News: Breaking Trail

[David J. Eves]

Hooray, it is that time of year again, It is time to break trail, to go whaling !

When you need food, you go to the nearest grocery market and purchase your food, from the shelves etc. I want to show you first hand, up close and personal, from the START - to the Harvest, what we have to go through, to obtain FOOD !!

Now it is time, finally, to make the final preparations to begin whaling !!
Inupiaq whaling from the TOP OF THE WORLD - Barrow Alaska.

The days are cold, crisp, and refreshing. At the house of Whaling Captain - Johnathan Levitt - Sleds are dug out of the snow, cleaned off and make ready to head out to the ocean ice.. to ... .. BREAK TRAIL !!
This is it, hard back breaking work, for hours & days upon end, It is no easy task to break trail.
We received invites from The President of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling commission who is also a board member of the Internation Whaling Commission - Euguene Brower !
Day one was a 'test' to see and determine what type of workers the captain has on his crew.
My 3 sons returned home some 14 hours later, worn out, sore, tired, and sunburned on their faces !
Today, back out on the trail, they have a 15 foot high pressure ridge to go through, The Captain said, no sense going around it, lets just remove the whole thing and go right through it !

Photos and perhaps the video of this job will be available tonight when I process the images the boys create using my eyes, today ! I say (my eyes) becuase I have spent 20 years teaching them, how to see, how to compose, so in essense they create in the exact same manner in which I have created over the last 40 or more years.

Searching - to find the best path. The huge ice piles are many miles out on the frozen ocean ice pack.

 

[David J. Eves]

My second oldest son - Mark Andrew, sporting a brand new pair of bunny boots. All my sons purchased new boots this year. This is Mark's second whale hunt, Jesse's second, and Khristophers second as well. Isaiah is still back in Point Hope with his four Inupiaq children - 3 daughters and one son - Isaiah Jr. !

That parky he is wearing is one that was made for me by Rosemary Oviok in 1981 !!

The campsite(s) will be set up, many miles out there, where the lead forms. Where does that happen ? It is different each and every year. It depends on the thickness of the ice, the wind, and of course the temps

There is much about the ocean Ice that I do not understand. But after being on more than 5 whale hunts I have leanred a few basic things about the ocean ice. It is always moving, markers have to be placed way out there, and other markers to line up to see which way the ice is shifting after many days. Even though they cannot see 'open' water from here, it is easy to find, just by looking at the clouds in the sky. The darkness of the open water will create very dark looking clouds in the sky. The reflections from the ice make the clouds look much whiter on the bottom of their puffs than open water does. But for now, find a place to set up a camp site in the Captains favorite area(s), based on wind conditions, and distance to the place where the lead opens. For now, finding the right way to break this trail so as to get the job done

Day one was to test the crew, a lot of work had to get done on that first day, so there was little time to stop and use the camera. Work, hard work, chopping ice and moving ice and clearing a path, to transport materials. This pathway through the ice must be smooth, these machines have to make many trips back and forth, this creates excesive wear and tear on the equipment if it has to encounter 'rough' areas. A five mile ride will take hours at very slow speds of carefull navigation.

 

[David J. Eves]

My sons informed me they have a 15 foot high pressure ridge to break through and remove, before and after photos will be posted tonight, and hopefully a video showing the amazing amount of work involved in breakin trail.

Today, some of the younger members of the crew, were complaining they were too cold, the captain, said .. just work harder. Sweat !! how do you do that when it is 30 below and the wind is blowing? Easy - all the heat you need, is in the tools you are using, IF YOU WORK HARD(er) !! BUT, best not take your hat off, when you do, all that sweat, freezes and causes thick frost to form on your hair !!

 

[David J. Eves]

This is the test.. .. for whaling captains to determine who is a worker, and who will hold back from getting this important job finished as quickly as possible.
Once you are out there, there is no place to go to warm up, Bathrooms are plentful, just duck behind any large piece of ice !!

Again I say, this is back-breaking work, non stop for long hours and the great part is.. there is no pay what-so-ever. Many miles of incredibly hard work, so the community can get their equipment out there - for one purpose - to gather and harvest - FOOD !!

Obtaining food, is dangerous here in the arctic. anything can happen at any time out on the ice pack with no warning at all. You must constantly be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of the wind and the direction, this is extremely important to understand.
How many miles ? We do not know yet, but a safe bet is that it will be between 5 miles - 20 miles, depending on the thickness of the ice. We have no idea where / when the ice will crack, that is determined by the wind and the flow of currents in the area.

We have only finished two days worth of work, there are miles and miles to go.
How smooth does the ice have to be, smooth enough to transport supplies and get them there without the machines breaking down. Yesterday two machines broke down out there.

We do not go around obstacles, we go right through them, no matter how much work has to be performed
stay tuned, I have videos to post of these same images, I am going to put you right out on that ice with sounds and events never before seen !!

 

[David J. Eves]

Video's !!
Now I can bring you out to the ocean ice.. .. and you can see first hand, the work involved.
Until I become better at creating these video's. This will have to do .. .. for now!
Out to the Ice[/url]

ENJOY !!

 

[janet Smith]

The campsite(s) will be set up, many miles out there, where the lead forms. Where does that happen ? It is different each and every year. It depends on the thickness of the ice, the wind, and of course the temps

Hello David

A fascinating insight into your world, I have said here before that I like cold weather, but I've never experienced the kind of cold you must have there - I can't imagine being out in such low temperatures for the long periods of time that you endure. What kind of daytime temperatures are you working in, and what does it drop to overnight?

I'm looking forward to reading more, thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[David J. Eves]

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 !!

 

[David J. Eves]

When it is really cold out, you need much warmer clothing, A caribou parky with wolverine ruff.

And of course, dealing with the cold, has strange effects on facial hair !!

This young man, is hard at it all day long saturday, Amazing stamina !!

Here the steam is somewhat visible, in other images it will be very visible and the dark portion of the bottom of the clouds, which can be read from many miles away, The ice has broken twice and we will not have to go out as far as we first thought. GPS equipment will be used once the trail is finished so we can get an exact distance from land to camp site. We are at this moment about 5 miles out there. Sunday was too cold, so work was canceleed, too cold, too windy. rest !

Miles and miles to go, the 'point man' cruises ahead to scope out, what lies ahead !!

 

[Rachel Foster]

I like the 3rd image best. But man do I hate snow!

 

[David J. Eves]

Thanks for your wonderful comments.. .. but... we are in an ice enviornment, snow is virtually not an issue.. it is the ice !!

 

[Rachel Foster]

That, too. In Michigan winter lasts from Oct to May.....ice is NOT our friend.

 

[David J. Eves]

Well it is the opposite for us, we embrace the ice and live surrounded by it on all sides for two months.

As far as my desires, I can't stand the summer time dust, dirt, & heat, I wish it was winter year round. If it becomes any hotter in the summer time here, I am headed to the northmost parts of Greenland.

This is just the greatest place to hunt, and live. I realize you cannot possibly comprehend the attraction, to quiet, empty - peaceful - frozen nothingness !

One of the crew members is searching for .. .. .. what lies ahead !! Polar bear tracks have been spotted, but no sightings of the actual animals themselves yet. ( It is not cold enough).

Much of the ice has been broken away and much of the work we did is gone !! We were five miles out, Originally it was 15 miles, but vast areas of ice have broken off due to the current(s).
Now at 3 miles out, the ice is only two feet thick, that is not what we need.
So we wait.. for the wind .. it will determine where we end up and how far out !!

 

[Mike Shimwell]

David

Thanks. I always appreciate the view you give us into your world and the life of your community.

Mike

 

[David J. Eves]

Much of our struggles with the enviroment and climate, makes it necessary to .. .. wait !!

Anything can happen, work was canceled yesterday due to blowing snow and strong winds, today we are supposed to go back out (evening) and check on the ice, Lots to do, checking markers for ice drift. when the wind changes, so does the ice ( in time). We have to wait. !!

Now that we have reached open water, now we go back and smooth out the trail as we move back to the begining, fill in the low spots, chop down the high spots, and this trail will become a super highway through the ice. Each crew, has their own trail, camps are spaced out from each other. Great care and constant work is what keeps these trails open and working.

Lots more to follow - !!

 

[Rachel Foster]

This one is particularly evocative. I keep coming back to images that have a surface simplicity but an underlying complexity. The muted colors allow the richness of the foreground to work without overwhelming.

This one goes on my "study list."

 

[David J. Eves]

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 !!

 

[David J. Eves]

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 !!!

 

[Asher Kelman]

David,

You are always full of humor. I'm not sure what happened, but it does sound funny. Be safe!

Asher

 

[David J. Eves]

Well @ 40 below, and wearing overalls, well someone wasn't careful enough and made their deposit into the hood which was lying on the ground un-noticed. ! Yes a lot of humor is embraced into our daily lives up here. Laughter - it is heard constantly everywhere, side splitting laughter is the norm in our daily lives !!

Thank You Asher !!

 

[David J. Eves]

Open water, at the lead opening, the warm water, the steam, creates quite a dramatic effect !!

We are 5 miles out, it is very cold here, the wind is too strong, icebergs are floating by - about 20 mph !! - they are moving & crusing, this is quite the place to be, .. ..

I will show you sights, very few are able to record and photograph. !!

For the last few days, it has been too cold, and much too windy,

So we wait, whales should be here any day,

A few days ago, Rex Rock - Whalilng Captain from Point Hope called the President of the Alaska Eskimo Whalilng Commission to inform him.. whales are migrating past the point in Point Hope !!

Images will be forthcoming, right from inside the umiaq !!

 

[Asher Kelman]

Open water, at the lead opening, the warm water, the steam, creates quite a dramatic effect !!

We are 5 miles out, it is very cold here, the wind is too strong, icebergs are floating by - about 20 mph !! - they are moving & crusing, this is quite the place to be, .. ..

I will show you sights, very few are able to record and photograph. !!

It seems David that life for the Eskimo is full of swings from the harshness of nature to the joy of find the whales. I wonder about the saying and proverbs that are unique to this native life.

Asher

 

[Rachel Foster]

May I ask your settings on this? I love the effect.

 

[David J. Eves]

Well if I was using film - 125 @ F 8 / 11

Using digital.. (automatic) !!

As far as which proverbs apply in Native Daily living.. well I assume the entire book of proverbs !!

I have gotten many people into the habit.. ..

On day one of any particular month - read proverbs chap 1 day 2 chap 2 etc.

in one year a person will have read that entire book 12 times, In ten years, you will be amazed at how little you know !!

31 days has most months.. Proverbs has 31 chapters.. that one book has more wisdom for DAILY living than any other book ever written !!

I doubt I answsered you question correctly Asher,, but much of native logic and wisdom comes from proverbial teaching which is the oldest form of teaching known to man.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Well if I was using film - 125 @ F 8 / 11

Using digital.. (automatic) !!

As far as which proverbs apply in Native Daily living.. well I assume the entire book of proverbs !!

I have gotten many people into the habit.. ..

On day one of any particular month - read proverbs chap 1 day 2 chap 2 etc.

in one year a person will have read that entire book 12 times, In ten years, you will be amazed at how little you know !!

31 days has most months.. Proverbs has 31 chapters.. that one book has more wisdom for DAILY living than any other book ever written !!

I doubt I answsered you question correctly Asher,, but much of native logic and wisdom comes from proverbial teaching which is the oldest form of teaching known to man.

I am impressed with this. Do folk really read the book of proverbs? How common is this? I was actually asking about Eskimo proverbs!

Asher

 

[David J. Eves]

Well, in every house, in all of the many different villages I have been in, one thing is common in all of them, in any home, except one or two , if you look, there is an open bible on a table .

They speak often, daily about the 'creator of all things' .. .. !

This is why the animals must be respected, and nothing wasted.

The emphasis is always on respect of the land, even the ice enviorment, must be kept clean of any debris.

 

[David J. Eves]

That's about, all I can relate in an answer to your original question concerning Native Proverbs & teaching. (wink ) !!

 

[David J. Eves]

For the last few days, it has been too cold, and much too windy,

So we wait, whales should be here any day,

A few days ago, Rex Rock - Whalilng Captain from Point Hope called the President of the Alaska Eskimo Whalilng Commission to inform him.. whales are migrating past the point in Point Hope !!

Images will be forthcoming, right from inside the umiaq !!

The weather is too nasty to be out on the ice now, Too cold, too windy. temps are well below - 60 F (wind chill) , so .. .. we wait !!
Today, two polar bears were in town, Fish and Game safely chased them out of town back to the ocean ice.
So, we stay at home and wait, for athe winds to die down, before we can go back out on the trail.
Walking around the village of Barrow, it is obvious, people are preparing to go whaling out on the ocean ice for many weeks.

Transportation
Four types of transportation

Close the windows !

Plug it in !If you want your vehicle to start, then you best plug it in overnight.

 

[David J. Eves]

This caribou was found frozen in place on a site inspection on the North Slope. That is some cold weather.... temps were down in the -40s F and wind chills to -70 to -80.

Caribou froze standing still at -80 with wind chill in Kuparuk, AK.​

 

[Asher Kelman]

So, David,

That will feed how many people?

Seems like a very painful end for the creature! Now why didn't they evolve thick fur!

Asher

 

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

This caribou was found frozen in place on a site inspection on the North Slope.

Hi David,

Thanks for keeping us informed about your 'adventures'. That's one sad creature, frozen in place, amazing.

Bart