the Dallas area for 18 years). Also, it is rumored that the mosquitos in Alaska have to check with Air Traffic Control before taking off. Have experienced them, I am inclined to believe the rumors. Imagine so many mosquitos on your hand that you can't see any skin.

Alaska is beautiful, hard country. However, I prefer it to East Texas. I do not prefer it to West Texas, but that is a different story...
Liven in rural AK for seven years and never felt threatened by the weather. When got transferred down to WY, had the weather scare the Hades out of me several times that first winter.

Where we lived in AK the mosquitos were treated as pets, it was the no-seeums and white socks which drove us painfully nuts.
 
+I'm glad you all like the show.


The comment about the offhand rifle shooting is explained well with this one word; editing.
She did miss her first shot at her Caribou, as the rear slide was forward on her M-39, at about 500 yards and I called it high. She looked, adjusted and nailed a fat Female with the next one. One camera shot is actually her shooting a Fox (with the tree in the background) and over the course of the filiming, there were quite few Caribou hunted, and that time we caught two.

I can only find a few "If you were there you would know" but honestly, its 90% what we were doing as we did it. We get a lot of say so and narrate our selfs, so its basicly more documentary than realitys non reality.The rifle shots were simply blended in editing as we were not out shooting a lot or getting filming of different angles, as ammo is scares in the village, and we cant burn ammo for the film shooting in the air.
 
Well, i lived in Alaska 25 years, and that gal is a bigger "whiner" than anyone "I" even met in the bush! I don't know why she's worried about bears so much, her chain smokeing will kill her before any bear will get to her...

You guys don't really think there's bears wondering around in those snow storms looking for her, do you??? lol

DM
Let me say I like the show and if I was 40 years younger I would be headed to Ak. but I'm stuck in West Texas.


As to bears. I'm smart enough to realize that if there are brown bears in the area I'm nothing more than a snack for them. Snow or no snow. I sure don't want one deciding my shelter is a nice place to hold up till the storm passes. Anywho its a good show.
 
Let me say I like the show and if I was 40 years younger I would be headed to Ak. but I'm stuck in West Texas.


As to bears. I'm smart enough to realize that if there are brown bears in the area I'm nothing more than a snack for them. Snow or no snow. I sure don't want one deciding my shelter is a nice place to hold up till the storm passes. Anywho its a good show.
The well fed coastal brown bears are laid back and complacent as compared to the much smaller Barren Ground grizzlies. These smaller interior grizzlies operate on a short fuse and are mostly ready for a fight at scent or (poor eye) sight.
 
@ caribou

OK, so most of the 'problems' I have with the show are related to the silly azz editors and "their" idea of how it should read.

That explains a HUGE amount as the 'editors' are THE problem with most TV shows.They are shown the correct/right/ONLY way to do something,then they take 'poetic license' and ruin facts with fantasy.

Sue is still a wonderment as to why and how she found herself in such a miserable place [ her view ] with such terrible conditions that it is a miracle she is alive.Possibily its the 'editors' again,but she sure seems like a miserable old cow [ and she aint that old ].

Still cannot fathom INTENTIONALLY sleeping all winter in a 'bear food bag' if there were ANY options.
 
Thanks Bassdog. I was wondering why she was up there, other than she does not like society that much or people. The backstory is helpful.
 
re: backup dwelling/supplies. Saw an episode of (Air Alaska?) with a fellow living in a very remote AK location. Had a whole backup tent w/supplies deployed in addition to his regular cabin.
 
We, too , keep a couple of cache's, its full of tools and xtras, and we have one for dry'd foods/furs and one for gas.
Most houses are small for heats saving sake up this way, and extra "stuffs" is usually kept in an out building , in case of fire, animals getting in or just having the xtra room without having to heat it. Not like a military or 'survival' cache's, these are in regular use, but there are 4 places near our favored camping spots where we keep things outta view, as we put gas there and then our fish and such when we have more than we can take in one load, and others need not help themselves so easily.

At least if Sue is complaining, living on her own and using stove oil, ect, it is real......., Ive talked with some of these fellas that film her.... and that's how she lives below Zero, tending her business. I do not understand the need to winter over, but if its Hers, then shes Home, where ever that may be :D Theres no need to be sane or reasonable here ~~LOL!!~~
 
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I just started watching this show a couple of weeks ago and like I'm hooked on it! I'm not sure what goes on behind the scenes but I think they have done a really good job of showing what you guys go through to survive and making it interesting to the viewer. I'm definitely impressed and thank you for letting people get a glimpse of your life up there. Congrats on the show and good job! It kind of makes you realize that it's the small things in life you need to stop and appreciate.
 
I've enjoyed the show. My dad spent a year at Fort Yukon in the mid 60's and this show is making some of those stories 'come to life' more than "the Alaska Experiment" or other such shows.

It's a place I'd love to visit but I'm not sure I'm tough enough to live there.
 
The show has a priority setting on my DVR and I look forward to it each week. I know that the season is already in "the can" so feedback at this point won't affect the remaining 1st season episodes. I do hope that as they debrief and prepare for season 2 that they are careful to keep the show slanted toward being real instead of going the drama reality direction where its mostly trash. Some suggestions: Show different aspects of the characters lives. One guy is a guide, how about showing him guiding. Sue's camp is a layover for hunters and bush adventures. How about showing some of the "in season" stuff. Caribeu lives the homesteader life as much as possible, but he needs to move beyond fighting to get to Eagle and the fishing and hunting that this season focuses on. Realize that is what defines this lifestyle, but there has got to be some "fun" somewhere. Understand that the show is about life -Zero so its not surprising we get winter. The truth however is that it is not so extreme for at least a few short months. I'd like to see that too.

Visited Alaska in 08 and 11, traveling over 95% of the paved roads [outside of town] and hundreds of miles that weren't. The first trip was in early Spring and the last was timed perfectly [total fluke] to see the fall color that Ak has to offer [mostly yellow].

Final comment: The producers are over the top IMHO with the isolated [can't get out] condition. Cell coverage is spotty at best in the bush so I understand that, but at a minimum there is VHF radio and shortwave. Have watched the Coast Guard Alaska series and they make it pretty straight forward that they can get help to where it is needed. While some of the people on this show [Sue comes to mind] are truely way way off the grid, she admits she has internet and sat tv. Fans of this show can handle the truth.
 
One of the challenges for a real-world show is that getting releases and approvals to include clients in photography can be problematic. That will tend to push producers into recording and presenting more-self-contained sequences with existing participants.

On comms, sat phones (for those that can afford them) has likely changed some of the isolation issues that were extant in the past.
 
For sure am not doubting the difficulties of living this type of lifestyle. You really have to visit Ak to grasp how much of it is way way way off the grid. Only accessable by plane or boat. Store stuff is often not available and what is stocked is unbelievably high. The subsistence hunting and fishing is real for many Alaskans. Good point about getting releases from non-regular cast on video. Still I think it would add an additional angle to the lives these folks live.

Am concerned that without expanding the story, the hunting, fishing, crabbing, etc will get redundent in just a few more episodes.
 
Last nights episode

I for the life of me see no reason to push 'Sue' at us so hard as she must be one of THE most unpleasant people I have ever heard speak,AND that is not in person.

She sure as hell thinks a great deal about herself --- btw if she plans on surviving a real attack [ she did have a rifle in hand ] then she better find a way to shoot with those HUGE mittens on :banghead:.

In the time it took to remove them = she could be dinner.

The rest of the show is a hoot and I feel for those hearty souls that are actually out there and living a hand to mouth existence [ unlike 'sue' ]

I would have LOVED to try that stuff as a younger man,I know my limitations and that is not for this old timer to start at my age and condition.

I would have [ and SHOULD have ] jumped at the chance back when I was an Iron worker and they wanted us to boom out to Ak for the pipeline.
 
I for the life of me see no reason to push 'Sue' at us so hard...
Sue was on the Discovery show Air Alaska which ran for several seasons.
Which means she might have started this series with more pull, so to speak. My guess is that Discovery wanted her on this show because of the reception she received on the previous one, and she was able to leverage their hankering into a contract agreement that she be given x% of airtime.
 
Enjoy the show, very much. Thanks and stay safe.

But, I feel like a wimp whenever I go the grocery store for food. :)
 
Last night episode

So was watching last nights new episode and was really enjoying seeing how its done FOR REAL.

Then Sue came on and I found the MUTE button was my best friend.

I cannot see why they spend so much camera time on such a miserable person.

AND reality TV has to come to grips with "REALITY" - that being that there is a CAMERAMAN there and she is not going to freeze alone.

The point being that the cameraman got there and has a means to leave or survive,kinda takes away from her "survival" or freezing death no ?.

The rest of the show and the people are amazing and truly tough,they don't live in a HEATED COMPANY TENT like Sue and they are truly living the life of an Alaskan, OUTSIDE -- leastwise that is how I see it.

I forgot ,can someone tell me who is CARIBOU [ on the show ] on this site - the Alaskan ?.

I would truly love to see a contest to win a week up there with any of those true survivors ---- except Sue of course.
 
I am Caribou here, but on TV, In taller and they call me "Chip", my wife is Agnes :D

Look up my old posts here on THR and you'll see why they flew out and found me ~~LOL!!~~
I'm thinking thell be around a lot. We just finished 3 more episodes, and theres more to be done.

Glad ya'all like it :)
 
Is Sue the one stalking the wolves as if it's a contest of whits? I keep mentally cheering for the wolves so it must be the same person...
 
Caribou,

I love the show. It is interesting seeing the different hunting techniques. I never thought of driving rabbits into a net. In the last episode, you didn't get any. I hope you get a lot in the next episode. Your daughters are absolutely precious.

KM, Sue has had some wolves in the distance but little up close. Basically she was just trying to keep them at a distance with some rifle shots. Erik has a hunt going for a lone wolf that is raiding is fur traps. I'm amazed the way he just walks around apparently unarmed with a wolf somewhere nearby and he is looking for a wolverine or two to skin. Maybe he has that 22 (that he uses to punch holes in stove pipe) with him?

So what is the wisdom in walking about apparently unarmed while looking for potentially dangerous critters? God help him if runs into a bear. Of course, I could just be a fraidy cat. :D
 
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