Ice

Goodbye to the Ice

2006-07-10T10:42:00.000Z

Hello. This has been a little while coming I know but it has taken some time to realise I really am back in London! Barrow was a different world. It was a great privilege to share the lives of the people there for 2 months. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for their comments and interest in my trip. It helped so much, especially at the beginning when I was feeling a bit scared. I really do recommend blogs for this sort of trip. It was fantastic to be able to share photos etc while it was happening. Climate change wise, I've learned a great deal but realised the story is even more complicated than I thought. I'm working on my material and am contacting everyone who was in touch and posted comments so you can keep across it. It won't be on this space as this was informal and just to update friends and family. If you want to know more about what I'm doing then please leave a comment with a contact email. Signing off, have a good summer everyone, Ice Fairy.

Polar bears come to town!

2006-06-22T01:28:00.000Z

Julia emailed me this one which was at the dump at about 1.30 in the morning...

Still no water!

2006-06-21T09:04:00.000Z

Just spoke to Julia, Aku and Billy. The ice still hasn't opened up. The blanket toss festival is this Friday. I am in London. It's so hot! And I miss Barrow.

Bye bye Alaska

2006-06-19T22:45:00.001Z

This'll wake ya up!

That was in Anchorage which also has lots of tattoos and leather. I forgot to show you the photo of the successful whaling boat - you can see the crew flag flying on it. I went to a return of the whalers party (pron aparardi don't know how to spell) and saw all the elders being fed soup and fermented whale meat and then I washed dishes for several hundred.

I've left Alaska now, complete with my Inupiaq name Singaagauluk (Sing-ar-or-luk) which was given to me by Julia. It's her name and she said I should be very honoured so I was. Also have my Kaleak crew whaling jacket and my furry hat. Stayed in a fantastic hostel in Anchorage which I recommend http://www.26streethostel.com and found some Inupiaq language tapes in the bookshop. They only have Kotzebue dialect which is a bit different from Barrow but it will have to do.

Now in Edmonton with lovely cousins and auntie and uncle and scrappy the dog. Yesterday we saw someone called Don Cherry a hockey commentator who is apparently very famous and who wears very bad jackets. Flying home to London tomorrow. Night shift Wed. Rang Barrow to see if anyone had caught any last minute whales but they haven't. As of Friday the ice still hadn't opened up.

Heading back

2006-06-14T03:54:00.000Z

I'm in Anchorage. Am so exhausted. Am going to chat to oil companies and local radio/papers tomorrow. It's sooo hot. Going to see Auntie and cousins in Canada for few days on Thursday. Back Monday 19th. Then will start working on film/exhibition... Wish me luck...

Packing

2006-06-12T05:59:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of writing. Hope no one was worried. I am leaving Barrow tomorrow and am finding that all a bit traumatic so I haven't been doing much climate change wise. Whaling has ended. It's been a very poor season with only 3 whales caught. Some people say that's because of changing climate but lots of people say it isn't too. There have been years where they didn't get any at all before. I went to talk to the North Slope Borough Mayor who says it's all very well co-operating with the scientists which he is all for but he feels no-one is really looking at the impact climate change is having on Inupiat culture. It's the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in a few weeks and they will come here from Russia and Greenland and other places to talk about climate change. And soon Barrow will have its blanket toss festival where everyone eats whale and they use a huge blanket to throw people up in the air like a trampoline. Everyone is looking forward to going bearded seal and walrus hunting now. Van says he pities me having to go back to London. They are all gearing up for lots of fun. Boooooo. I'll write more from Anchorage or wrap up and post more audio/links from London.

Sea Ice retreat

2006-06-01T17:17:00.000Z

Here we are - I found the maps I was after.
You can see how much the sea ice has retreated off the coasts of Alaska and Siberia in comparison to the expected mean - that's the fat pink line around the edge.

Sea ice conditions for September 2002, 2003, and 2004, derived from the Sea Ice Index. Each image shows the concentration anomaly (key on right) and the 1979-2000 median September ice edge (pink line). For each year, the ice edge is well north of its median position off the coasts of Alaska and Siberia. Image provided by National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder.

This is all from this really cool website http://www.nsidc.org/sotc/sea_ice.html

here's an extract...
Passive microwave satellite data reveal that Arctic ice extent decreased about 3 percent per decade while Antarctic ice extent increased by 0.8 percent per decade (Cavalieri et al. 2003).

In recent years, satellite data have indicated an even more dramatic reduction in regional ice cover. In September 2002, sea ice in the Arctic reached a record minimum (Serreze et al. 2003), 4 percent lower than any previous September since 1978, and 14 percent lower than the 1978-2000 mean.

Fossil fuel consumption and the resulting increase in global temperatures could explain sea ice decline, but the actual cause might be more complicated. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a seesaw pattern of alternating atmospheric pressure at polar and mid-latitudes. So sea ice decline may result from natural variability in the AO. Growing evidence suggests, however, that greenhouse warming favors the AO's positive mode, meaning recent sea ice decline results from a combination of natural variability and global warming.

Yum yum

2006-05-30T21:57:00.000Z

Eli has taught me how to make eskimo donuts. They're just donuts with raisins in and no sugar on. We put blueberries in YUM.

Grrrrrr

2006-05-30T04:46:00.000Z

This Barrow polar bear was on the front page of the Edmonton Journal. It was watching another whaling crew here. It didn't come too close and no one shot at it. Thanks to cousin Phil for sending it... I still haven't seen one but Billy saw a 'medium sized one' about 20 metres away the one time I wasn't with him on the snowmachine. It ran away when it saw him.

Goose hunt

2006-05-29T22:45:00.000Z

It was so much fun. I haven't laughed so much in years. First of all we went to Kaleak camp and stayed in one of these cabins.

This is the view from the goose shooting hide. It's been used by generations of Kaleaks.

Then we went to Uyaghralik(?) which is closer to Barrow because the snow was starting to melt. That means the ice over the rivers is starting to melt and you can't risk snowmachining over them when they are slushy cos you might go through. This is the river at Uyaghralik.

No cabin at Uyaghralik so we squished into a tent. You just don't worry about whether it's day or night. Sleep when you want and for as long as you need. No-one gets called lazy. It's great! Played lots of cards when it was too windy for the geese to fly. I have started to win at Rummy(?) but am still not very good at Pick 2. Here are my opponents... Billy looking suspicious and Eli concentrating.

At one point Eli got stuck in a melting river and Billy had to pull him out.

They are really noticing the warming and Billy is worried that the geese/caribou might stop migrating through that part of the tundra if it gets too warm. They caught about 30 geese altogether. For them and relatives and elders who don't have anyone to hunt for them anymore.

I saw caribou and snowy owls. The owls were incredible. The caribou were too young to be of interest for hunting. I can call a goose and a ptarmigan now. Shot the gun twice. First time I wasn't expecting the kick back as they make it look so easy and nearly fell over which made them laugh a lot. Second time shot at a snowball and missed.

Am learning Inupiak... But don't know how to spell!
Are you cold? - alapoo?
Yes/no - eeee/nomee
A little bit - oodigoo
Thank you - kwee-ah-noc
Thankyou very much - kwee-ah-noc-buk
Go to sleep - siq-quwoin
Calm down - nalai
Shut up - atta
Scarey - ihanee
Your go (for cards) - illivin/illivich
I don't know - achoo
Dunno you decide - achoo leveen
Right? - umeee
Good - ardee-gar
Very good - ardee-gar-har
Cute/pretty - atai
Lets go - kida
My conversation needs working on!

We stayed out a bit long and Julia got worried. We didn't have a radio although we'd visited a neighbouring camp on Friday and told them we were fine on their radio and heading back Sunday we were about 5 hours later than we said we would be. I was put on the search and rescue base list (they keep a list of where everyone is all the time) as Doreen Kaleak. They liked that ha ha.

Am staying here longer and not going to northern Canada now. Today we have to clean all the geese. I am going to go and summon courage by eating a snickers.

Multiyear Ice

2006-05-23T22:52:00.000Z

I understand the deal with this now. It is ice that has survived the summer melt for one or more years and built up layers. It hasn't necessarily come off a glacier.

I met some scientists who explained it all and said it's now very rare. There isn't much multiyear ice floating around any more. This is what the arctic used to be like. So this year is very unusual and I am very lucky to have seen it. Now most years you just get first year ice which is much thinner and is salt water because the salt hasn't drained out of it. The ice seems to be thinning every year. Polar bears like multiyear ice for denning in (making a hole and having cubs).

Feeling down

2006-05-23T21:34:00.000Z

I haven't been feeling up to doing much recently. I have been feeling totally gutted about not being on the ice. It's an horrific wrench coming back to land. I can't imagine what impact not being able to go out would have on people here if they ever can't. The wind/current etc is all wrong at the moment. It might be better next week. But I am now over the moon cos I'm going geese hunting with Billy and Eli. We have to leave in the evening when the ground is frozen. I have been taken over by this place. It's impossible to be an observer and I have almost stopped gathering material which makes me feel a bit useless but gives me an tiny insight into how important the lifestyle is. Here is Jesley enjoying some Jersey toffees that big sis sent. He says thankyou!! And Julia says huge hello. She is going to hang the Jersey cow tea towel on the wall.

Saw 'track of the giant snow bear'. It's good. The baby polar bear (Pakka) is incredibly cute and it's about this bloke who carves and is a dreamer. The cub gets caught in his dad's trap and then becomes a pet. When it eats all the meat it gets banished from the village. Then another polar bear nearly eats someone and he hesitates in killing it because he thinks it might be Pakka. So he banishes himself and makes himself survive for a year on his own so he becomes a proper hunter and doesn't endanger people any more. The polar bear helps him out during that year and he learns to hunt etc. At the end the bear goes off and has cubs and isn't tame any more and he is a hunter/carver and lives happily ever after.

Whale pictures

2006-05-20T05:13:00.000Z

We came in again. The ice was coming in pretty fast. But not before we saw loads more WHALES!! This is how close the beluga were. Some of them came from under the ice we were sitting on and I could see their shapes in the water like ghosts.

We saw some bowheads really close too. My crew haven't caught one yet although other crews have. The quota is 22 whales landed or struck and lost. We will hopefully get to go out once more if the current changes in time. I ate a pork chop sandwhich and a hot dog. It was scarey but the chef was Leith who is three times bigger than me and very very funny but can look quite scarey too when he wants. They couldn't believe I'd never eaten a hot dog before and not eaten a pork chop for 25 years.

I've never seen proper teamwork in action before. It is amazing. Feel like I am growing up just watching them. If someone makes a mistake or something breaks or the weather's wrong no-one gets angry. They just get on with fixing it and are always laughing. Everyone looks out for everyone else, works really hard and there's no ego stuff going on. It's so cool. And when I get things wrong no-one gets impatient - they just explain it - even if they're in a rush. All the different whaling crews are constantly on the radio talking about where the whales are and what the weather's doing. I helped saw the boat sled which broke. They said they were really glad I was there and they would miss me when I went and I am tough (ha ha HA totally unbelievable coming from them). I felt SO happy.

This is a sod house about 6 miles from Barrow. Where people still lived in the '60s. They only had seal oil for heating/lamps. The tundra grows over the top and keeps you warm(ish). Apparently one of the people here had a pet polar bear that used to pull sleds but they let it go because it kept breaking into the meat shed and eating everything.

Working hard

2006-05-18T04:37:00.000Z

Oh no! Look what happened to my favourite place to sit in the world!

What a mess. Big ice came in and this happened which is why you leave really quickly when it starts coming. Went out to a different bit with a scientist the other day and he explained how the movements are like watcing plate tectonics in real time. I could see the ice cap i.e. the edge of the bit which goes over the north pole, scraping against the ice I was standing on. Amazing and pretty scarey. it was rumbling and bits were falling off. We didn't stay long. Taking a breather for a few minutes now before we go back out and try to find a better spot. Whaling is hard work. Have been breaking trail and putting up tents and taking them down again and pushing boats up ice hills and trying to sleep when tent is nearly blowing away and losing at cards alot. Feel really sad the ice is melting. It's all slushy and we get wet when we come up to town now. They are getting a bit anxious about the conditions. I think this may be the last time we go out. But they've only caught 2 whales so far and are pretty worried that's not enough for the whole town.

This is an indication/warning about how my fashion sense has changed. I got given a wolf/beaver-skin hat by Billy. That's Reilly on the left. It's SO warm but not sure how it will go down in London. Gotta go we're off...

Waiting again

2006-05-14T02:24:00.000Z

This is my favourite place to sit in the world. I've spent hours and hours there.

The ice started to close up again so we had to come in, in the middle of the night. Here's everyone packing up in a hurry.

Got told off for trying to film - am generally recording less and less and just trying to join in. Drove a snowmachine pulling a sled over some rocky bits and pushed the boat when it got stuck. The trail is much rougher because some of the snow has melted. The whales just come up as semicircles above the water, like wheels going round and round. They don't stick their tails up. But sometimes they breach (jump) if they are playing around. Haven't seen that yet. Made another whale at the heritage Centre. This one's for Billy whose birthday it is tomorrow. They said it's much better and its an Inutuk(?) a small round one - the type they like to catch.

Found humous and organic salad in the shop. But when I came back there was some very hardcore stuff going on in the kitchen involving whale tongue and geese. I gave it my best shot. Eli thought it was very funny that he could make me scream every time he waved a goose head around.

Yes that IS a goose neck I am holding. Wonder if I've got bird flu. Am now addicted to Golden Girls from waiting for the wind to change. Not the self development I'd expected. But am developing different conversation topics... Billy was telling me how a grizzly bear bit his boat in half the other day and I said 'Oh what a pain I hate grizzlies' without thinking and carried on boiling the ice. And I now like eating caribou and it's normal for me to find whale skin in my teeth. But I have managed not to eat spam yet. Julia sends 'big hugs from Barrow at the top of the world' to everyone and especially my mum. Sang her 'she moved through the fair' she really liked it and I told her you sing it better. Some of of the Inupiat people have been telling me about their Irish ancestry because of the commercial whalers who came in the past. Some of them married and stayed.

Whales!

2006-05-12T06:31:00.000Z

I have just seen HUNDREDS of beluga whales swimming past the ice edge! Sorry I didn't get picture - was trying to film them. The lead (channel of water) is much much bigger now and you can see it as a dark wiggly line in the sky. They can tell if big ice is coming and about to hit the ice they're on by watching the sky too.

The whales make a 'phooo', 'phooo' noise every time they come up to breathe. This morning a HUGE bowhead whale passed by about 20 metres away. Apparently there are giant more than 100 year old ones which sound like a motor and make the ice vibrate. They are trying to catch a small bowhead. This evening it was politely suggested I come back to Barrow and have a shower. Ha ha. Was very nice to wash hair. Going back now with more propane. Barrow is melting and going all brown and slushy. I have been helping to cut bits off the ice and have to get water by hitting the mountains of multiyear ice with a pick axe and melting it in a pot. See below. Arms really hurt but it's loads of fun.

They are all being fantastically caring and keep asking me if I have cold feet. It's very important that you don't. If you start getting frostbite on your face or ears you are supposed to rub snot on it but I haven't needed to try that yet! Am still under pressure to get fatter. They chat in Inupiaq and translate some bits (forget arabic I want to learn that) and say I haven't felt real cold yet and it's much warmer now than it was in the 70's. The night shifts are so strange. I have lost all track of day and time because it's always light. Oh yes and met Carl (a giant hardcore hunter) and Craig (a whale biologist who sometimes does rescues) - they both seem pretty legendary. AND apparently if you stick a paddle in the water and hold it to your ear you can hear the whales singing! Will try it and send it if it works.

Going out again

2006-05-09T04:39:00.000Z

The sky's all dark with watersky and there's been east winds and apparently opening up. Going out again tonight. Think it will probably be for longer. Will try and update soon. SO excited

Audio diary 2

2006-05-09T02:13:00.000Z

Here's the link to the second installment.

Sound of the Ice Melting Audio 2

Podcasting! Audio diary 1

2006-05-06T20:21:00.000Z

OK I've had a go at working out what a podcast is so you can hear stuff. First of all I meet Julia and try on an eskimo parka with a furry hood. We are watching Titanic tonight. And Billy has brought over a copy of 'Track of the giant snow bear'. It was made in a village near here. Can't wait.

The podcast should work now. To hear the first audio diary you can click on the link below and to subscribe to the podcast click on the link on the right hand side of the page which says 'Subscribe to audio diary ICE'. Either of these means I don't clog up your inbox with big sound files. I'll send another audio diary soon.

Sound of the Ice Melting Audio 1

Incredible incredible

2006-05-04T01:00:00.000Z

A lead opened so we went out last night. It was pretty exciting.

This is the compass they put on the ice. If it starts moving it means the ice has become loose and you are floating off and need to be rescued.

This is the tent we all squish into. Except for those on polar bear watch. I was let off that for my first night but we had to get up really really early so not much sleep (also lots of snoring).

Today they set up the boat at the edge of the lead and waited for whales. I've never seen anywhere so beautiful. Saw a seal stick its head out of the water. Riley told me loads more about the spiritual side of the hunt. They believe the whales are reborn and some of them give themselves up voluntarily. There were prayers being said over the VHF(?) radio and people chatting to their mums. He also said things have changed a great deal since he first went out as a boy. He says the ice is much thinner. Apparently sometimes beluga whales come jumping along the lead for hours. Have ALWAYS wanted to see a beluga. Think I want to be Barrow correspondent.

Then the ice started coming in again and we had to pack up in a hurry before it hit our side and caused a pressure ridge and sort of ice-quake - very dangerous. So we came back to Barrow. I am having to listen really hard and do exactly what I'm told (new experience...) and be alert and try to notice things on the trail, in the ice and clouds and generally not be a dozy idiot which I am finding quite hard... Not really getting a chance to record anything - had to help and be ready to pack up the whole camp very quickly at any time and too scared of getting in the way. But they were kind and after we got back they said I 'did good out there... for a first timer'. Phew. A stronger north-east wind is expected Thursday so a bigger lead should open up more quickly. Here's Billy pulling the boat on the way back.

Had caribou soup for dinner. Really tired now.

Cracks in the ice

2006-05-02T01:14:00.000Z

We went 9.5 miles out today to check for leads and cracks. This is where it could break off when the wind changes I think. It's also probably where my minidisc recorder has gone. Oooops.

Arctic fox trail... its tracks were following polar bear tracks because it scavenges off the food the polar bear catches.

Van thinks this might be water sky - see the dark line? i.e. where the lead of water opening up is reflected in the sky. But it's a bit difficult to tell at the moment. Billy seems to think we'll probably go out tomorrow though.

Snow machine maintenance. We saw an ugruuk - think that's how you spell it - a bearded seal. It caused lots of interest because its skin is used to make boats. But it slipped off into the water.

Polar bear protection.

View from the snowmachine. I have worked out how to sit on it so you don't nearly fall off all the time and your arms stay in their sockets. Phew.

Lead opening

2006-05-01T17:54:00.000Z

Apparently the sky's getting dark. Am going to go and have a look. Probably off soon.

Breaking trail

2006-05-01T06:02:00.000Z

I went out on the sea ice for the first time. We went for about 8 miles. It was incredibly beautiful. There were huge chunks of blue striped ice and polar bear tracks! Apparently these are a couple of days old and are from a big one.

I hit the ice a couple of times with the axe and now my arms feel like they're going to fall off. Stepped into a big crack that was covered up by snow. Had to hang on pillion on the back of the snowmachine which was really hard because it was so fast and bumpy but Billy (above right) let me drive the snowmachine on the way back! The small hills behind are glacial ice which is fresh water. The crunched up bits are pressure ridges. Any flat bits are young ice a year old or something like that.

They were on polar bear watch. I was too. They told me to look for snow that was walking. Now we are just waiting for the wind to change and the lead to open.

Dancing lesson

2006-04-30T19:15:00.000Z

These are my Inupiat dance teachers. Julia, Lillian, Caitlin and Jesley3. I can't spell their Inupiat names. The dances are fantastic. Some of them are about animals.

Think I am as ready as I will ever be to go out on the ice. I am wishing I had a proper compass though... and a GPS... and a helicopter... Have tied my gloves to a piece of string and put them through my coat like a three year old so I don't lose them again and am having to put up with lots of people laughing their heads off. Except Chico (below) who says it's the sign of an experienced polar explorer. Hmmm. We went and tried to listen to the ice cracking on the shore but the wind was making too much noise.

False alarm

2006-04-30T02:55:00.000Z

Just found out that whale snow means the whales are close by but not necessarily that the lead is going to open. The wind has changed back. So everyone is a bit sad they can't go out because they can tell the whales are around. I am really on edge waiting. Going to go and let my camera roll on the arctic ocean for an hour to try and get a really small change in the light over a long time and to practise using the sat phone.

Whale snow

2006-04-29T18:24:00.000Z

There is whale snow falling which is big fat flakes and Chico called to say the wind seems to have changed so it's coming from the east. Could all be happening any minute. Eeeeeeeek. Heard all about the little people last night from Julia and her cousin who lives in Point Hope. The little people live in the hills and aren't often seen but have sometimes helped people when they get lost in the snow. They are called Inuqulurorak. They hang around mostly in autumn when it's dark all day and apparently lived in the villages with ordinary people until there was an argument. Also heard about the role of the whaling captain's wife who has a big spiritual connection to the whale. Apparently the whale watches her quite closely and she has to behave really well if the whale is going to give itself to the people i.e. get caught. Someone who has prophetic dreams has dreamt that Kaleak crew are going to get a whale this year. She dreamt they did last year and they did.

Polar bear tracks!

2006-04-28T23:09:00.000Z

Chico took this one sometime recently. How cool is that.

Good night

2006-04-28T08:16:00.000Z

Pressure ridge

2006-04-28T08:12:00.000Z

This is what happens when the wind is blowing from the west and pushes the ice cap on shore.

Barrow's only husky dog team

2006-04-28T08:07:00.000Z

No polar bears

2006-04-28T08:03:00.000Z

Tofu! Yippee!!

2006-04-28T07:38:00.000Z

Managed to go a whole day without eating meat. Bought two huge blocks of cheese to take whaling after panicking when I saw the shopping list that Eli put together. I've copied and pasted it especially for you Elena.

Whaling Shopping List

Chicken for both soup and fried
Pork Chops
Pork Loin Chops
Hamburger Meat 3-3lbs
Oxtail Meat
2 Pks Tyson Chicken Wings
Eggs
Bacon
Sausage
Spam
Ham
Seasoning Salt
Butter
Macaroni
Vegetarian Vegetable Soup
Tomato Soup
Tobasco
Taco Shells
4 Cans Clams
Carnation Milk
Sloppy Joe Sauce
Syrup
Bread
Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Garlic Powder
Lettuce
Celery
Green Peppers
Tomatoes
Jalepenos.
Potatoes
Carrots
Potato Buds
Cinnamon
Onions
Raisins
Flour
Yeast

Eli is one of Julia's three sons who's about 30 and wants to be a chef and live in Hawaii. I'm really glad he is coming whaling. He's going to do the cooking and he says it's ok if I don't want to eat meat all the time and I won't fall in and other reassuring things. This evening Chico took pity and took me to a restaurant that had tofu. He said he was impressed by my 'going outside my comfort zone' but then started on the near death stories about falling in the sea in the antarctic and down crevaces etc etc. He doesn't seem to have a comfort zone. But he has promised to come and rescue me if I ring him in distress on the sat phone. We went to look for polar bears but didn't see any. Am getting to know Julia a bit. She is an incredible lady. Legendary Carl has turned into a legendary Craig and I think I know where to find him. Going to bed because I have to get up early to film Eli making donuts and to eat all the spare ones.

The elders

2006-04-27T22:31:00.000Z

Went to see Roberta's granny Bertha. She is ninety something and says even when she was little the elders said that their ocean would one day be free of ice. I am going to see Warren another elder tomorrow. I am trying to work out a way of sending audio because some of it is funny. If anyone knows about podcasts pls point me in right direction... I think we are getting closer to going out whaling. I'm starting to feel very nervous. I've seen the shopping list and it has oxtail soup in it and I have been warned that I will have to do night shift polar bear watch and do the dishes.

My new wardrobe...

2006-04-27T16:38:00.000Z

This is Julia, she's the whaling captain's wife. She's wearing her special parka. I am wearing a white parka so the whales won't see me when I'm on the ice. It has fur on the inside. Feels totally surreal.

Roberta and her granny

2006-04-27T04:39:00.000Z

Who is an elder and who I will hopefully meet tomorrow

Herman and his dad

2006-04-27T04:16:00.000Z

There are loads of great photos like this at the heritage centre

Ice and bone

2006-04-27T03:30:00.000Z

I ate seven donuts today. Eli makes them and sells them and they will hopefully make me fat quickly so I can eat less meat. I ate reindeer soup too which was nice although I was told off for not eating enough of it. Am learning lots about ice. Apparently the ice that has come to shore this year is glacial ice. That's very rare and it means a bit has fallen off the glacier. It's good because it's fresh water and you can drink it when you're out there but it's also dangerous because it can shatter quickly and it's very tough to cut through when you make a trail to the edge. Perry gave me a piece of whalebone so I tried to make a bowheaded whale using the machines they've got at the heritage centre. They have sandpaper on and it smells like the dentists.

Mine is on the left. The one on the right is my New Zealand whale which I carry around. I was quite pleased with mine but Van who is in charge of Kaleak crew said it looked like a salmon and got on with tying floats on the harpoons. These are some polar bear paws that were outside the heritage centre. Apparently someone called Carl killed it. I still haven't met him but the trail is getting warmer...

I live on North Star Street now

2006-04-25T23:45:00.000Z

Muktuk

2006-04-25T23:03:00.000Z

It's skin and subcutaneous fat from a whale (I googled it) in wide pink and black stripes. And I had some on crackers for lunch. Am going to google meatloaf now because that's what we're having tonight. Oh god. My family are really nice. They think the idea of a vegetarian is hilarious and I am too thin. I'm part of Kaleak crew and an honorary bloke because I'm foreign (there won't be any other women with this crew on the ice although some go out to cook with other crews) but I got a DON"T EVEN ASK when I picked up the harpoon thing because they thought I wanted to load it. The mayor is a whaling captain, so is the head of the scientific institute. As soon as a lead appears most of the men will rush off onto the sea ice. Went and calmed down after lunch by sitting next to Perry who etches pictures of animals on whale baleen in the back room of the heritage centre. See photo. He wants to learn an English accent because he thinks it's cute. He used to be a whaler but now only one eye works so he does this. He thinks the change in the weather means the world is ending. Tonight's social event is a talk on Bowhead whales off Chukotka, Russia and why the whalers here are friends with the whalers there.

Advice on being cold from Chico

2006-04-25T05:29:00.000Z

Went to the airport today to see the scientists off. Met loads of people. Also went to the library. Most of the chairs are rocking chairs. Nice. The weather has gone totally white. You can't see much and Chico says the temperature is going to drop. Chico builds research stations for scientists and has had to mend electrical cables in the dark at temperatures below -100 degrees when your skin freezes straight away. I said I was worried about the cold hurting when I'm camping on the ice and he said it's a matter of glass half full half empty and just remember it's going to get warmer again and that the worst bits are what you remember, you don't remember the boring warm days. Hmmm. He's been constructing things at both poles for the last 12 years and has incredible photos. I will try and get some and put them up and pretend I took them.

No water sky yet

2006-04-25T00:36:00.000Z

Getting ready for whaling

2006-04-25T00:34:00.000Z

Edith who rescued my glove from the Arctic fox

2006-04-25T00:29:00.000Z

Found some whalers and my glove!

2006-04-24T22:28:00.000Z

I've found a whaling crew that will take me out! Went to the Heritage Centre and there was someone mending a sled so I just asked them and they said yes. I'm going to start helping them tomorrow and will stay with them and eat traditional food. Eeeek. Until now have been eating mostly cheese and almonds. The guy in charge of the crew said I mustn't get in the way but with a wink and that they would look out for me. At the moment there is still no water sky. There are small leads appearing but not one big enough for whales yet. Everyone is edgy. It's really sunny. There are several crews breaking a trail through the ice rubble. Apparently last night one of them had to shoot a polar bear because it kept coming even when they shot over its head. The arctic fox peed on my glove that I dropped near their den. A scientist found it for me this morning. Think I will try and go and put my camera there and switch it on and see if they come and play with it. But I'll wrap it in a plastic bag!

Fox!

2006-04-24T17:21:00.000Z

I filmed an arctic fox! And a scientist. Lost my glove.

I am a wimp

2006-04-23T22:03:00.000Z

Took me ages to summon up the courage to go outside today. It's so cold it made my nose bleed but everyone says it's a nice warm day so I am trying to look like I think that too. Got chased by quite a cute husky dog on the way to the scientists canteen. They were all eating enormous pancakes. One of them has been telling me about something called something like muckyuck which is some part of a whale. Made him stop because if I get offered it I think it will be easier not to know. Am about to go out on a snowmachine with some researchers who are setting up some complicated snow thickness monitoring system. Going to try and film them. Hope my camera (and fingers) survive. I am hearing about a legendary man called Carl who goes out to rescue people when the weather is too bad for helicopters and who cut a passage for the whales when they got trapped by the sea ice after the Navy tried but couldn't break it. I want to meet him!

Beach hut

2006-04-23T01:26:00.000Z

And there isn't any night

2006-04-23T01:20:00.000Z

The Arctic Ocean

2006-04-23T01:16:00.000Z

Arrived in Barrow

2006-04-23T00:57:00.000Z

Arrived in Barrow yesterday. It is amazing. There is white as far as you can see. The sea is frozen and looks the same as the land. The sky is the same too. It makes you want to just start walking off into it. Except it's so cold that the bottle of water I was holding started to freeze within 5 minutes. Apparently you acclimatise. Hope so. Went for a walk with Marie from Czech republic who's in the photo and is living in LA and had just come up the side of Alaska by ferry. Someone on a snowmachine stopped us and warned us that polar bears might be behind the blocks of ice stalking us. And the taxi driver said that if you're in a car to a polar bear's eye you look like a seal under the ice! They can run 40 miles per hour. But they shouldn't be interested in eating people unless they are very hungry and they shouldn't be very hungry. There are snowmachines for sale in the supermarket. It's more expensive than London because everything is flown in. Spent today with lots of scientists who had really nice colourful graphs. Have to find a family to stay with (I'm in a scientists hut at the moment which has wireless internet!!) and a whaling captain who will let me go out with them. They are waiting for an east wind to make a way through the ice and bring the whales. Apparently you can tell when a passage has started forming because there is a dark line in the sky and they call it sky water. I can't believe I'm here.

Flying from Anchorage to Barrow

How do I look?

2006-04-21T17:49:00.000Z

My arctic boots

2006-04-21T05:02:00.000Z

THE thing to be wearing on the ice this spring...
I got them today at an ex-army place and apparently they are good down to -70 degrees. It was a slightly scarey shop. They were selling parachutes too and I thought about getting you one Dad but they were a bit bulky.

Now I have;
3 prs socks - thin pair, medium pair and hugely thick pair
long johns
fleece trousers
snowboarding trousers
3 fleeces - 2 thin, 1 very fat
2 hats that go on top of each other, a baseball hat for the sun and 2 hoods
3 prs gloves - thin, medium + fat pair
snowboarding jacket
balaclava
glacier glasses with bits at the side so I don't get snow blindness
total sunblock without water in so it doesn't make my face freeze. You have to put it underneath your nose especially because sun gets reflected off the snow.

I hope it's enough. Going to Barrow tomorrow and will hopefully meet the whaling captains on Saturday. Last I heard the weather was so unpredictable they were having difficulty cutting the usual path through the ice rubble to the edge of the sea ice where they set up whaling camp. Don't know if I'll have access to a computer in Barrow. Met a nice inuit lady today who was telling me about the importance of the raven. The raven is responsible for bringing the dark and the light.

Snowy mountains from the bus

2006-04-21T04:55:00.000Z

Polar Bear sighted 2 metres away

2006-04-20T17:07:00.000Z

Look how close I got! Then I punched it on the nose and it ran away.

I am in a really nice hotel in Anchorage which Julian O'H v kindly recommended 2 mins before I got on the plane. You make your own waffles for breakfast. There are loads of people in t-shirts even though my nose hurts from the cold and I can see my breath. Yikes. Will have to get harder. Think that means eating more waffles. They have the same type of green tea that I have when I'm at Big Verns at St Ouens beach in Jersey with Maya the skateboarding fairy! There are fabulous snowy moutains all around Anchorage. Which is called that because glacial silt in the harbour meant ships had to anchor in deep water. That is the only interesting/historical fact you are going to find on this blog. It gets dark at about 10pm. And I am something like 10 hours behind UK. At the moment am feeling like I am taking my equipment on holiday. I've had to get it special bags and a hairdryer to keep it warm and nearly had a heart attack when it went off to the wrong baggage thing and I need another 2 arms to carry it all. Going shopping to get it some re-useable hand warmers and hopefully a solar powered charger today. My novelty accent is going down well. Got called a beautiful brit by the bus driver and didn't have to pay! Hope that works on the planes too...

On the way

2006-04-19T21:42:00.000Z

i'm in minneapolis st pauls. absolutely nothing interesting to say but there is wireless in the airport! and they are VERY big on moose here. flying to anchorage in an hour or so...

Itinery and contact details and what I'm doing here

2006-04-18T19:25:00.000Z

I'm flying to Anchorage, Alaska, tomorrow Wed 19th April. Going shopping for warm stuff there, then flying to Barrow on Friday 21st.

I'll be in and around Barrow until about the 8th May when I'll go back to Anchorage and spend a few days there before flying to Edmunton on 10th. That's the start of the second, Canadian, part of my trip.

I'm planning to fly from Edmunton to Inuvik and from there hoping to get to Resolute Bay, Banks Island or Ellesmere Island. But we'll see how it goes!

I'll probably fly back from Edmunton on 31st May.

I'll be able to check for texts on my UK mobile while in the major cities. I plan to get local numbers but if I do they will also only work in major cities. I've a satphone 00 88163 1452940 for emergencies but it won't be on most of the time and is horrifically expensive to call.
Please email me!

Lulu says I should write what I'm doing here. So here goes. I've come on a fantastic travel grant you can apply for if you work where I do. The aim is to help people develop so they are better at work when they get back. You get up to two months paid off and a budget for your proposal.

My idea (and my Mum's!) was to come here and try and gather material to understand how changes of the magnitude created by climate change are affecting the psychological, social, cultural, business, legal and physical, i.e. both natural and man made, environment.

I am confused about the way climate change is being presented. The science seems to have become a matter of political partisanship rather than fact. I also think it's counterproductive to vilify big business. I think they are just a reaction to opportunities that are opening up and to consumer demand. I think it destroys the detail of the story and damages the debate.

I want to be a giant eye. I've got my DV camera and minidisc, and I want to record everything that people are saying and hopefully some of what they are feeling. When I get back I want to try to do do a big multimedia exhibition so even if people can't come and see for themselves they can imagine they have been transplanted and put in the middle of a community here, like they are eavesdropping on the conversation going on.

The travel grant thing is great because you don't have to do any work while you're here. I hope that means I can let things evolve. So all I know at the moment is that I want to talk to as many people as possible including subsistence hunters including the whalers who are very close to the changes in weather, artists who sculpt in stone while the permafrost is melting under their feet, businesses, engineers, scientists, lawyers, anyone who happens to sit next to me on the bus...

I am feeling pretty daunted though and I don't even know if my equipment will work so if you can stay in touch that will help.

Test photo polar bear + whale

2006-04-18T13:57:00.000Z

Arctic

2006-04-12T06:56:00.000Z

Hello this is where I'm going to write about the Arctic. I'll try and do it whenever I'm near an internet connection and let you know if I see any polar bears...