Chinese Fire Drill.

Sadly, after an accident and a death in Shungnak and Ambler this past week, their girls basketball team wasn’t able to field a squad to compete this weekend. With very little notice, on Thursday morning the regional athletic director called Zoe and asked if Kivalina would be interested in traveling to Noorvik for Friday/Saturday games. Since we had our second off week in a row and I was ready to get the girls back on the court, I agreed. I was also eager to jump at the chance to see my ninth village of the eleven in the borough.

Besides, Noorvik is the home to the Hailstone family of “Life Below Zero” fame. Years from now when I am referencing my Alaskan adventure, it’s unlikely anyone in the lower 48 will know anything about Kivalina but if I can compare it to something they’ve seen on TV, like Noorvik, they’ll have a frame of reference to go by.

Ahhhh the Hailstone’s…. while here, I never actually saw Chip or Agnes but I did coach against their daughter, Mary. She hit us for 18 points on Friday night and although I haven’t seen the official score sheets, I’m certain she did some damage on Saturday morning as well. The Noorvik Bears have a nice team and played well. My Kivalina girls are learning the importance of attitude, commitment, respect, and punctuality. Again, we traveled with only five players.

We were originally scheduled for a noon flight back to the Rock but ice and fog in Kotzebue made flying conditions unsafe and the folks at Bering postponed our charter. By 5:30 pm visibility was still less than a mile and all flights were called off. The team and I were weathered in for a second straight trip.

Reality TV Stars - Chip and Agnes Hailstone
Image "borrowed" from the web.

Although I didn’t meet the reality TV celebrities, I did go for a walk last night and snap a picture of their home. It’s just like any other village home in the region. Dogs chained to ATV and snowmobile skeletons that are half buried in snow. Caribou hides and antlers in various stages of decay in and around the qanichaq. On my evening walking tour, I smiled and waved at the friendly locals just like I do back in Kivalina. I even helped a couple of youngsters that were having trouble “Dragging”. Dragging is the local term for tying a sled to a rope and towing it behind a 4 wheeler or snow machine. I pull started the boys’ kitty-kat sno-go and sent them happily on their way.

We had another night of cafeteria food and sleeping in a classroom to look forward to. Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s a pretty laid back atmosphere. There’s actually another team stuck here just like us. Misery loves company they say and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the Buckland Boys team a little better being stranded together. Our hosts have been very gracious and accommodating as well. Nobody likes being stuck away from home but we all know that it’s better to be safe than sorry when flying. The Noorvik School held an Activity night and filled the gym with youngsters eager to run around and play ball, ride scooters and socialize. The Kivalina girls were content to sit in the bleachers and watch.

I caught up on some online newspaper reading and cleaned out my email inbox. I cued up a movie on my laptop and settled in for a relatively early night. That was until I heard a commotion just outside my window. Through the blinds I could barely make out a pair of lights that appeared to be floating in the sky. It took a second for it to register that I was either seeing some sort of helicopter or possibly a drone. At 10:45 p.m., I left my room to investigate.

What I found was a couple of dudes from the National Geographic film crew doing some “night droning”. Both guys wore double shoulder harnesses and were manipulating similar thumb controls. While I watched and listened, I learned that one was flying the drone while his partner was operating the onboard camera. Each had an iPad tablet display screen and to me it looked like they had reached the pinnacle of the Gaming World. A couple of tech geeks, traveling to Noorvik, Alaska to fly expensive gadgets around chasing Inupiaq Eskimo kids for that 15-second prize winning shot. I stood in the doorway of the school amazed at the technology. I was really interested in learning more until a group of kids spotted the drone and moved in for the kill. It wasn’t long before National Geographic and I retreated to the warmth and safety of the school. Hopefully they got the nighttime shot of Chip’s house that they were looking for.

The assistant principal here in Noorvik told me that hosting the crew from NatGeo is a real “Cash Cow” for the school. The crew usually stays for about two weeks at a time and makes home base in an un-used Home Ec. classroom down the high school wing. At one hundred dollars a person per night, it works out to be more than five thousand dollars for the school general fund each time they visit. He figured that this was their third or fourth trip this school year. Joe told me the money is used to fund their Little Dribblers program and to purchase new equipment for the gym. It must be nice to have that little bump of disposable money at your discretion.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I awoke with a 7:45 alarm. Breakfast was served in the cafeteria at 8:00 and by 8:30 Principal Joe was back to tell us to expect Bering Air at about twenty minutes after nine. The girls and I readied our gear and were happy to be leaving. At 9:15 am Joe made an announcement over the intercom calling for the Kivalina team to load the vans. When I first stepped outside to toss my bags in to the van, I could see the airplane on its runway approach. Perfect timing, I thought.

With a fresh dusting of snow, the team piled in to the van and headed for the airport. Along the way, Joe scraped at the frost and ice on his windshield. Secretly I worried that this was a bad sign. I text my wife that I was leaving cell phone range again, ready to board the flight and wished her a Happy Valentine’s Day. When we pulled along side the plane, the Bering Agent walked to the van with bad news. The pilot would be returning to Kotzebue with an empty plane. Visibility was fine. Ice on the wings was bad.

Joe turned the van around and back to school we went.

It’s 10:32 a.m. on Sunday – Valentine’s Day. I am in a pre-school room at the Noorvik Aqqalak School waiting on a flight to Kivalina. The snowmobile/ice fishing adventure I had planned for my Sunday off must now continue without me. I am frustrated but safe. In the winter back home I have seen people barreling down Interstate 35 with their iced up windshields and wondered how they felt capable of safely operating a vehicle. Here in Alaska, I am unwilling to take that same risk with the iced up windshield or wings of a Cessna Caravan.

Such is Life Below Zero.