High in the Arctic .. .. .. Eskimo !!

Majik_Imaje

GOOD BYE !!!

I hope you all enjoyed yourselves !!

God Bless YOU all !!

Amen ok-bye

Majik_Imaje

paulusdu

I really hope a lot of that was lost in translation

nice photo's though

Majik_Imaje

charybdis

Majik_Imaje wrote: »

Frozen ice is comprised of salt water.. it is not fresh - we have to get the salt out of the ice. There are two ways to get the salt out of the ice.

TAKE A PIECE OF OCEAN ICE - melt it. TAKE A DRINK OF IT AND PUKE !!

IT IS LOADED WITH SALT !!!

It is physically impossible for saltwater to freeze. It is possible, however, for pockets of saltwater to exist in ice. This may be what you're referring to when you talk about the salt content of sea ice. I suggested snow as a source of freshwater. Snow is a form of precipitation. Water evaporation is the precursor to precipitation. The salt in saltwater doesn't evaporate. Snow is made up of freshwater. Melted snow is freshwater.

Also, 30 Days of Night?

Majik_Imaje

30 DAYS OF NIGHT - was not filmed in Barrow Alaska !!! It is 100% FICTION

There is no such thing ( In Alaska) as a day with no light.

In other words there is no such thing as 24 hours of darkness - never mind 30 days of it.

We do have light every day of the year.

The shortest day is Dec 21st. It will get 'light' out @ about 11:45 a.m.

it will be dark again in about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

The sun sets (Barrow) on November 18th and it will NOT COME ABOVE the horizon again until Jan 24th. During that time we have NO direct SUNLIGHT. When I say it gets light out - it is like dusk - but still bright enough to read a newspaper outside.

We do however have 24/7 of BRILLIANT SUNSHINE for almost 3 1/2 months. no darkness at all May - August


When I first came to the Arctic to live among the Inupiaq peoples. The house I was living in - had no water. I had to rough it out (for two years).

During that time - all I had for a source of water was snow.

I had 60 rolls of VPS 100 ISO color film - It took me many months using snow to process this film. 27 years later - that film is still in pristine condition.

Snow mixed with Tang was my only source of liquids to drink - it was nasty !! Sure it is fresh water - but it tastes like yuk !!

Ocean ice (that is frozen) is not fresh water !! The salt is still in there

Here are the two methods we use on a regular basis to get that salt out.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY WATCH THIS HAPPEN !!! It took me a long time to catch on to this trick(s). I am a dumb city boy from Boston - I know nothing about survival skills in sub zero temps.

Sand is used in some cases - either to cut a huge hole in the ice.

But placing a large piece of ocean ice on sand will suck the salt out and you can watch this process take place. FIRST you must scrape all the snow off that piece of ice on the top and the sides.

By standing that piece of ice up and brushing or scraping the snow off will start the process - Just place that piece of ice in the sunlight and watch what happens !!

The top portion of that ice will begin to clear up - at first you can't see anything but then you can begin to see (inside) the ice. It is becoming clearer as all that salt BEGINS TO settle. In time a huge portion of the top of the ice becomes crystal clear - THEN take your kettle and using an ice pick, chop horizontal little pieces and fill the kettle. when melted it is absolutely delicious !! Take any piece of ice that is not clear and put it in your mouth and you will instantly spit it out because of all the SALT !!

SALT WATER CONTAINS 153 DIFFERENT ELEMENTS & MINERALS !

Here in the Arctic - the ocean freezes - and BELIEVE ME - it is not fresh water !!!

On one forum - one woman said to me .. .. Now I know your lying .. you said it was February and it was light. & we all know there is six months of light and six months of darkness.

THAT IS A MYTH : !!

DaireQuinlan

Majik_Imaje wrote: »

30 DAYS OF NIGHT - was not filmed in Barrow Alaska !!! It is 100% FICTION

no WAY !!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Morrisseeee

Oh man, I'm lovin this thread, contender for 'Thread Oscar' I reckon. I started off at post 1 and my initial reaction was, 'oh this is different', then I came down to post 5 and thought 'ooh thats eerie', and then (& only then) I noticed the date, doh !, Ok, so how did this get resurected, and I have been following it with interest since !! /Could we get the pics to stay in this thread and then carry on the 'talking' in a seperate thread, like..........conspiracies.

NORTH1

I need to know why he had to leave Alaska....what it has to do with a 14 year old boy.......and a 100 billion out of court settlement....theres a great book in there somewhere.

sprinkles

ok, I know nothing about living and surviving in the conditions Majik_Imaje is describing but the whole sea ice/potable water issue is a very easy one to sort out.

Here is a good reference: Link

Can you drink melted sea ice?
New ice is usually very salty because it contains concentrated droplets called brine that are trapped in pockets between the ice crystals, and so it would not make good drinking water. As ice ages, the brine eventually drains through the ice, and by the time it becomes multiyear ice, nearly all of the brine is gone. Most multiyear ice is fresh enough that someone could drink its melted water. In fact, multiyear ice often supplies the fresh water needed for polar expeditions. See Salinity and Brine in the Characteristics section for more information.

I assume the sea ice that Majik is talking about is seasonal and therefor would contain the brine pockets and as a result be non potable.

I'm very much enjoying the stories and pictures but I'd leave the conspiracy theories to another thread. If possible could you continue describing life as you experienced it with the Whale Hunters.

Majik_Imaje

FOOD - !!!

paulusdu

What a different photo. There was me thinking "thats an odd place to have a mattress", and then clink the coin dropped.
Like most people i am finding the photo's unreal and the storys slighty sureal . . . .
Best thread of the week though

Majik_Imaje

Let me explain something to you about the Ocean Ice pack where we hunt. It is obvious 'we' are not on the same page !!

Some of the people (that have made comments) are talking about the Polar ice cap. That is no where near us, It is many hundreds of miles away (300). That is not what I am speaking about.

The ice I am talking about (best in decades) is attached to land. It is not part of the polar ice cap.

This photograph will provide some insight !!



NOTICE: The dirt -sand this is land - Notice how thick this ice was. 24 hours earlier June 8th of 2007 That open water was all ice.

See the lead on the other side of the water - that is what was connected to this land ice - UNTIL: the winds picked up - the ice cracked and it was blown out to sea.

You can see one umiaq still out there - waiting - for a whale to give it self over to the captain of its choice. It never happened. This is Point Hope.

Now lets go to Barrow and let me show you what is involved - Just to get ready to go whaling.

It takes a complete year to get ready (everything). For the Spring Hunt

Certain 'jobs' can only be accomplised at certain times of the year, or (seasons).

Repairs have to be made to equipment - new skins put on the umiaq (skin boat) oo me ack / Surprisingly enough - dental floss is commonly used to sew skins together!! Caribou Sinew is also used - if it is available.

To begin. A trail has to be cut through the ocean ice - A road is made - a very smooth rode for the snowmachines & Hondas to transport everything needed to live out on the ice pack - many miles out there.

Ocean ice is not smooth - it is chunks - broken every which way because of the advancing ice crushing and riding over the 'young' ice. There are areas on the ocean ice pack that are smooth. That ice is not as safe as where the ice has piled up/ i.e. pressure ridges.



So we have to make a road, we do not go around obstacles - no we go straight through them - THAT IS THE SAFEST ICE. - we need a straight road - so that when we have to evacuate the ice because of a shift in the wind - it is panic time - "killigvuk' Evacuate the ice - EVERYTHING comes off that ice pack - back to shore (land). As fast as possible !

When that wind shifts - Massive ice is now moving in our direction and it will run over and crush everything in its path !

Size is extremely difficult to discern out here - unless you see something 'familiar'!!



Looking - scouting for the path to take for the road. This road is 7 miles long - straight - cut and made by hand - long hard ardous days of hard work for one month - and no one gets paid for anything - just the right to eat !! The Captain foots the bill for his crew - he pays for everything - food - fuel - ammunition etc. Last year Eugene Brower went through 3 - 55 gallon drums of fuel for the snowmachines and hondas- just to make this road !!

Majik_Imaje

Chopping ice all day - in sub zero temps is difficult hard work indeed - these images illustrate plainly the incredible amount of ice that has to be moved and smoothed out.



All of this work - just to eat & What is so unusual about the building of this road - is that no one ever complains !!

Once your out here - this is it for the next 12 - 14 hours - no place to go to warm up. The 'heat' is in the tools you are using !! - work hard!

Majik_Imaje

Ruu_Old

Amazing stuff, thank you for the insight into your world.

Majik_Imaje

When you work hard(er) you will sweat - this is not good! In any case - it is a big mistake - to ever remove your hat !! The effects are immediately obvious !!!



Thank Ruu You !!

NOTICE: all cracks are always filled in and packed to create a smooth road. Constant back & forth travel with these machines will smooth out the road. but still the high spots have to be cut down and the low spots filled in. Back and Forth - 7 miles in each direction - chopping ice - just to eat & no one complains !! Nothing but laughter and fun all day long .. .. in a frozen paradise - a different world - for all practical purposes .... A different planet - a world of ice in all directions!! This is where you work, rest, sleep, eat - The largest loo in the world !!

Majik_Imaje

Soon, in a few months - we begin to do it all over again! We hope to have HD-Videos to present a much longer diary of day to day events during the process of breaking trail & setting up camps before the hunt can begin.

From high in the Arctic a happy holiday season to all!

RoverZT

Majik_Imaje wrote: »

Soon, in a few months - we begin to do it all over again! We hope to have HD-Videos to present a much longer diary of day to day events during the process of breaking trail & setting up camps before the hunt can begin.

From high in the Arctic a happy holiday season to all!

Do yee use dogs for travel/work?

DaireQuinlan

Majik_Imaje wrote: »

Soon, in a few months - we begin to do it all over again! We hope to have HD-Videos to present a much longer diary of day to day events during the process of breaking trail & setting up camps before the hunt can begin.

From high in the Arctic a happy holiday season to all!

Tell me Majik, what are your feelings about the 21st of December ?

Majik_Imaje

It is the day before Dec. 22nd!!

Majik_Imaje

RoverZT wrote: »

Do yee use dogs for travel/work?

Snowmachines, trucks, cars, boats & Hondas etc