Goodbye

Hello. I'm going to stop blogging now. I am still loving being in Barrow. It has been and remains a great privilege to share the lives of the people here. 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'll be 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.

Sea Ice retreat

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

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

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

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 is 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

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

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

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

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

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.