Sue Aikens : Sue Aikens Discusses The Struggles And Triumphs Of Living Below Zero
Imagine being 500 kilometres away from the nearest metropolis. Let’s say you’re 80 miles from the nearest road.
It doesn’t get any further away than that. When you consider that the weather is frequently below zero and your “neighbours” are dozens of grizzly bears, you quickly realise that living there requires a special kind of person.
That’s life at the Kavik River Camp, where Sue Aikens, one of the subjects of Nat Geo’s “Life Below Zero,” calls home.
Sue Aikens Wiki, Boyfriend & profession
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Sue and I have spoken twice in the last few months, and I’ve learned a lot about life in the Alaskan tundra.
Sue was a special guest at a virtual event for media in honour of the series’ forthcoming landmark 150th episode, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her directly a few weeks later.
Sue has an internet connection and can participate in Zoom and Skype video calls while living in the middle of nowhere.
In fact, when I interviewed her, internet access was one of the topics we discussed.
She told us about her early days at Kavik River Camp, and how, despite the fact that the internet was still relatively new at the time, she understood it would help her communicate and stay connected.
Comcast hadn’t yet installed fibre connections in the area, so she had to find out how to acquire a reliable signal 500 miles from the nearest populous area.
She was able to overcome the difficulty of line of sight and the capacity to get a signal from Point A to Point B beyond the curvature of the Earth by bouncing the signal off the Moon, as NASA did for the Apollo missions.
Sue Aikens answers questions
We played a trivia game on the show “Living Below Zero” and life in Alaska during the Nat Geo media event, and Sue Aikens made an appearance.
We were able to ask Sue questions during the video chat, and she responded to some of them during the video conference and some via email thereafter.
Here are some of the more intriguing questions and answers:
Sue, Is this something you’ve always dreamed of doing?
“For a long time, the Arctic and nature have been a source of inspiration and a part of my soul.
I’ve always wanted to be a lighthouse keeper (and still do), and severe seclusion is exactly what I’m looking for.
I’m a member of a couple of Arctic Clubs and help a lot of young people realise their goals of seeing and being inspired by the High Arctic.”
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Biden: The ‘At Best Just A Start’ Stimulus Bill Passed During Lame Duck Session ′′Life Below Zero′′ by Nat Geo.
Sue Aikens prepares large wood pieces for an outhouse. Jeff Alexander/BBC Studios Reality Productions, LLC
So far this year, what has been the craziest/scariest incident you’ve encountered?
“I don’t normally approach Life with dread or emotion in mind. Not that I don’t have feelings, but they should be a location you visit rather than a place you live.
One of the more unsettling things of this year for me was having close encounters with our top predators on several occasions.
Intimate encounters in your grill! Sometimes we need to reach for a fork and knife rather than a fork and knife.”
Was there ever a time when you wished you hadn’t gone on the trip?
“We all experience regret at some point in our lives, but it is not a place to linger.
I don’t live a successful life by brooding on what should have been a chance for learning and improvement.
I don’t have many regrets, but given a comparable situation, I might make a different decision. The one is a bad spin, while the other is a sound decision that you move on from.”
Is Amazon able to ship to the base camp?
“Amazon delivers to Fairbanks, where it is picked up by someone else and transported to the bush plane.
This previous delivery took almost three months, but oh, those glorious days when everything comes together and barely a week passes!”
Learning more about Sue
If you’ve seen “Life Below Zero,” you already know Sue is a one-of-a-kind and incredible person.
The ability to speak with her one-on-one over Skype was extremely valuable to me.
I asked her to tell me about the scariest or most frightening experience she had at Kavik River Camp.
Most people, she explained, are interested in hearing about bears and her encounters with them.
She informed me about her encounter with a young male bear. He caught her off unprepared and nearly killed her after a series of behaviours in which the bear was approaching on her compound.
She was able to return to camp and phone for assistance, but no one was accessible in a timely manner.
She had to clean and suture her own wounds, and she had to wait 10 days for help.
However, animals are not the only threat. The weather can also be lethal.
She told of a time when she was returning to camp with 900 pounds of supplies and the plane couldn’t approach close because of bad weather.
She was dropped off at the perimeter and had to figure out how to get 900 pounds of gear across the icy ground to camp—all while a wolf pack waited for an opening.
She hit a brick wall after pushing and straining and giving it everything she had.
She contemplated quitting. It was bitterly cold outside. She wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather.
It weighed in at 900 pounds. Sue, on the other hand, is one of the few people who can survive—and thrive—in such circumstances because she never gives up.
When she reaches a brick wall, she says she breaks it down and discovers out how to go past it. She only needed to take a break to analyse the situation and devise a strategy.
She changed into warmer clothes and divided the burden into more manageable chunks.
She divided the 900 pounds into 20-pound bags rather than trying to push it across the snow.
She flung them as far as she could, then walked back to where they were and repeated the process…and again…and again…until she had all of the supplies to camp.
′′Life Below Zero′′ by Nat Geo
In the tundra, Sue Aikens grabs a purple fireweed flower. Reality Productions, LLC/Jeffrey Alexander/BBC Studios
Will Sue stay at Kavik River Camp indefinitely? Who am I to say? Sue prefers to be in the now and enjoy what life has to offer.
“I’ll say I believe in my “Raven personality,” and one day I’ll spot something bright over the hill and feel compelled to investigate it,” she said.
We don’t always get to be the architects of our lives, but we are always the engineers departments when it comes to how we react.
I’ve travelled much, but there is still so much to see… Whatever plans life has for me, I’ll be here till I’m not.”
Life in the Subzero Zone
Sue is just one of the characters in the documentary “Life Below Zero.” Ricko DeWilde, Chip and Agnes Hailstone, Andy Bassich, and Jessie Holmes are all featured in the series.
Each of these brave souls has chosen to live off the grid in the Alaskan wilderness and has accepted the challenges that come with it.
BBC Studios Los Angeles produces “Life Below Zero,” which airs on National Geographic on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central.
On Friday, January 1, at 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central, a special New Year’s Day airing of the landmark 150th episode will air.
You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. Please visit my website.
Tony Bradley is a well-known figure in the
Tony Bradley is a well-known figure in the
TechSpective’s Editor-in-Chief is me. I have a passion for technology and gadgets, with a particular interest in Microsoft and security, as well as a desire to teach others how to use them.
Sue and I have spoken twice in the last few months, and I’ve learned a lot about life in the Alaskan tundra.
Sue was a special guest at a virtual event for media in honour of the series’ forthcoming landmark 150th episode, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her directly a few weeks later.
Sue has an internet connection and can participate in Zoom and Skype video calls while living in the middle of nowhere.
In fact, when I interviewed her, internet access was one of the topics we discussed.
She told us about her early days at Kavik River Camp, and how, despite the fact that the internet was still relatively new at the time, she understood it would help her communicate and stay connected.
Comcast hadn’t yet installed fibre connections in the area, so she had to find out how to acquire a reliable signal 500 miles from the nearest populous area.
She was able to overcome the difficulty of line of sight and the capacity to get a signal from Point A to Point B beyond the curvature of the Earth by bouncing the signal off the Moon, as NASA did for the Apollo missions.
Sue Aikens answers questions
We played a trivia game on the show “Living Below Zero” and life in Alaska during the Nat Geo media event, and Sue Aikens made an appearance.
We were able to ask Sue questions during the video chat, and she responded to some of them during the video conference and some via email thereafter.
Here are some of the more intriguing questions and answers:
Sue, Is this something you’ve always dreamed of doing?
“For a long time, the Arctic and nature have been a source of inspiration and a part of my soul.
I’ve always wanted to be a lighthouse keeper (and still do), and severe seclusion is exactly what I’m looking for.
I’m a member of a couple of Arctic Clubs and help a lot of young people realise their goals of seeing and being inspired by the High Arctic.”
So far this year, what has been the craziest/scariest incident you’ve encountered?
“I don’t normally approach Life with dread or emotion in mind. Not that I don’t have feelings, but they should be a location you visit rather than a place you live.
One of the more unsettling things of this year for me was having close encounters with our top predators on several occasions.
Intimate encounters in your grill! Sometimes we need to reach for a fork and knife rather than a fork and knife.”
Was there ever a time when you wished you hadn’t gone on the trip?
“We all experience regret at some point in our lives, but it is not a place to linger.
I don’t live a successful life by brooding on what should have been a chance for learning and improvement.
I don’t have many regrets, but given a comparable situation, I might make a different decision. The one is a bad spin, while the other is a sound decision that you move on from.”
Is Amazon able to ship to the base camp?
“Amazon delivers to Fairbanks, where it is picked up by someone else and transported to the bush plane.
This previous delivery took almost three months, but oh, those glorious days when everything comes together and barely a week passes!”
Learning more about Sue
If you’ve seen “Life Below Zero,” you already know Sue is a one-of-a-kind and incredible person.
The ability to speak with her one-on-one over Skype was extremely valuable to me.
I asked her to tell me about the scariest or most frightening experience she had at Kavik River Camp.
Most people, she explained, are interested in hearing about bears and her encounters with them.
She informed me about her encounter with a young male bear. He caught her off unprepared and nearly killed her after a series of behaviours in which the bear was approaching on her compound.
She was able to return to camp and phone for assistance, but no one was accessible in a timely manner.
She had to clean and suture her own wounds, and she had to wait 10 days for help.
However, animals are not the only threat. The weather can also be lethal. She told of a time when she was returning to camp with 900 pounds of supplies and the plane couldn’t approach close because of bad weather.
She was dropped off at the perimeter and had to figure out how to get 900 pounds of gear across the icy ground to camp—all while a wolf pack waited for an opening.
She hit a brick wall after pushing and straining and giving it everything she had.
She contemplated quitting. It was bitterly cold outside. She wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather.
It weighed in at 900 pounds. Sue, on the other hand, is one of the few people who can survive—and thrive—in such circumstances because she never gives up.
When she reaches a brick wall, she says she breaks it down and discovers out how to go past it. She only needed to take a break to analyse the situation and devise a strategy.
She changed into warmer clothes and divided the burden into more manageable chunks. She divided the 900 pounds into 20-pound bags rather than trying to push it across the snow.
She flung them as far as she could, then walked back to where they were and repeated the process…and again…and again…until she had all of the supplies to camp.
Will Sue stay at Kavik River Camp indefinitely? Who am I to say? Sue prefers to be in the now and enjoy what life has to offer.
“I’ll say I believe in my “Raven personality,” and one day I’ll spot something bright over the hill and feel compelled to investigate it,” she said.
We don’t always get to be the architects of our lives, but we are always the engineers departments when it comes to how we react.
I’ve travelled much, but there is still so much to see… Whatever plans life has for me, I’ll be here till I’m not.”
Life in the Subzero Zone
Sue is just one of the characters in the documentary “Life Below Zero.” Ricko DeWilde, Chip and Agnes Hailstone, Andy Bassich, and Jessie Holmes are all featured in the series.
Each of these brave souls has chosen to live off the grid in the Alaskan wilderness and has accepted the challenges that come with it.
BBC Studios Los Angeles produces “Life Below Zero,” which airs on National Geographic on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central.
On Friday, January 1, at 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central, a special New Year’s Day airing of the landmark 150th episode will air.
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