Life Below Zero

I don't even know where to start with the above.

 

HUH !, bats +bear = no win situation, but more power to you.

 

So how much do these folks get paid for being on the show? Anyone know? they do get paid, right?

 

@ Remander

OK, let me be the first to call a HOO HAAA on that hot pile of HOO HAA.

UNLESS you have pic's ---- then I will eat crow ,really !.

 

It is just TV. I enjoy the show like I have enjoyed Chip's posts on this forum.

Some of the arguments in this thread are just silly.

 

Is that the University at Fort Yukon? What years where you there?

 

Glenn is alright. He seems like a thoughtful individual. Of all the characters, he is the most relatable to people in the lower 48. He's an aesthete. His character complements the other unique characters on the show. TThe Hermit, The Family Man, The Crafty Musher. For those of us who watch the show and have no desire/intention to live in the wild, Glenn communicates the beauty of isolation and the Alaskan wilderness very simply and disarmingly.

 

Well, for sure, we are not scripted in any way. Edited, yes. They follow us and we see what comes of it. Theres often 5 ideas of what we might do or expect to do, depending on just what it is were doing.....when they get there and the weather and machinery do their best to shape that into what ever happens, be it me breaking down severely or catching animals, but FOR SURE, its Edited.4 days average into 13 or so minutes, but the story is really what happened and no one can "Cue the Caribou" or"release the salmon" but they will say "We need a shot of you driving down the river" and we generally spend a day or 1/2 of one doing "Pick ups' where they get close up after close up, or drive bys or more skin scraping and such to fill for visual, little snips in a second or two showing some strangly morbid images ~~LOL!!~~ But its fun and we get to call the shots. If its to crappy to go, we dont, we stay home and do something, and it becomes the episode about what we do when they are there. We often take more days for production because we travel quite a bit, as you might know.

Episodes of us Fishing and being home can be fun and quick to do, those of us out hunting can await weather/parts for weeks.

They leave out alot of the kills, kill shots post kill films and alot of the catch. Its straneg to work and film things like fishing for 4 day, and the ladys proudly filling the drying racks and smoker with the best Salmon they could freshly catch, I building racks and makeinga smoker, getting cottonwood logs to keep the smoker smokin', they showed the first days catch, and me getting poles without bark for the day ,so the sap would dry on the peeled ones. .......we found that perplexing.


Edited, highly edited.....thats the key, and sometimes the editors do not understand when they screw with whats the point of what were trying to accomplish, with fishing, hunting, gathering, and the way the land is set up to have animals do certain thjings on certain terrain features, and how the animals will react to a large crew or 5 people trying to stalk animals, its can be frusterating, but the crew trys its best with what they are given.

Then theres the "Slow Mo" done inna day kind of episodes, withthings like my son being late, they were 1/2 hour ahead of me when he didnt come, and drove out about 7 miles and there he really was, actually over heated and late......but since i was stopping to check for them at the inlaws, they actually went down the trail ahead of me, set up and filmed my arrival, also with the 5-7 mandatory GO-PRO's that are ever present. They get ahead of us when were doing Winter filming too, but the camera man and safety guy are at home on Snowgo's ,getting very familiar with the camps, rivers and locations we are going to or are at, so they flow easily and are starting to know the places we film well enough to know wher ewere going, and that makes it easier. If Im gonna go somewhere, I just tell them where and what time ill leave, and they can get ahead or behind, depending on what shot they look for. Something repetitive and an east to fololow trail on like a trap line is a very easy shoot, even in bad weather.

The longest waits is when we drag ass from 100 mile rides and they travel with us.....then we stop and they take 15 minutes to set up to film our arrival, us all tired, sitting, looking at our warm house at -20....LOL!!! those are the hardest, and thats the closest we actually get to being scripted.

We get paid a bit, hopefully better if we do a 3rd season

I do not personally know the others on the show, outside my own doings.
Im glad some fellas here are familiar with posts Ive made here for years. The same basic rythem in Nature is what Ive been posting, now its on TV ......but the storys dont stop when the cameras leave...
Well, for sure, Ive got another write up to do! The ladys came home today, Ive been home for a week and a half myself, as my mothers here, and Agnes waited out ice and weather for a week more, getting in some killer hunting and beach combing like few can.....
Ivory Teeth from "Floaters and Stinkers"

Qiviut Wool, gatherd and raw from the bushes along the coast, about 8 lbs, I think is worth 90$ an ounce cleaned. I gotta check on that, but still, very nice

 

I know I am late to this thread, but just wanted to add that I am a big fan of this show and have been watching since it came on the air. Being a city dweller most of my life (despite 24 years in the military) I am impressed with the beautiful but forbidding scenery as well as the simplicity of life depicted in the show. I actually thought it more scripted than it apparently is, and assumed that it is highly edited as well. Its hard not to be thinking about the obviously present, but off camera, film crew making the show when the storyline shows the characters "isolated" in the wilderness. While not for me, I have great admiration for those willing to forego the ease of modern life to achieve the independence and self reliance of living the way they do.

 

@ caribou

I was curious as to if you and or the family watch the whole show.

You would see some of the silly stuff that the editors put in,such as switching rifles in mid shot = looks SO dumb.

I also was curious as to if & when you are looking at having your 'ban' on owning and using firearms again lifted.

I truly feel your pain at some of the game you could have bagged [ legal of course ] if you had a gun in hand when spotting such.

Love the show,especially you & your family.

The fact that your wife is Native as are the children,being brought up with the culture !,GREAT STUFF.

again, saw that orange handled blade you used in house =

 

Scatty, That orange handled knife is in regular ues, its a real working knife. With three sharpening and 20 minuts, Agnes was getting those walrus heads off quick, and a hand saw on the neck bones finished it "Off" Nothing beats a "quick job" on a putrid walrus carcass, freshly pitched up from the Ocean floor or washed up from bobbing in the sun all bloated n' stink...

We do live "alone" quite often, but then we go back to the village,,and theres alotta people that we bump into or come and visit, as well as our large family that flows back and forth, amongst ourselfs.....so were never truly isolated, unless hunting fur, spring break up or Falls freeze up....and never more than a couple months.

To answer your question, weve seen about 2/3's of the shows, the producers send DVD's and we use a laptop to watch, or this PC.... and after the first few, with the odd edits and such, we seriously had to get got ahold of a segment producer that had time to listen and research, so hollywoods side could understand what they wer seing, and we have one now for the last year that really puts time and effort into getting what happend down. The various shots they throw in are often from the differing angles the camera men take, and sometimes we will work on two episodes, over a week or twos time and they rob scenes from the others film time. Something they did once was add extra misses during a Caribou hunt, to convey 'difficulty'......and we protested. So then you really get scenes like the Muskrat shooting, where Agnes used a Winchester .22 that had recently had its front sight chipped off and replaced with a shotgun sized Bead, unknown to her..... Hence, VERY noticeable bad markswomenship, but real as it was. Then, for the rest of the hunt, after burning the 12 in the tube, trying to figure out where it was hitting.....she switched to the single shot Marlin and made out quite well. They dont explain why/when we switch equipment, when we break something or somethings not up to the job, or the weather changes. Another thing that changes is producers, who write whats going on, each is different with different ways of doing things, and different points of view expressed, so incomes the editing and translation process that gos from being Us doing something to whats shown on TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826HMLoiE_o

Heres my favorite Hunting vid of all times. I can pick this so apart, knowing when they were actually hunting, when he was doing "Runby's" when he was running under the helocopter, when he was standing there being filmed. Still, its how they present a documentry, and thankfully, theres no "Drama" in this little vid , either ~~LOL!!~~

 

Ok it has taken me DAYS to get this thread read and it is one of the best things I have read ever because the show is such a favorite of mine. I like watching even the older episodes over again because there is usually some detail that I missed, and I appreciate the knowledge it gives. I do not live anywhere near those kind of conditions, but, that being said, a lot of what you guys do can translate in some fashion to be useful even where I live down south. I just want to say that I totally appreciate you, your family, and even the other cast members as well for inviting the world into your lives. Hey if you have to have reality TV then it should be a close to reality as you can get it.

 

Seems the producers are mixing the seasons from show to show and with in shows this time around. The folks are maddenly stocking firewood and meat for the cold winter and then worrying about the Ice breaking loose. Sub zero one segment and then Sue worrying loosing access to her freezer building.

Have they ever explained what all of the buildings at Sue's camp are used for. Many look like converted shipping containers. If they have talked about it I must have missed it.

 

^ IIRC she boards people and sells fuel in the summer.

 

I get the accomodations for hunters etc thing, but there must be a dozen or more of the separate buildings. You get a good look when they do an ariel shot. Don't see any #'s or markings of any kind. You get there and get assigned a "storage container", I don't see Sue walking you to the front door with a robe and extra towels.

 

I just have to chime in here. My Wife and I absolutely love this show and make it a point to watch every episode. With so much junk on TV it is great to watch something like this.

All the individuals offer a different perspective and Life Below Zero sure is a different lifestyle than most of us can even imagine.

Next week is the season finale, is there going to be more???

I hope so.

 

Sue ----- again !

I am not in the least bit a fan of 'her' part of the show.

I see her more as a mercenary ,making scoots from all who need what she imports to her place.

She is the antithesis of ALL the others on that show ,who eek out a living the hard way.

All she seems to worry about is her FUEL [ something NONE of the others seem to have the luxury of ].

I just don't see her as a part & parcel of the rest of those who really do ,survive "LIFE BELOW ZERO".

my 00.02 cent's ,s'all.

 

It could be her business is offering support to oil workers and researchers?

 

Sue runs an airport and lodging for folks who have business up that way, Guides, Hunters, researchers, ect. The "Cabins" are on wheels, tracks or are tents, as the leases given up that was do not allow permanent structures. It wasnt until recently that the Arctic has had the military FINALLY remove their abandoned junk, bases and atomic experiments, PCB spilled oils and fuels, ect. so most all camps and such are all removable, the land reclaimable.

One reason it seems to skip around, at least from this Fall is because we had a "freeze up, and then it warmed up again for almost a month and then we had another "Freeze up", damn near ruined our meats and fish, and alotta dogs got fat this winter from those who's did. The ice that formed at night cut our net webs, the fish with eggs went by and we skipped whitefishing
Also, our needs are different, from time to time, so we go with the flow

 

Caribou,
You have a wonderful family, my wife and I really enjoy the Hailstone scenes. Andy is a hoot, always fixing something. Or cussing through an attempt.
Sue's a quite the woman, Hell even the bear that et her spit the tough old gal out.
Then there's the various loners they keep finding to film. Quite entertaining.
Bless all you folks up on top of the World.

 

Caribou
I watched the show the other night were you & Agnes went out 20+ miles on the ice on one snow machine.

I realize there was a caravan of film crew following you if you needed help.

But, wouldn't it be prudent, if you were really going out that far on the ice with just the two of you alone?

To each ride a separate snow machine, so you wouldn't have to walk 20+ miles home on foot in case the single snow machine broke the track, or blew the engine beyond repair?

I understand you are self-sufficient out on the ice.
But only Until the food runs out, and you can't drag your shelter T-Pee & poles any further on foot, any further towards permanent shelter, food, and warmth.

??????

Thanks

rc

 

And burn twice the $8/gallon gas? Money and snow machines don't grow on trees I bet.

 

As to Sue, look up were she actually lives!!, If I am not mistaken she is the furthest North, Alone most of the time. Sure she may be odd to you but can you you live the life she does?? Benn mauled by a bear almost died, Just like anywhere there are all kinds of people.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/life-below-zero/articles/about-kavik/

 

RC, we go much further than 20 miles and usually with one snowgo, if its a day or two trip, but on serious trapping/Hunting we take both of our rides, one as more of a back up than a way home, besides, we have to take our tent and such with us both ways, so a second sled pulls gas for the snowgo's and hauls home fur and meats. We will both be on one ride, and the second is there as "spare" because snowgo's are high maintainace machines and theres no smooth paved gronds to ride, andything can happen at any time.
We always take 3-4 days food, in a 'Survival bag" for break downs, storms and such.......and should we break down, well pitch camp right there and let them come to us. Same if the snow go breaks, they allways find the snowgo, so we do and advise others to stay near rhe ride, even for a couple days.

Even if we run outta heat, the tents are wind breaks, and thats mucho important, and the Caribou sleeping bags will keep us warm quite well to -50

If we break down, the family will look/call around, and then folks will most likely look for us after a day or two, as we have places that we routinely go/travel.

 

While watching the last show I noticed that while you and your wife were traveling to your base camp there were scenes of the cargo sled loaded with your poles and supplies and then there would be a scene with the sled being pulled empty and then loaded again. This happened several times on this trip. There must some real sharp people doing the editing.