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Life Below Zero

42K views 89 replies 40 participants last post by  Tom-M 
#1 ·
#27 ·
The Ulu is single sided l/ in shape along its edge. The one she used on the show was one of her mothers, but shes had it for more years than I ve known her.
It, and most made here are from hand saws, (usually a bent one) and the largest are made from the handle section with the actual handle cut down to be the handle on the Ulu.

We were contacted by e-mail from a friend in Kotz, actually for the series thats playing along with the show, I belive a survivalist race or such (I didn't watch, we were visiting to watch our hour ~~LOL!!~~ I have no TV) where people who lived the life we do would take treks around the state. well, we didn't think it was for us and declined, but they came back again after reading some post on the internet and asked to come a meet us........they brought a camera (it was summer) and some clips on the show are at Noorvik in summer interviewing us. Shortly befor freeze up in Sept the wife and I moved home to the house and kids and the crew arrived as we were freezing up. Really, its the end of hunting at that timma year, a time when we stay home, and set nets and make crafts/art and such. Its dark then, the ice is thin and its our holiday season until the sun returns in Febuary enough to travel and hunt. We started our winter pretty well, 26 Caribou on the rack and almost 1,000 whitefish to give and trade, and we had only a few of the Summer hides we needed, so I went after trapping fox and Beaver, it was good trapping, so they just followed us. Suprizingly, they wernt very interested in all the Caribou stuff until later, when we were done sewing, I wish they had filmed that, but maybe later in later episodes. Hopefully thell check out some arts and crafts down the road. It takes like 10 days to make 15 or so minutes it seems, so they are around for those times.
 
#28 ·
I would still be interested in one if such a thing could be possible.
I have to say that you and your family are quite lucky and quite blessed. No tv, you sure are not missing much. How did the film crew hold up to the weather? Where did you put them during their stay?
 
#29 ·
Wow, cool show! I can't even imagine living that kind of life, don't know anything about it. I love learning about other lifestyles and cultures so find the show fascinating. Pretty awesome that a long time gunboards member is a star of the show.

Good luck with the show, hope it makes you a few bucks and gives you and your family more opportunities to do the things you desire.
 
#32 ·
I am making my own knives, now, because some aren't available in the marketplace. One I have been working is a Chinese Ping. It is 3 x 10 inches of
3/32nd steel. sort of the shape of a cleaver, but, the blade continues in a curve from the tip to the start of the handle. I can use it to skin a hog or deer.

Next will be a Ulu. Wife and I are hooked on the show! My experience in life taught me that lone survival is usually very bad. Hoping to see that NAT Geo DVD disc set for Season 1, in about a year, in the stores!

Am so anxious to see you hunting seals with your PU Sniper!
 
#33 ·
My wife and I are spellbound with the show. In an age when it seems everyone is idolizing singing fools, overpaid pro athletes and actors who 'play' tough guys. my family chooses to watch you guys show the world what tough is.

Sue may be crazy, but she's as tough as nails too.

Kudos for keeping that pioneer spirit alive and reminding us all that there are plenty of places on this planet where living requires gumption and fortitude.
 
#35 · (Edited)
:D

Im glad ya like the show. I found both, so far, episodes on youtube and was amazed they were there.

The crew was seasoned, having done a gold prospecting show in Greenland and a filming drillers in Antarctica, it was the support staff with the $$ that held back a screwd the production with wasteing time renting junky rides and not getting stuff set up as we told them. Took awhile to get that straight, but were happy. Theres a learning curve for everyone, and I think theve been schooled :D

The money is pretty minimal, maybe more with season 2, we often refuse to do things as it would take yus away from our proper doings, but the guys asking arnt from here, so its no big deal, just "ideas" they run past us. There is a Major effort to keep this "REAL" and the wife and I are not actors, so , as someone whos being filmed and shown, I can tell you, its damn near documentary stuff. I signed up for "Documentry" and TV turned it into "Reality", but when you watch, its really us, no Drama or BS. One amuseing part was when were about to go to the river and when asked "Whos in charge?' my wife declared she was, so I said "I guess shes in charge, so I have to do as she says, so, I fish the Inupiaq way" and they cut it down to "I fish the Inupiaq way" ~~LOL!!~~(My wife is Kuuvanmuit Inupiaq, the Eskimo tribe here)

Agnes's tats are tradional, and her doings, they show she s Kobuk River Eskimo, as until the 1940's every woman here had them, not just a few dozen or so.

I came up this Arctic way to visit my mom and younger brother as they lived up here, don't belive the "show' advertizements. 25 years ago I came to Alaska's southeast just goofing off,and seeing relatives, then back and forth a bit, up the AK Highway on a return trip ,spent time at the ExonValdese spill, make a few thousand $$ and then arrived to visit my mom. Later I met Agnes, and weve been fine since. Basicly she took me along and its been work ever since........like the Nuge says "Lucky me, my work is play" ~~LOL!!~~

I don't Seal, its not legal, Agnes does, as do my kids. She'll be using that PU on the show soon enough, depends on the editors. When commercial Hunting of Ocean Mammels was banned in the 1970's "Save the Whales", the eskimo and most all coastal Alaska showed the need to eat and use the products from them, and the Native leadership showed customary and tradional use with no commercial outlets, so they were allowed to keep hunting them.
Being "white" the KKK, Aryan Nations and the Republican Party didn't speak up for baby me, and with only a heritage of Commercial hunting on the part of my ancestors, theres no Sealing for me.
Its kina the same for fishing; when theres lots, everyomne fishes, even commercial. When numbers drop, only subsitence fishing is allowed (for food), and hen its really bad, no one fishes.
That's how and why its that way, The natives never diminished the remaining stocks the commercial hunters were killing , numbers have rebounded from a low in the 1960's and the hunt contenuse. Its the lack of ice nowdays that threatens the mammles who live on th eice. Walrus, for instance, must haul out to rest, and since theres very few islands on th eAlaskan shores , they are crowding along the Russian shore, over eating there. The ice receeds so far over the Arctic Ocean that the waters below up that way are too deep for Mammles to dive and eat, no ice to rest on and they are diminishing. The Canadian Arctic Archepelligo's massive islands are the only safe haven left for Walrus, Seals and PolarBears that follow the ice to hunt and need to rest. The rising temps there have dropped their Caribou poulations by 90%, so the effects of this warming are on land as well.....Its a changing world, and hopefully , people will enjoy seeing whats there to do, as we adapt and carry on.

Im glad you all like the show :D
 
#39 ·
I belive the laws should allow anyone who eats the animals to hunt it, but that just isnt the way it is.......it was a blanket "No Hunting marine Mammals" at first in the US, but since the US gov only bought the rights to govorn , protect and tax Alaska, and had never formally been at war with Alaskan Natives, nor owned the lands originally, they were still bound to deal with them as "Nations", and in doing so entreatied the Right to Subsistence Hunt form the Ocean. Some communitys here, such as Point Hope have 10,000 years of proven occupancy and direct use of the Ocean and marine mammles to eat and make clothing, crafts, heat and light, bones to build houses, literally a 90% aspect of their survival was from the Ocean. Banning all hunting of Marine mammles would have literally starved out these people and destroyed their culture. Off to FEMA camps or something.....

So, in the end, the Alaska Whaleing Commision was established to regulate and keep count of Alaskan Natives use ond way of using Marine Mammles. They control how many Whales are struck (even the ones that get away count) and how many are taken of each species each year, as well as work side by side with scientists to make sure that when numbers are low , as Polar Bears are , for example, and the count of Polar Bears takenin total each year, between Russian and Alaska is a total of 58 due to all man made causes. Walrus and their Ivorys are heavily watched and regulated.

As well, only Native Alaskans that reside on the coast or a customary distance (were on a River delta that empties into the Ocean) and have customary use of them (eat em', yum!) as well as having 1/4th Tribal blood quantum........ My kids are exactly 1/2 Inupiaq........then you can Hunt Seals and such. That way there no whaling captains in Anchorage or the like, and its all Fed Rules.

Still, I play by the rules and don't participate, I watch the boats while the maniacs hunt the ice and I fish or catch Ducks, as the Dolly Varden at the ices edge can get 20 lbs and the Ducks are in clouds, and someone has to be awake and watch the boats......they love me for that :D
 
#44 ·
#45 ·
Another great episode last night! Caribou, it is a thrill to see you and your wife and family living such a life. I hope next week's episode shows a lot of your hunting trip. I know your wife does native art work. Do you ever offer it on line?
 
#48 ·
Are the film crews there all the time, or just stop by on certain days when you plan something? Also, I've seen where you and the kids were trying to net rabbits, and the part where your wife took two shots at caribou, both didn't produce. Are you making any kills for the camera, or are they editing it to look like some slim pickins so as to keep some drama?
 
#54 ·
The Rabbit drive, indeed, produced nothing. One of those things that happens is that you don't know till you try.......and we honestly tried.

Rabbits are on the down cycle, we caught a grand total of 4 this winter, 2 being Jacks on mountain.....but with flood stage water all last Summmer, the Rabbits didn't have a place to live or den up, as it stopped raining at freeze up.

I don't think they down played our Caribou hunting skills much, but they did want to show that its not easy. They come here for a few days and leave, they just left this morning, wrapping up a Seal Hunt, but they cant afford to stay around and we would give them far too much film, as they need to balance out with the time and the show.

The Caribou hunting is contenious, they took catching 3 caribou and condensed it into one. The wife did miss her first shot, her elevation slide was slid to 6oo, but a simple fix and she was on target. With one camera we generally have to get three angles for the shot, I think they condensed it a bit.Its funny to see me with bloody knife in hand telling Agnes about an approaching herd that sighted and scented us and turned around, and Im telling her "There they go" or something to that effect.....as well, theres one shot of her shooting a Fox, yet its put in as a Caribou shot......
Id say 5% is "fill in" for angle and story, a few seconds here , a few seconds there.
As well, at least with Caribou shooting, Agnes has her white skimask and later a black one, and other snall things that show a differing day, but that's TV, they gotta get 4-6 days into 12 minutes.
I watched a VERY good show last night about people in Siberia, "Happy People of the Taiga", and man, that was something, yet I could pick out the go pro and such, because now I 'Know".... ~~LOL!!~~

I gotta check youtube and see last nights show, hopefully. You know, we did get a leak in the tank, and also stuck, but I didn't know that was gonna be a part of this......shuks, that stuff was a pain, hard to think it would be "Watchable"......~~LOL!!~~
 
#49 ·
Saw the sled get stuck, and that is real drama that I can emphasize with!

The series is a hit with me, and my family! This episode actually showed you both traveling, Agnes with Mosin Nagant rifle slung on her back, and,
you with your rifle!

The dented drum of gas, leaking, was scary to witness! I wonder if you can get a heavy duty plastic 55 gallon drum for gas?
Would it be useful in such cold?

I am pleased to learn that Gun Boards helped out with some Mosin Nagant accessories!

Your family is teaching us how to work together, with everyone pulling their own share to make survival work in extreme conditions!

Impressive!
 
#50 ·
Caribou, I posted the clip of zeroing the PU sniper over at sniper board.
Maybe the lads there who ask how to zero a PU sniper will get some inspiration.

If Agnes has no problems doing it, (and not wasting ammo in the process I might add),
then all those lost souls floundering with how to zero their PU sniper rifles need to pull
up their socks !
 
#52 ·
I had been watching this. I did also watch the gold prospector show where they went to Greenland.
Is Sue the lone wolf up there? Yes, she was on again last night. I had to turn her off.
Over the last few weeks I saw several episodes. I did also see the survival/race/drama and had to turn that off.
Your part Caribou was indeed interesting. But some of the rest of it, oh well.
Since I record everything to watch at my leisure, I'll just skip to your parts in the future.
dc
 
#55 ·
i'd like to see all of caribou and his family's part. screw sue and a bunch of reality drama. all these naked survivor shows etc. are really getting old. that's why i like "mountain men" it's pretty real without the drama, only dude i don't care for is the man with the funny name in carolina. marty and the old man with the beard and wife are kool. +dog. :)
 
#56 ·
Hello Caribou & Co.,

I'm back in China on business and will check my normal DVD store to see if they have episodes for sale yet? Sometimes they wait for the whole season, sometimes they sell single discs with two or three shows. I'll give you a heads up when and if I find a copy.

Warmest regards,

JPS
 
#57 ·
two questions, are they going to be there to film when you harvest the swimming herd later this year
and are you going to demonstrate your MN bayonet lance?

Might want to show them the thread on that so they can have a crew on call.
 
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