Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Life Below Zero - General Discussion


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

On 12/13/2018 at 4:01 PM, Pebble Puppy said:

Glenn owns real estate , he's a pilot, he owns several cabins, a plane. Remember these "reality shows" are extremely edited to show you what they want you to think. He has two children from his first marriage, a step daughter which he adopted and a toddler with his partner Trisha. What you see him hunting and harvesting feeds all his kids including his ex wife.

His ex wife is Silvia Daeumichen...here she is voicing concerns over a tax bill and stating that her children's kidcare was cut, leaving them with no insurance...the story was published in Dec. 2017  https://www.webcenter11.com/content/news/Constituents-voice-concerns-on--tax-bill-in-Youngs-Office-464536493.html

You may now call me by Nancy Drew

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Sue says frequently that she's alone in Kavik, but that isn't always true.  I saw an older episode last night, and a man was helping her, and in a couple of other episodes she had a woman helper.  

  • Love 1
Link to comment
On 1/12/2016 at 7:13 PM, Loudog said:

Sue Aiken sucks. I'm convinced that her 'accident' was completely staged to help cover her complete lack of anything resembling skills. She sucks and should be destroyed.

  • LOL 1
Link to comment
On 1/4/2019 at 2:32 PM, Diane M said:

Sue says frequently that she's alone in Kavik, but that isn't always true.  I saw an older episode last night, and a man was helping her, and in a couple of other episodes she had a woman helper.  

There are times when Sue is alone at Kavik. Normally she is on her own during the winter. She has friends and family come and help her during the summer so that she can make more repairs and improvements. Normally when she says she is alone, she is, or she is referencing when she will be alone.

I watched this weeks episode last night and damn did that bear do some serious damage. Ricko and his kids had their hands full. I loved the kids and their attitude. The boy who threw some glass that broke had the perfect look of whoops and then the hands  behind the back with the look of "What broken glass" was perfect. I was impressed with how much stuff that they had in that cabin. I am guessing that it is easier to bring things in and harder to bring things out. It should be nice to be able to start some new memories in the place and have it transform into somethign that purely reflects Ricko and his family.

We did chuckle with the kids waiting outside while Ricko went to check on the bear. Obviously the kids were left with a part of a camera crew and those folks were armed. But it still was funny. "I am going to look for a bear in the house. You two chill by this rock and wait for me to come out or until you hear me being eaten."

Love watching Jessie. You can tell that he is doing better because his boat seems to be better and you can see equipment upgrades. Same for Sue. I suspect a decent amount of that is from appearing on the show. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some fans of the show who go to Kavik.

The Sue stuff is getting old only because it is so routine, same for the Hailstones. I think they need to find some new blood for the show. Ricko is hopefully replacing Glenn. Jessie seems to be getting Andy's screen time. We need someone to take time away from the Hailstones and Sue only because their stories are on constant repeat. It would be nice to be introduced to some of the other folks living interesting lives.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

I was so shocked by the opening last night about Andy.  No wonder he wasn't featured and glad that he was able to get the help he needed.  Hoping for a full recovery for Andy.  His girlfriend seemed to be a very hard worker like he is.  Time will tell.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
3 hours ago, iluvobx said:

I was so shocked by the opening last night about Andy.  No wonder he wasn't featured and glad that he was able to get the help he needed.  Hoping for a full recovery for Andy.  His girlfriend seemed to be a very hard worker like he is.  Time will tell.

I missed last night's episode. What happened to Andy?

Link to comment

Yeah that was a surprise. I wonder if it was an injury due to reenactment, like Sue's, or if the footage they used was simply old footage of something similar. I hope that he is able to recover and do everything he needs to be safe during the winter. And I am going to withhold judgement on the girlfriend. They met a few years back via the internet, is a nurse, and is in Florida, where Andy went for his surgery. A part of me wonders if she is someone the show hired to help Andy when he got home because there is no way he could function, and be filmed, in Alaska with his injuries.

Yes, I am jaded.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
On 2/4/2019 at 7:40 PM, QuinnInND said:

I wonder if she'll put up with Andy's abusive bullshit and if so, for how long. 

 

On 2/5/2019 at 10:00 AM, rcc said:

Hopefully Andy is a changed man. If not then she will leave too. Then alone with his dogs once again.

Leopards don't change their spots.  As they age and become feeble & frail, abusers find other avenues.  That said, Andy is clearly a dog lover, and the dogs seem to love him.  If only he could realize he is not meant for human companionship.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

Andy kisses the girlfriend last night after she helped him catch all the fish and then he proclaimed he couldn't have done it alone. Then at the end she kisses him on the cheek while hugging him. I guess she finds him lovable! I say he just wants a helper to get the work done.

  • Love 3
Link to comment
1 minute ago, rcc said:

Andy kisses the girlfriend last night after she helped him catch all the fish and then he proclaimed he couldn't have done it alone. Then at the end she kisses him on the cheek while hugging him. I guess she finds him lovable! I say he just wants a helper to get the work done.

Andy can't live the life he wants without her help - for now.

Much like Chip.  Agnes and her children can (and have) thrived without him.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

I am impressed with the work that she is doing and how willing she is to chip in. Still jaded, I am sure that she gets some money for being on the show and I would not be surprised to find that she is being paid by Production because she is a nurse and can help Andy heal while appearing on the show. Andy is well received on the show, more so since he became single, and I am sure they did not want him to not appear this season and they might have been concerned that missing a season on the homestead might have prevented Andy from returning at all. The homesteads in that area have to require regular maintenance to continue to function. I can only imagine what being gone a year or more would have done to Andy's place.

That said, I hope we are all wrong and Andy found someone he wants to live with and has figured out how to live with someone.

Loved seeing Jessie's cabin going up. We know he has friends in the area, they have lent him equipment in the past, I am sure he could have had a friend or two come over and finished more quickly but that would have been less dramatic. I am glad that he is building a better place to live but I hope that it is not too close to the river. We have all seen the damage the river can do. I see that it is raised up a bit but I remember what the river did to Andy's property years ago and worry that Jessie is too close to the river.

But watching him staple to dogs wound close was hard. Oh my god, yuck. I  just, no.

Hey it's the Hailstones. They are hunting. Did you know that Chip can't hunt seals because he is not a member of the tribe? You did? How is it that you know that? Oh, because they tell us each and every freaking season. I like the Hailstones and think that their lifestyle is cool but it is the same old same old. I am ready for a new family or something different.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
On 2/9/2019 at 10:50 AM, Diane M said:

Stapling in some instances is better than using a needle and thread.  My husband had a big gash on his forehead, and the ER nurse stapled it.  When it healed, there was no scar.

Oh, I get that but I don't need to see it. I am that person who watches certain movies and shows with eyes closed or hands shielding her eyes. I am just squeamish

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Sue was on Ellen with Melissa McCarthy as the guest host.

Apparently, the US gov't open up the Refuge to more commercial business and there will be more businesses coming in to compete with Sue for places to stay and fuel near Kavik...looks financially bad for her..she got all teary eyed...

However she has a bf who lives in NYC...mostly online...of course...

  • Useful 1
  • Love 3
Link to comment

Sue was so unlike the Sue we see on the show talking about her NY boyfriend! That is a shame about the commercial business hurting her.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Haven't watched the series in a long time but tuned in last night. Lots of recycled footage in one episode.

I'm hoping Sue is saving her TV money. Growing old alone is very challenging, and if one is impoverished it's hell. I worry for her.

I wonder if an Alaskan village or corporation owns the Kavik land. Perhaps the owner is going to use it for other purposes.

Glenn needs to go. He's just weird and I feel he doesn't belong there, despite his skills.

Looking forward to the return of Ricko. It's always been ironic that Agnes was the only native on the show.

Jessie looks fantastic. He appears healthy and he's found his groove.

No Andy.

I tolerated the Hailstones because of the precious grandson. And the girls are beautiful.

I worked with Alaska natives last week. They were talking about the lack of snow in Alaska last year, and how it has been devastating to some businesses, not to mention some wildlife.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Oh crap Glen is back. Although he's got some family with him and genuinely seems to be happier with them there. Well maybe it was just me that was happier because now it won't be all about him. Nevertheless I was so hoping it would be Rico returning. He was much more authentic and much more interesting.

Jessie on one hand I admire what he's doing and doing it on his own but at the same time I'm tired of him letting me know he greatly deserves that admiration......you have to be strong to lead this lifestyle......you have to be brave.....you have to be this....you have to be that.....all positive traits that he has to constantly be letting us know he has in spades. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I am glad that Glenn is gone.  After learning things about him over the seasons, I felt like he was more of a fake.  He was bragging about all that walking, staying and just how hard it was living there, only to find out he was actually stretching the truth.

I do like Jessie.  Love Sue.  Love Anges but not a major fan of Chip's.  Like Rikko too.  

Wonder if Andy will be back at all this season.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

I'm loving the new homestead for Sue. Nice property and interesting how she's making it her own. Jesse and his puppies, Rico and his kids, all good to watch. 

Edited by rcc
  • Love 6
Link to comment

Thank god Glenn is gone. I rolled my eyes at the addition of the sea plane so he can live off grid in a canvas tent that he had flown in and built and all the stuff that he had flown in. All so he can live off grid, in nature, and be awesome.

Pretentious ass.

And now he is going to bring three more people to live in the small tent.

The family was dragged into this just to humanize Glenn and try to make him look less pretentious but it failed miserably. Do you really think that I am going to believe that the eldest kid out there is going to be there for any time longer then a school break? Or that the Wife, who we had never seen before, was now willing to live in a tent in the middle of no where because she had a baby as well as a young elementary school kid?

Glenn loves his lifestyle and that is great but he is not doing anything other then choosing to live off the land 6 months out of the year because it is fun. He likes to pretend that he is roughing it but nothing that he is doing is roughing it. Every season he adds more and more expensive technology to what he is doing and we are suppose to appreciate this "simple" life that he is living, for 6 months of the year.

There are issues with the other families on the show. Obviously they are all participating for the money. The over the top "I love my life, it is awesome, it is hard, I am so different" element has gotten old. But they all seem to be living pretty much their lives, year round, and embracing that experience.

The Hailstones are on repeat, but you can't blame them. Their family moves around following the natural resources. They hunt, fish, make things, rinse and repeat. I rolled my eyes as the youngest Hailstone was discussing how happy she was to be out hunting and not just wandering the house looking at a phone. It sounded so forced. At least we know that she has been home schooled, we saw that a few years back. But they could find a new family that does the nomadic thing and replace the Hailstones. Their story is old. I am fine with them but we have hit sledgehammer levels.

I like Jessie. You can see how he is using show money and probably success in racing and raising dogs to improve his life. He seems to be passionate about his dogs and life. I suspect that there is an interesting back story there that we don't know but he seems like a good guy. He is starting out on this path and you can see how he is growing his life.

Andy is proving to be interesting. You can see how aging is affecting him and his life style. He remains rough around the edges but still a goodish person.

I like Rico and his kids. I think they are meant to be a Glenn/Hailstone combo. Raising his kids using traditional elements and messages and living off the grid for part of the year. I don't know where Rico lives full time but you know it is not at the homestead we have seen. I like that he is bringing his kids out to teach them about traditional methods and skills but that there isn't a pretense that the kids are not in regular schools and living at home with the family.

Sue is interesting to watch as she is growing and changing. She started off working at Kavik, then owning Kavik, and now she knows that she is going to be leaving Kavik. I suspect that she is doing fine financially. We know that she has kids and Grandkids so she has family that will be helping her out. We have seen here with nieces and nephews, all of whom know her and seem to have a decent relationship with her. She is less of a hermit then we think.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

Agree with much of your post ProfCrash.

I would like the "I'm so tough and Alaskans are so special" rhetoric to be reduced by about 90%. Sue, Jessie, Glen, Andy and the Hailstones do it, with the 2nd generation of carefully coached Hailstones chiming in now. I think that production encourages a lot of it, but some of them believe they are superior because of it. Chip Hailstone owes all that he has to marrying a smart, skilled Alaskan native.

Enough. Other people struggle mightily in life regardless of residence. Go to an isolated Indian reservation without rich resources, or deep into Appalachia.

I'm pretty sure Andy's latest companion has drunk the Andy Kool-Aid. He upped the ante this time, requiring a nurse. Andy views these folks as indentured servants. He's another one who has lots of expensive stuff and property. I'd love to know how the litigation with Kate has evolved.

If Sue ever retires from running Kavik, she could make a part-time living as a handywoman. And I wonder if she used her own money (the loans she's talked about on the show) to over-improve Kavik, making it attractive to whoever owns the land.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

What litigation with Kate? I don't follow this group all that much.

I fully believe that the Hailstones and Glenn buy into the "We are heartier" BS that they spout. I like how Rico balances the teaching his kids about his Tribes traditions but they also live in a different location. He is giving them some options. I am not sure that the Hailstones gave their kids as many options. Then again, we have only seen the eldest and youngest daughter recently, the other kids might have made different choices.

Sue is just Sue. She is proud of her ability to macgyver things and she likes the solo life. But I don't get a sense that she thinks she is extra special, just a different personality. Jesse is the same way. They both seem to have been happy to find a challenging enviroment that lets them do their thing and be who they are.

Andy is Andy. His homestead has always had a good amount of heavy machinery on it and seems to be more advanced. He has added to the homestead but all of the participants have been using the money they are making from the show to improve their areas. It makes sense.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
Quote

What litigation with Kate? I don't follow this group all that much.

After they split there was Internet chat about her suing him, I think for a settlement and/or property. She had a blog that hinted at his mistreatment of her in Alaska.

Andy has the nurse-servant, who must be at least 50, taking on dangerous tasks despite her lack of experience. She was out running the dogs after only one previous try. And I snorted when Andy made long speeches about the dangers of piled-up ice, then hopped on his snow machine to "scout" while nurse-servant was left to chop up the ice. Granted, he did end up helping. I wield a pick axe to break up heavy clay in my garden and could never do it all day.

We saw examples of how dog racing is very hard on the animals. Jesse explained that the warm temps during Iditarod are brutal, and his dogs developed diarrhea. My Alaskan friend has told me of how dogs have suffered mightily over the years, although there are more inspections and forced rests now. There's a limit to how much "dogs love to race."

ETA: since people have asked about Glenn, I'll add that I saw a post on the Internet that said he was let go from the series and that he was very sad about it.

Edited by pasdetrois
  • Useful 2
  • Love 3
Link to comment

Kate had enough of Andy and left. Now he has found another partner and is just as bossy and demanding. Last night with the chain saw "lesson" was a perfect example. When Denise has had enough she will leave too. 

  • Love 5
Link to comment
On 1/11/2019 at 6:19 AM, ProfCrash said:

There are times when Sue is alone at Kavik. Normally she is on her own during the winter. She has friends and family come and help her during the summer so that she can make more repairs and improvements. Normally when she says she is alone, she is, or she is referencing when she will be alone.

That's my understanding. In additional to her plane fuel concession, she runs a bed and board operation during summer for people interested in visiting the Arctic Refuge. If you check the Kavik site you see quite a few visitors as well as planes lined up. You can check the Kavik site here.

  • Useful 1
  • Love 4
Link to comment

That's the second time we've seen Sue creep the 90 miles between Prudhoe Bay and Kavik. Talk about a slow commute.

I wonder how the broken track will be repaired, given the expense of flying in parts and mechanics. And how will they return it back to Prudhoe Bay? It's not your basic one-way Hertz rental.

Denise hesitatingly speaks up when Andy pressures her to take on a dangerous task, but then she does it anyway. I hope production is paying her, and that she's not giving the money to Andy.

Ricko's kids are adorable and he appears to be a good daddy.

I appreciated hearing Agnes talk about the effect of climate change on Alaska villages. Some are being totally abandoned due to the melt and floods. And the underground freezer-caves are not cold enough to store food - a real problem.

  • Love 8
Link to comment

I was wondering about the return of the rental as well. Now it is even more difficult because the track is broken. Is someone going to fly out with the equipment to repair the track or a new track and then drive it back?

I hope that Denise takes off in a little bit. I am not thrilled with the over all "Here is something new and dangerous that you have to do so do it." BS. Andy could cut the trees down, she could limb them and they could carry them over together. She can ride on the snow mobile or the dog sled with Andy. There really is no reason for her to be pressured into doing any of this solo.

Andy is fine to watch when he is solo. If he is so badly hurt that he cannot be out there alone, then let him chill in whatever city he was hanging out in recovering. I don't buy that Denise is there because she is madly in love with Andy. I don't think that we have any type of loving exchange between the two.

Rico is cool. I like that he didn't sugar coat that it is hard to kill a trapped animal. The kids were upset, he acknowledged that, explained why they had to kill the animal, and then revisited it a bit later to discuss it with them. I like that he doesn't hide that this is not their life 24/7 but that it is important culturally and just living in Alaska to have these skills.

I am getting tired of the Hailstones. It was interesting to have them discuss the effect og globl warming but the same old same old is getting old. And Chip is getting old. When he is standing around with his hat off you can see how much he has aged. I did wonder where the youngest kid was, I am guessing school but I thought she was home schooled. The eldest daughter was not there with the grand baby but there was no explanation where they went to.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

Almost all of the shows I watch these days I record because of all the advertising. So...I find myself fast forwarding through the Hailstone's when they're shown. Actually Jesse's bits on the show are beginning to seem repetitive to me as well telling us over and over how much he loves and is committed to his dogs. Actually if it wasn't for Sue's adventures as well as just her over all demeanor and for Rico (however he spells it) coming on board I might have skipped this season altogether.

  • Love 4
Link to comment

So glad Glen is gone. Such a pretentious self serving person. How can one posture so much about a simplistic lifestyle free of chainsaws and technological assistance when he keeps a satellite phone and plane or helicopter at his beck and call? I would say that he is clearly well educated and can sell his services as a survivalist trainer. But let’s be honest, this is just a hobby for him, kind of goes against the premise of this show.

 

Andy is extremely hard working and very intelligent. He also an abusive bully to women. I love how he treats his dogs, but can’t get past his treatment of women. The episode where Kate’s sister came to visit was very telling, he got all in Kate’s face as if he were going to hit her when they were in the boat. She flinched as if she were scared she was going to be hit. I hope her new life is awesome, she was a joy to watch.  

 

Sue is funny to watch from time to time. I love her comments, and like the fact that she is able to get out of bad situations. She also puts herself into a lot of those situations with horrible decisions. The snow machine wreck was hard to watch. I felt so bad for her. Then she went all Annie Wilkes and beat up the snow machine? She bought the big Cat loader, got it stuck, then blamed the loader? You have to own your own decisions when you live that life. The other thing is that she is WAY over the top with all the dangers of her chosen lifestyle. I believe she is well acquainted with pain killers too. To each her own I suppose. Oh yea, The plane hitting the snow drift and killing all the passengers comes to mind when thinking of her over the top explanations.

 

Jessy is awesome and I love Agnes Hailstone and the girls. Chip can be over the top sometimes but I think he loves his family and can see that they love him too. 

 

Great show, looking forward to more!

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Just noticed something in season 12 episode 3.  In Rickos camp when he is getting some traps together I see an electric meter set on the wall behind him. The globe is in.  All the BS about the radio and being sure that we see him place batteries back into the back of it may be more disingenuous than it needs to be. I wouldn’t mind knowing that there is power available to him out there, ultimately it changes little in what they can do to illustrate his lifestyle. I just don’t like the bullshit and lies. 

Im to the point now where I’m thinking that the shows producers are trying to make Sue look like a complete moron. What’s with all the goofy faces floating around her and several images of her like she’s drunk and insane?  I do wish she would stop asking her own questions to herself so that she can answer them. I really hate that.

  • Useful 2
Link to comment
On 12/24/2019 at 9:23 PM, Singleton28 said:

So glad Glen is gone. Such a pretentious self serving person. How can one posture so much about a simplistic lifestyle free of chainsaws and technological assistance when he keeps a satellite phone and plane or helicopter at his beck and call? I would say that he is clearly well educated and can sell his services as a survivalist trainer. But let’s be honest, this is just a hobby for him, kind of goes against the premise of this show.

I watched Glenn's interview with Joe Rogan, which was interesting and made me like Glenn more. Apparently, when he filmed most of the show he was living in the cabin with his family, but the show wanted to film with him alone and make it seem like he was living there by himself. He admits that he has lived in the cabin by choice and that he chose how much technology/convenience/food to bring in based on his goal to live off the land, live simply, etc. In the past, he has stayed at the cabin by himself for the better part of a year, but he has mostly gone back and forth with his family between the cabin and Fairbanks. He did that with his ex-wife and their kids, as well as with his current partner, with whom he has a baby and a stepdaughter.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

My gripe with Glenn is how he projected himself. I am sure Production played a role but he was annoying from day 1. Remember the day long trek he had to make to catch a plane from the first few seasons? That became someone flying him in to his site and now is his own plane? Or the comments about not using a chain saw followed by the parachute floaty thing that required classes in the lower 48 and would be great for hunting?

Everyone on this show has chosen to live a certain way. It is not that Glenn chooses to live this way,  but his attitude that projects that he is superior for choosing to live this way. 

The Hailstones are annoying in their own way, well Chip is, but they are living a lifestyle passed down through generations. Chip is annoying in the same way that Glenn is but a bit less so. Chip at least doesn’t pretend that technology is bad and has worked hard, with his family, to build his life. Without knowing Glenn’s background I suspected he came from money and could afford to live the way he was because he didn’t need to worry about anything.

Ricko and his family don’t live this way 24/7, he has never said they did. He is passing on cultural norms and good survival skills to his kids but it is clear that he is not expecting his kids to live only this life style.

Glenn just comes off as a rich kid who gets to live however he wants because he has money whois preaching a lifestyle that he can afford that many cannot.

compare that to Jessie who you are watching grow and build to something. 
 

  • Love 3
Link to comment

I watched anxiously as Sue replaced track and 265-pound tires on her massive jacked-up vehicle. As she stated, it was one of the hardest jobs she'd ever done. I can't imagine tackling it alone. I did wonder if production fudged on how long it took her - did she do it in one day as the editing implied?

I wonder if Andy is going to rent out the yurt to tourists.

Cool to watch the Hailstone daughters working alone.  I laughed when they told their dog to go home and he continued swimming determinedly to them...and ended up hanging out in the boat.

Jessie has endured through a lot of beginner mistakes. He looks much healthier than during his first season, where I think he went without sufficient food.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Morgalisa said:

Andy is going to be the death of Denise. She wants his approval so badly. 

She is so starry eyed and seems like a genuine caring person.    I hope he doesn't burn her bad.

 

On 1/9/2020 at 7:40 AM, pasdetrois said:

I watched anxiously as Sue replaced track and 265-pound tires on her massive jacked-up vehicle. As she stated, it was one of the hardest jobs she'd ever done. I can't imagine tackling it alone. I did wonder if production fudged on how long it took her - did she do it in one day as the editing implied?

I wonder if Andy is going to rent out the yurt to tourists.

Andy must have some sort of steady income to afford the gas for (and) all his toys.

I can't imagine Sue doing that job alone either. 

My dad was an aircraft mechanic who did all the work on the cars back in the Dark Ages (70's) while I was the unwilling (yet important) teenage assistant.  Old drum brakes, mufflers, shocks, struts, etc. blech.  Each job took hours.  

She had help.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I love Life Below Zero.  I watch it faithfully.  You can learn so much.

Very happy Glenn is gone with his, airplane, cell phone and all his other luxuries that don't fit into the show.

Don't go anywhere Sue.  In my opinion you carry the show!

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...