High in the Arctic .. .. Eskimo !

[Majik_Imaje]

work work work, all day, most every day, for weeks on end, with no pay what-so-ever, take the time.. .. spend more than 5 seconds thinking about this, THE ONLY COMPENSATION.. .. is you get to eat ! These people are so happy, all of the time !! I have never met people like this.. so happy ! Staggering amount of work.

These photos show and tell the story quite clearly indeed !!



One person, a white man, who actually lives here in Barrow, claims I am not telling the truth about whaling. (chuckle) this person writes photo essays about whaling, from inside of his truck on land !! No wonder he doesn't believe me about the incredible hard work, out here, cutting a trail, right through the ice.

Well the truth is.. (he thinks).. That I am making this all up !



The end of our progress so far, 5 miles out. cut right through all of this ice and keep going onward !! in these images you will often see people working with huge pieces of ice, why such a big piece ? to fill a very low area. it is much easier to throw a huge piece of ice into that void of lower ice, than to fill it with small pieces.




Long hard days, and some times, you just have to sit and take a break. These two gentlemen look quite comfortable, SITTING on the handle of the pick. you cannot see the shadow of the tool(s) in this image, but the most popular question, people always ask me, is where do you go to the bathroom out there? The answer is obvious !! Go behind any large piece of ICE !!!



Finally we reach open water, we are very close, now to pick a spot to set up the camp site / tent and other associated details for the camp itself, lots more work to do, using GPS, we have determined we are 5 miles out. The wind, and currents are very strong, Ice bergs can be seen floating by, cruising about 20 mph. Two huge sheets of ice broke off, @ the point and we will not have to go the expected long distance. At the edge of the ice, it is only two feet thick, and that is not good. We need much thicker ice. In order for that to happen, we need the temps to drop to 40 or 50 below zero !



Steam, is clearly visible, coming up from the warmth of the water, ice bergs are visible lway out there, cruising by, much quicker than one would imagine, but with all the fog from the steam, and the distance, Well you will see.. soon in the next upcoming posts !!

so much more to follow, with thousands more images & videos !!

[Majik_Imaje]

I can show you now, from the eye in the sky via GPS technology, the ice trails here in Barrow !!







It is very cold out here today, actual temp 40 below, w/windchill we are below - 60 !
This is good, we need it to get very cold so as to make this ice much thicker,




We have reached open water ! Much of the work we had finished recently is gone, swept out to sea.

Seals are visible in the water, close by.







THIS IS COLD !! VERY COLD, but I have in truth seen and been out in much worse weather than this, it is extremely crisp, and very refreshing with that 'bite' on any exposed skin !!





40 below zero - w/ 30 mph winds = 70 below zero !! 12 hours - is nothing, we sleep out in this for weeks - no tents - (Point Hope) Barrow is different - you will see all the photos and then some !!

[Majik_Imaje]

Polar Bear Tracks
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Stories, stories, that is the #1 request from most people on all of the forums. Well you are all in for a treat today, I have two new stories of events that actually happened up here, out on the ice. (chuckle)
Ya just never know, what is going to happen out here. Last night we went out on the ice pack to check the trail we have been working on. We spotted polar bear tracks, in the snow, coming from Barrow - and headed out to the ice.
Unfortunately, we did not see this bear, the ice is a vast place and it is easy for a bear to hide.


The two whaling captains I am with are Eugene & Charles Brower, as we were checking out the polar bear tracks, One of the captains told the story, .. .. " it was an evening just like this, we came out to check the trail and we were near the lead opening,

At the edge of the water, a polar bear was standing up, looking down into the water, the polar bear turned and walked a couple of steps and bent over to pick up a big large piece of ice, He picked it up, and then decided to put it back down and grabbed a much larger piece of ice, a huge piece, he walked over to the edge of the ice and waited and watched, he dropped the ice into the water, then he jumped in, these two captains were astonished to see the polar bear climb back on the ice and pull a 10 foot beluga whale out of the water !!
If you want verfication of this true story, just write, to Eugene Brower in Barrow Alaska, He is the President of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, he is also a member of the board of the International Whaling Commission. And perhaps the most respected Whaling Captain in Barrow !
I hear these stories and I am amazed, just as you are, but one thing that amazed these two hunters when they saw this was the intelligent thinking, that took place by that animal, to obtain food !!

One of the great things about whaling, is the story telling. Bizarre events of all types are retold up here, with much laughter. These are such happy people, unlike any I have ever met any other place in my limited travels about the east coast, the west coast and all over Alaska.
The other humous story was told about a whaling captain in Point Hope, who was up here, whaling with Barrow Captains, he was wearing a jump suit from work, overalls, he had to go to the bathroom out on the ice not far from camp, Well these same two whaling captains, happend to come upon his private spot and saw him looking around, this way and that way, looking for something, they asked, what are you looking for, ??? He laughed and said. I was going to cover up, what I just did, but I can't find it or see it on the ground, they each broke into huge laughter, as they saw the 'steam' coming from the 'log' in his
hood !!!

[Majik_Imaje]

It is the greatest life ! and this time of year in particular is the greatest time of year. Excitement and laughter all day long for the next two months.


Camped out, on a frozen ocean ice pack, in freezing sub zero temps, sleeping outside - five miles from land, a 'picnic' in a very strange bizzare world that very few know anything about.

The first thing you become aware of (beside the wind and the cold) is the brilliant blinding sunlight and reflections all around you. Thick-dark sunglasses are a must, if unprepared you are going to suffer, your eyes will hurt, it is just too bright.


some of the ice chunks out here, do not appear to be large, until you see something - familiar near one !! As the ice advances towards land, it becomes obvious as the piles heap huge chunks upon one another



This trail has to be constantly groomed, flat. Knock down the high spots and fill in the low spots. That is the next phase, as we backtrack and widen this trail we have been working on for 10 days now.





Today was cloudy which was a welcome relief from the blinding sunlight reflecting from the ice everywhere.





Open water, .. .. .. .. Yesterday, Eugene Brower, The President of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission in Barrow, received a phone call from Whaling Captain Rex Rock in Pt. Hope. Whales were spotted migrating through the lead, heading up to Wainwright / Barrow / Kaktovik !!

In about 4 days, we shall see these same whales pass by through the narrow lead opening.. .. .. FOOD is being delivered !! We wait, with much anticipated joy and excitement .

tisk tisk, tis a shame that you .. .. do not have this much fun when you go shopping for food !! (chuckle).

[Majik_Imaje]

Although I wasn't in Barrow this year for whaling; we are still in Anchorage.
But under the 'fair use act' I can use these photos from a friend that was there.
A whale was caught not too far away from this crew, That animal being cut up and divided brought the smell of blood into the air; polar bears soon arrive in many different locations looking for food.
Making noise, waving arms, shouting and firing a rifle into the ice close by is enough to scare them away.



It is always a good thing to have someone in front of you with a rifle!! (chuckle) Just in case.!!



No one is going to shoot a baby; polar bear or a teenager. The adults however sometimes present a problem. They are stubborn. Every attempt is always made to get that bear out of the camp site area and back away from where people are located.

This is the wrong side of an umiaq to be on. I Have always been told - stay away from the left side of the umiaq. Only walk and sit on the right side. I have no idea how this image was created. I only know wht I have learned in the past and some things are very taboo out on the ocean ice. This is one of them. Wearing Red is another no no.. blues, whites, browns. are ok to wear but no other bright colors.allowed..


Again the wrong side of the umiaq; I have seen in the past; hunters pick up their rifles and tell the person sternly; get away from that side of the umiaq!
you give away their position by standing up in that area before the umiaq. The whales approach from that direction. (left). Hunters are always BEHIND the umiaq. never in front of it.