Life below Zero - Travel channel

Fiskar

Sorry folks, should have posted this a lot earlier.

Travel channel started running series 1 of Life below Zero , must say I was captivated by it, set in Alaska at, above and just below the Artic circle.

4 stories on the go per episode and showing weekdays at 10 pm. Warning: Sustenance is at the very heart of it. There are some preppers living an existence I did not believe was possible, where kids get traps, fishing nets and knives as birthday presents.

Worth a look

Tabnabs

It is (or was) on netflix too. I've seen some more series online and the quality stays good.

Fiskar

It's a good show, life on the edge between survival and death. One lad and his wife had 25 husky dogs costing $$6,000 per year to feed, yet had a clapped out snowmobile that he obviously had no money to fix. i would have shot the dogs, may be kept 2 as companions and had my snowmobile primed and in top shape. 25 dogs is simply unmanageable while trying to survive and stay ahead heat and food wise.

SNAKEDOC

The husky is at home in the harsh cold of the artic an internal combustion engine is not. Yea 25 seems a bit excessive maybe 10 or even 8 dogs. A snow mobile requires specialised matainance to stay running and fuel that needs shipping in from god knows where. The 6 grand to feed the dogs could well be food caught ie fish or deer. Dogs dont break down are ready to go whenever and are great protection also against predatory wolves. They defianatly have their advantages over the snow mobile.

Fiskar

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

The husky is at home in the harsh cold of the artic an internal combustion engine is not. Yea 25 seems a bit excessive maybe 10 or even 8 dogs. A snow mobile requires specialised matainance to stay running and fuel that needs shipping in from god knows where. The 6 grand to feed the dogs could well be food caught ie fish or deer. Dogs dont break down are ready to go whenever and are great protection also against predatory wolves. They defianatly have their advantages over the snow mobile.

The 6 grand was special dog meal that was stored in an old school bus, more expense to fly in and for the school bus, no contest, he should have focused on the snowmobile

Tabnabs

That makes very little sense, chum salmon is considered the staple winter diet of dogs in Alaska, how did these dogs survive before petrol and speciality foods were available?

I just finished an excellent book "A land gone lonesome" by Dan O'Neill, outlining the historical and modern life along much of the Yukon river. Fish camps and chum salmon make up a lot of the small holders workload in summer. Interesting to also read how the big dogs were fashionable for dog teams, but ate a huge amount and now the smaller dogs (like the Iditarod race dogs) are favoured as they eat much less and can run longer distances.

SNAKEDOC

Focusing on a snow mobile. No way. Fair enough if getting around fast gor looking after a massive herd of deer is required like northern sweden but living inside the artic circle where feozen rivera and lakes can be fished easily with an auger a stead supply of dog food is available. The guy spending that money in specialised food did so because he wanted to not because he had to. As the post above mine says what did dogs eat before specialised dog food came along.

Fiskar

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

Focusing on a snow mobile. No way. Fair enough if getting around fast gor looking after a massive herd of deer is required like northern sweden but living inside the artic circle where feozen rivera and lakes can be fished easily with an auger a stead supply of dog food is available. The guy spending that money in specialised food did so because he wanted to not because he had to. As the post above mine says what did dogs eat before specialised dog food came along.

Will re-visit or see if his logic on the dog food surfaces, yes they did feed frozen fish to the dogs as well but I am presuming he wanted to save the fish for themselves and use the dog food for supplementing the fish in the diet although I believe it was for deficiency in the diet.

I personally believe the time saved in looking after 25 huskies and feeding he could easily buy a new snowmobile every year!

SNAKEDOC

I suppose he could have but given the harsh climate and difficulty in getting spare parts shipped up any break down is a very costly exercise whereas if a dog is sick or lame then another dog is ready to take his place. I just see the value of the dogs above even the best kept machine in those conditions any day. If its good enough for the enuite for hundreds of years its good enough for me.

my3cents

Fiskar wrote: »

Will re-visit or see if his logic on the dog food surfaces, yes they did feed frozen fish to the dogs as well but I am presuming he wanted to save the fish for themselves and use the dog food for supplementing the fish in the diet although I believe it was for deficiency in the diet.

I personally believe the time saved in looking after 25 huskies and feeding he could easily buy a new snowmobile every year!

Does the guy sled race as that could be a good reason for the number of dogs and the food bill.