All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S14E04.The.Other.Side.720p.WEB-HD.x264-Pahe.ph

[soft dramatic music]

[ominous music]

[Sue] You got a lot of heavy
duty changes going on here.

The bank,

that I used to

just walk right up to,

that's all gone.

Two years ago, the
flooding was so bad,

it ate all of that away,

eroded it, knocked
half that hill.

The power and erosion
capabilities of
water are tremendous.

For me,

if it continues,

it is sweeping the arc off,

it's either gonna
take the camp out,

or it's gonna move
the water so far away,

I can't sustain life at camp.

The river, it's changed.

It's jumped course.

It's eaten since I've been here,

almost three quarters of a
mile off the end of my runway.

That's affecting me.

It's affecting my business,

and it potentially
could shut it down.

[dramatic music]

This is a major shift
in an ecosystem.

When my clients are going
out and away from camp,

and I have to man, where
these people are going.

I need to make an accurate map,

accurate to show how
much change has happened.

When you move a river by a
quarter of a mile, that's huge.

-[door bangs]
-All right.

So when I get to the areas here,

and I'm gonna write down,

the anomalies on the
maps that I have,

it shows this road
as being intact.

When in fact,

the road is wiped out and gone.

The river has definitely
jumped course,

and removed this
section of the road.

That's gonna continue
to erode here.

The river used to
be on that side.

Now that it's on this side,

all that willow has grown up.

It's gonna create a
different type of land

for animals, birds,
plants, to live in.

Why is that important?

My backyard is
millions of acres.

When the clients come in,

I've gotta keep track of
where the safe zones are.

It's a big responsibility for
me to keep the clients safe.

Death and mayhem is nobody's
idea of a nice vacation.

I'll write all this stuff
down, make my little notes,

go to the next area.

[dramatic music]

[Ricko] I always
prepare for the worst.

You never know what
can happen out there.

We pay today. We don't
pay in the afterlife.

[soft dramatic music]

Man, I was young as
hell in this pictures.

You don't realise how
old you're getting

until when you look
at old pictures.

A picture of my late
brother Alan there.

He was an awesome brother.

He's the one that taught
me how to shoot a rifle.

He passed away up here
at Victor's cabin.

I was 13 when me and my late
dad went out there to get him

'cause it was about
to be Christmas and,

turned out to be, you know,
the worst Christmas I ever had

and that was
because we lost him.

[soft music]

We get to the cabin

and I seen a lot of blood
in front of the cabin,

but in my head I was thinking

he had killed a
moose or something

and he was like moving the
meat around while it was fresh.

I was not willing to accept
that it was his blood.

The door was open,

and

his gun was laying in the door,

his snowshoes is off,

his pack frame was on the
ground in front of the cabin

and when we went inside,

he must've just walked in
and he laid on that bed

and he covered himself
with a blanket,

but I remember exactly how
he was laying and his eyes,

how he looked, and
I knew he was dead.

There was no question.

I instantly started crying,

and I just remember

my late dad saying, "hey, Alan!"

[Ricko sighs]

[soft dramatic music]

Shot himself with
a gun accidentally

and blasted his pinky off

and just slowly bled out.

He tried to make it home,
but he couldn't make it home.

That was my last
time at that cabin.

[Ricko sighs]

[soft dramatic music]

After he passed my mom said,

"burn that cabin down."

Traditionally,
that's what you do

when someone suffers like that
in a cabin for a long time,

or went out in a bad way,

you would burn that cabin down.

So I think it's important
that I get out there

and I kinda,

bury the hatchet in a
way, you know, like,

just do it the way
late mom wanted.

[soft music]

[dramatic music]

[engine revving]

Where Victor's cabin is,
is a long ways up river.

We gotta get over
some mountains and,

to me it's kind of
spooky country out there.

There's basically
real old war grounds.

Traditionally, we're
not supposed to
really be in the area,

living in the area out there.

After we lost our brother,

we didn't really
ever go out there.

A little afraid to go out there.

But I think it's
important that I go ahead

and just do something right.

Just do it and get out.

[engine revving]

[dramatic music]

[Andy] Living out in the
bush, It's not for everyone.

But it's probably one of
the most rewarding things

you can do in your life.

[dramatic music]

[ladder rattling]

[dramatic music continues]

So this is your escape?

Yeah, I think we better
have something up there

in case the hole
gets shammed up,

and I can't come back
down through the hole.

Why don't you go upstairs
and open up the window,

and I'll make sure this
ladder is good and safe,

and then we can get
started trying to,

figure out how to
build this thing.

-Okay?
-Okay.

Take me a second.

Up we go.

[Narrator] Andy Bassich
just worked tirelessly

to improve his life
along the Yukon River.

He spent several years
constructing his dream home,

a secure, efficient cabin,

that will become his
permanent residence in camp.

Today, he and Denise Becker,

will begin the final
stages of the project

amid the shortening days and
biting cold of winter's dawn.

One of the important
things about this house

is I designed it so we could
be pretty much floodproof

with all our valuables

from Yukon River breakups.

I'm always nervous.

After the flood in 2009,

you never know what
this river's gonna do.

It can be your best friend
or it can kick your ass.

The upper floor,
the third story,

is gonna end up
being storage for us,

but we have to be
able to get up to it.

So I've decided
what I'm gonna do,

is I'm gonna build an elevator.

The most efficient way for me

to utilise the
space in my cabin.

So that's gonna be the ceiling,

but we gotta add four
layers of that styrofoam.

And then I'm gonna
drill a hole through it

and run rebar all the
way up through this,

and this will be the
ceiling from underneath.

And it has to be exact

so when it comes up
through the hole,

it fits exactly in
there without jamming.

The important thing about
doing this the way I am is,

it's very difficult
to keep the cold out.

So I've got a small hole,

I need to fill that tight.

With 12 inches of insulation,

I have to build very tight,
specific measurements,

so that the elevator
goes up and down,

fits very tightly into the hole,

so that it seals the hole
so no cold air comes into

our beautiful new cabin.

So there's my plug.

This plug will keep the cold
air from coming into my house.

So I'll make this cage up.

This will be my platform.

This will go up and
down through the hole.

That's the game plan.

[equipment whirring]

There's a number of
different challenges,

when you start building
something this big.

I'm working outside, it's
cold outside right now.

You know, when you're shaking
and you're a little bit cold,

sometimes you don't take
the time to do things

as neatly and precisely
as you should.

But in this particular case,
I'm gonna have to be patient.

This is really important to me

because I've put literally
tens of thousands of hours

and millions of calories
into building this home.

It is my dream home and
I want it to be right.

My philosophy of living out here

is put in the hard work when
you can, so when you're older,

you're very comfortable and
it's very efficient to live,

'cause I don't
want to leave here.

I've got my elevator cage built.

I can't get it in from the
inside up to the top floor.

It's too long for Denise and
I to carry it up the stairs.

I'm gonna have to rig,
block and tackle off that,

pick point on my
collar tie up there.

I should be ready to go now.

Seems like the best thing
for me is keeping moving.

[dramatic music]

[Jessie] I believe in
determination and drive.

It's who I am, who I've made
myself, what I've become.

[dramatic music]

[dogs barking]

Okay, I got a bunch of
stuff kind of back here,

my survival gear, my gun.

Most importantly, if I end
up in a survival situation,

this is the number one thing
I'm gonna need right here,

an extreme cold
weather sleeping bag.

Well, I'm not necessarily
planning on spending the night,

I want to be prepared for
any kind of circumstances.

I'm in my third month
of living out here.

Full-on winter,

rivers freezing up,

over two feet of snow already,

just got six inches last night.

It's been real good
for the dog training.

The thing I need to do next,

is set down the safe trail.

I don't want to go out there
and break out this trail

with the dogs.

Just going out
and breaking trail

through 12 inches of
powder and drifts,

it's not gonna
make them tougher,

it's gonna break 'em down.

I need to get it packed
down to where it'll set up

as it gets cooler and make
a nice trail for the dogs.

Looking to head over
towards Clearwater Creek.

It's about 55 miles from here,

that'll give me a
nice long training run

to go camp with the
dogs and run back.

[dramatic music]

I got my guns with me.

Finally get a chance to go
out and do a little hunting

while I'm out doing
something else.

All right, I got
everything secured,

next thing to go grab
is my drag down here.

[dramatic music]

This here's my drag, I've been
using it around here locally.

You can see it's way
down a really nice,

perfectly groomed
surface, hard pack,

and it just makes a
really perfect dog trail,

makes a perfect trail for
getting in and out of camp.

Now I'm gonna take this drag,

put myself a good 55-mile
run-in to take the dogs on.

If I don't get out
there and do it now

before this big storm comes,

there'll be too much snow
for me to pull this drag.

[dramatic music]

[engine revs]

This is a long way,

you never know what to expect,

so I have everything I might
need while I'm out there.

It could take a lot longer
or it could go pretty smooth.

[drums beating]

This is kind of my
first real big adventure

on the snow machine,

but out here,

you want a good trail you
gotta put it in yourself.

[soft upbeat music]

[dramatic music]

Whoa!

Oh, shit.

You got a cow and calf
here on the trail.

I'm gonna stop and let
them move their way,

I don't wanna disturb 'em.

There's about two, three
feet of snow out there,

they don't want to get
off of this hard trail

that I'm putting in, so,

with a dog team it
could be a big issue,

but out here dragging the trail,

it's just something to stop and
watch out in the wilderness.

[soft music]

Go on, old lady.

Get your calf out of here.
Go protect your calf.

Oh, that's amazing.
Life right there.

What a tough life, that little
calf just wading out in the,

three foot deep snow.

I don't like to spook animals,

so I just wanted to
stop and let them,

move at their own pace, not
get their adrenaline all going.

This is their country.

I'm just here for a time
just like they are, so.

[soft music]

We're out here
with the dog team,

that's a pretty scary
experience because,

just like that, she don't
want to get off the trail.

And she can get pretty mad

when she's got her
calf with them and,

that's why it's good to
sometimes get away from the dogs

and get out in nature

and watch it just off the
snow machine, I can see a lot.

It's nice and quiet.

Putting in a great trail but
also getting to see a lot of,

what this landscape
has to offer out here.

All right.

Give a check on how
the drag's going.

See what kind of trail it's
putting in, up here you can see,

I have a deep, punchy trail.

It's got a little
bit of base under it.

I don't want my dogs
pushing through deep snow

up to their chest,

so, this drag should be
putting down a really nice,

wide pack trail.

That way, the next
time snow falls,

there's a bottom under it.

I'll have a nice firm base.

Already starting to harden up,

but once it cools down tonight,

this'll turn into a
highway for my dogs.

Looks like the
drag's doing its job,

gotta keep moving forward
towards Clearwater.

The snow is moving in,

the clouds [mumbles]
in the mountains.

Definitely expecting
there to be some more snow

on the way home.

By the time I come
back through here,

it'll be a highway for my dogs.

[engine revs]

[dramatic music]

[Woman] You learn
from your mistakes,

but big lessons come with
big consequences sometimes.

[soft music]

[Andy] The elevator's
gone together really well.

Everything's nice and square.

Next step is to try and get
this thing up and to the hole

in the third story.

Because of the way the
stairways are made,

they are a 90 degree turn

and there just isn't the
room and the clearance

to get the elevator up through
that hole from the inside.

[Denise] Okay.

Got a foot to go.

[Andy] There are a lot of
moving parts and pieces

to this operation

and there's a lot of
potential for catastrophe.

It weighs probably
100, 120 pounds,

and it's really awkward.

Okay, hang on.

'Cause it's gonna
catch on that pulley.

[Andy] That's as
high as it goes?

[Denise] You're at the knot.

[Andy] Okay.

It's tied off right now.

Okay.

We've got this knot right here.

That's as high as it can go.

And we don't have enough room,

there's not enough
leverage to tip it

and bring it straight through.

We may have to just put it down

and put that pulley
inside the window,

so it goes and pulls
inside the window.

We just don't have enough
height above us right now.

[Denise] Right.

That's the whole problem.

I'm gonna bring it
back down, okay?

Okay.

The idea of lifting it
with the pulleys is good,

but the position of the
pulleys is completely wrong

for what I'm trying to do.

I think the next step right now,

is to try and move those
pulleys inside the house

and see if we can't pull
more towards the inside

and hopefully be able
to pull the elevator

through the window.

So I'm gonna rig
everything up to do that,

and then we'll just
see what happens.

[dog barks]

What up, buddy?

We need to put you in harness

and let you pull
this thing up here.

I think I'm gonna have
Denise operate a come-along.

We'll use the come-along

to give us some
mechanical advantage there

and we'll see if we
can't get this cage up

through the window

before it gets too
dark and too cold.

That is cool.

I hate the view of the elevator.

It's definitely stressful.

Just looks like if
that elevator dropped,

it'd go right through
the second window.

Next time we do this,
remind me not to do this.

I just don't even
know if I can look.

Okay, go ahead and crank.

Okay.

[dramatic music]

Keep going.

Okay, hold on.

I gotta see if I can clear
the window, I may not clear.

Ready to go?

[Denise] Yeah.

Go, go, go!

[groans] You gotta be quick.

Yeah, keep going.

Keep going!

[dramatic music]

Okay, we're in.

[Denise] You good?

Yeah, we're good.

Somehow,

that was fun.

-It's in.
-[Andy] It's in.

Yay!

I'll take a yay when I got
a cold beer in my hand,

in about half an hour.

What's wrong with now?

[Denise laughs]

[dramatic music]

[Ricko] This earth right
here is a powerful planet.

If you don't respect
it, it'll consume you.

[ominous music]

[soft spooky music]

[Narrator] Ricko has
travelled 18 miles

into the Huslia wilderness,

to locate his family's
remote trapping cabin,

which is the site of his
brother Alan's tragic death.

As is custom in
Athabaskan culture,

Ricko hopes to burn it down,

to finally let go of
his brother's spirit.

[Ricko] As far as
finding this place,

all we're going by out
here when we travel,

is landmarks.

It's called Victor's Cabin.

My older brother Victor
built for trapping.

Even a small trapping
cabin like this

is a huge asset out here
and it can save your life.

It's such a lot of
work to build it.

I could see why
my older brothers,

they didn't want
to burn it down,

but rightfully we should have.

That's what I'll do today,

is I'll burn it
through the outside

because it's our way of
giving back to the people

that went before us.

And, I want to make sure
there's no bear in there though,

because bears and stuff,
they go in these cabins

while you're not around.

And you know, it's a dry
spot, so you never know.

So I'm gonna keep
my rifle out here

and I'm gonna make sure it's
safe before I even do anything.

[bell dings]

It's amazing this cabin is
still standing as much as it is.

[bell dings]

Doesn't look like
anything is in there,

but you can tell
something's been in there

and like ripped the place.

Oh, I haven't seen
this place in years.

Just kind of climbing there,

check it out for a second.

[ominous music]

You see bears, chewed
stuff up in here.

Bear teeth marks, a lot
of bears in this area.

Crazy to see stuff and after
30 years, is still here.

This is a first
aid kit right here.

You know that's what he was
doing before he passed away,

is he was trying to
patch himself up.

There's nothing he
could do though,

he was out here by himself.

And especially when you're
out here by yourself,

if you make one mistake and
it's game over out here.

This is my late
brother Alan's pen.

This pen makes me think
of my late brother's diary

and when he was writing in
his diary before he passed.

He was out here by
himself for a long time

and he was reflecting
on his life.

And he said he wished he
treated people better.

In his diary he stated
how important it was to,

treat people good.

And he also said that,

he believed in God.

So I believe his heart
was in a real good spot

before he passed.

And he did pass when he
was laying in his bed.

And I guess if you
think about life

and you're out here
alone and you're hurt

and it's obviously a
very lonely way to die,

but, at least he died
in his bed and not,

in the snow somewhere, so.

That's the one that [sobs].

That's the one that hit me.

That's the one that hurt.

[Ricko sobs]

I think his death really...

It really affected me
and all my siblings

and my mom and my dad.

You don't realise
when you have someone

that kind of holds
everybody together.

And I think when we lost him,

my family was never really

same after that.

After that in my life,

I think I feel like I went
through years of substance abuse

and I cried loud when I drink.

And I think I took a lot
of bad choices in life

because I held it in so much.

I don't want to blame it on him.

Like I don't want him
looking at me now,

and I know he probably
somewhere and he can see me,

but I just want him
to know I love him

and we all loved him so much.

[Ricko sighs]

Visiting this place is
opening up old wounds,

but I think it also,

gets rid of all the bad
stuff in that wound,

starts to heal again

and it's important that I put
it behind me and honour him

and honour my late mom's
wishes and burn the cabin down

and just let it all go.

Let it all go up in smoke.

[ominous music]

[soft music]

[Jessie] I'm a product
of all environments

that I've been in,

and now I'm the product
of this environment.

This is the place for me to
really maximise my potential.

[soft music]

[engine revving]

The weather is
deteriorating real fast.

The storm I thought
it was coming,

it's definitely coming on now.

This is the kind of
snow that adds up quick.

The wind's starting to blow,

that's gonna cause some drifts.

I'm heading into
some high country,

I'm about 40 miles
away from camp now.

Means I got 15
more miles of trail

to put my 55 mile
trail into Clearwater.

15 miles can be a long way
in these kinds of conditions.

With snow like this,

it could snow two foot
in a day out here.

Putting my own 55-mile
trail out in the wilderness,

through a storm like this,

that's a challenge
and I'm up for it.

[dramatic music]

For me, this is a new area.

All right, this is the bush.

You wait around for somebody
else to do things out here,

you might be
waiting a long time.

And this is something

I take great satisfaction
and pride on,

mostly because it's for my dogs.

I've learned the hard way
with dogs for nine years.

I ain't gonna come out here and
trash a team breaking trail.

I'm gonna set a
really good trail.

Come out here and train
to win a world-class race

with a world-class dog team.

[dramatic music]

Boy, the trees [mumbles].

[wings flapping]

[gun bangs]

[mumbles] and I didn't get it.

I just saw some
ptarmigan come over here

and it's a way steep snow.

I just shot at one
and they flew off,

I don't think I hit it.

Well, they're around that tree.

[Jessie sighs]

Oh boy, get it out, out here.

[gun bangs]

Got it.

There's a bunch of
ptarmigan out here,

I've already got one down.

[Jessie mumbles]

Whenever I'm hunting,

my winning focus is that I'm
gonna power through this.

[gun bangs]

An opportunity missed, is one
you might not ever get again.

So, you gotta act quick.

[gun clicks]

[gun bangs]

Oh, there's another one.

[gun bangs]

I got another one. Two of 'em.

I've got five down. Been
a pretty exciting hunt.

I faltered on my first shot

'cause I was so excited.

This time I came in
with some patience,

realised they were gonna kinda,

stay here a little still
and let me stock up.

Now I gotta get out
here in the field,

find the rest of my birds.

Everything happens so fast

when you hit a flock
of ptarmigan like that.

Kind of try to keep track

of where you knocked
these birds down at.

Getting these ptarmigan, that's
providing myself with food,

that's true subsistence living.

Every time you go somewhere,

you're keeping your eye
out for something to eat.

Small game is a
staple food for me.

So, seeing this abundance
of ptarmigan out here

is very important.

I know that as I come out
here and groom my trail,

I can put up food for myself.

Whew!

Five beautiful birds,
take home for dinner.

Already got 45
miles of trail in.

The storm is getting worse
and it's still a big issue.

And then I gotta finish
getting this trail

and I don't wanna get
stuck out here tonight.

If I get my trail
into Clearwater,

55-mile trail in,

and I come away with
these five birds,

that's one of the best days
I've had in a long time.

[Sue] Flexibility saves you.

Predictability gets you killed.

[dramatic music]

[wind howling]

Man, this wind is
something else.

Every single day is like

a whole new landscape,

full of new treachery and,

you never quite know
what you're gonna get.

[Narrator] Sue Aikens is
creating a current map

of the landscape in Kavik.

The map will help Sue and
her clients keep a keen eye

on the dangers and resources
of the ever-changing tundra,

but she must be wary of the
perils that lie on the path

of this vital expedition.

[Sue] Wow.

Look at that.

This is a large animal.

That's not a fox.

Is it today's?

No.

But I just got all this snow,

so it could've been yesterday.

Down inside of here,

it's kind of an ambush
area for the predators.

Kind of a spooky section for me.

I have a main pack of wolves,

22 wolves is usually what
I have been able to count,

and they dug a den and
they keep reusing it.

From where camp is,

you got three quarters
of a mile to here so,

I will make a notation,

that there are close
predators in large numbers.

We're sharing the
Arctic together,

but this is my fricking
line in the sand.

You stay on your
half, I stay on mine.

[soft ominous music]

This is the area
getting to where

there's some inactive
riverbed systems.

There's a lot more water on it.

This was not quite like
this when I was here last.

I will have to kinda be careful

because I do not
know how deep it is.

[ominous music]

[ice rattling]

Seems incongruous to have,

20, 30 below zero windchill,

maybe even up to...

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

There's some flowing
water right there, Mister.

There's water everywhere.

And that's a whole lot of
[speaks in foreign language]

to be driving on.

I don't want to go in the
drink, that's for sure.

That wind is
blowing pretty good.

That's making it closer to,

probably 20 something,
30 something

below zero on your beak.

For this amount of water,

you gotta have
spring water for it.

[dramatic music]

Liquid water is like gold
anytime of the year here.

I'm gonna fill up my little
tote, get a little extra water,

that's a bonus for me.

If it's still running
after this weather,

it's definitely spring water.

I've got a series
of spring activity.

So on my map,

I'm gonna note that there's
a spring field here,

'cause that's what I
think I'm looking at.

If I had not have
chosen to do the map,

I would never have
seen this resource.

And for me, that's everything.

There's so much information
I've catalogued.

Now I need to take that
wealth of information

and translate it into a map

and keep the clients and the
people that come through safe.

[dramatic music]

[Jessie] This is my passion.
This is my motivation.

I made my own destiny.

[dramatic music]

[engine revving]

Fuck!

As I'm climbing up into
this higher elevation,

it's getting pretty
difficult going.

And this is six feet of snow.

It's very hard to
control the machine in,

and it's very easy
to get stuck in.

When you get stuck, you're
gonna be digging for hours

to get out.

The drag's giving me a lot
of problems going forward

and getting stuck.

It's gotta go.

[ominous music]

I'm gonna head up, pick up
the drag on the way home.

I'm not gonna let
anything stop me

from getting to Clearwater.

Time to get the job done.

[dramatic music]

[upbeat music]

Moving out.

All right.

It's a damn good thing I
dropped those tyres off

because it's difficult to
not get in through here

just with the machine.

[dramatic music]

[Jessie groans]

It's getting real.

Whew!

All right.

It's a lot of work trying
to steer this machine.

Fuck!

Once I start going
off to the right,

and there's nothing but
really deep snow there,

there's a lot of cliffs
off the side there.

I gotta stop a couple times,
but I was able to back out.

If I can punch through
there with the snow machine,

any trail's better
than no trail.

That's the beginning of a
long winter worth of work,

trying to maintain
this trail system.

[soft music]

I'm here at Clearwater Creek.

I'm really happy
to make it here.

Getting this trail,

it gives me a whole 55 miles
to travel with the dogs.

[soft music]

It's not always the
destination, it's the journey.

But man, this is one heck
of a destination to be at.

Pulled up here,

took a little stop to take
a look at the countryside,

started seeing moose everywhere.

This is quite some
country right here.

Every time I get out
my doorstep here,

I get to know this
country more and more

and this is gonna
be a great place

to be coming with
the dogs training.

I'm really looking forward
to having this nice trail

and being able to start
bumping up the miles

and doing some longer runs.

Well, it's getting dark.

I'm gonna pick up the drag,

get home,

have myself a nice
ptarmigan dinner.

[Andy] Your life can
always be improved upon.

How much work do you
want to put into it?

And is it worth it?

[welding machine whirring]

[dramatic music]

[Narrator] Andy and Denise

are finishing the
installation of an elevator

in their three story cabin.

After getting the heavy
device up to the third floor,

Andy must refocus and look
past the day's obstacles,

if he's to complete the
final phase of the project

and finish the home of his
dreams along the Yukon River.

[Andy] I tend to be
my own hardest critic.

And when I get down on myself
for not doing things well,

it kind of frustrates me.

The vision of what I
want to do is there,

but some of the
execution wasn't quite

what I had hoped it would be.

Today I'm gonna try
and redeem myself.

Let's see if this
beam goes down,

Okay.

[machine whirs]

Sounds like the,

foam board is binding on it.

I might be able to
just take a handsaw,

stick it up there

and just kind of work
the curve a little bit

and see if we can
do it that way.

The elevator is a really
tight fit right now.

Sometimes you draw things
out, you weld them,

you put 'em together,

you think you got it right,

but sometimes when you
go to put it into place,

you forget one aspect.

And our tolerances, getting
it through this frame,

are extremely tight.

Way tighter than I
thought it was gonna be.

Can you even hear me, Denise?

[Denise] Yes.

[Andy] Let's go ahead and lower
it down just a little bit,

let me see what happens here.

[Denise] Okay, here it goes.

It's not going down.You
want me to push?

[Andy] Just hold it down then.

[Denise] [laughs]
Just this blade.

Something that you would see
in a horror movie [laughs].

Yeah, it's a piece of plywood

is not lining up or something.

I'm starting to see
light through there

so we're making progress.

[Andy] Just lower
it a half an inch

and then kind of jump
up and down on it.

We gotta get it all the way
down here so I can trim it.

Okay.

Hopefully there's not too
much slack up there that I,

all of a sudden go
for a fast ride down.

All right, try it now.

[elevator creaking]

Keep going.

[ominous music]

-[elevator creaks]
-Whoa!

Hold on.

Andy, you know I've got
quite a bit of slack

if this drops.

Don't stand on it
for a minute, okay?

[Denise] Yeah.

Are you coming up?

[Andy] Yep.

[soft music]

[machine whirring]

[Denise] It's going.
It's going! It's going!

Needs a little tweaking,
but it's working.

It works.

It just needs some fine tuning.

Sometimes you really
get frustrated,

you get kicked in the butt
and you feel like quitting,

but both Denise and
I aren't quitters.

I'm not a person who
lives in the past so,

when bad things happen,

I learn from 'em, I move on,

and hopefully I can do
it better the next time.

[equipment whirring]

That is pretty slick.

Look at that.

Be right here about
where it would be level.

Should we do a two-person try?

It's working!

Smile.

It's working, look.

[Andy] Good job.

[Denise] Yay!

[dramatic music]

[Jessie] I'm not the top
of the food chain here,

I'm part of the food chain.

And how I live my life dictates
whether that's the bottom

or the top.

[dramatic music]

[wind howling]

[soft music]

[Sue] I pretty well have all
my imagery set on my map.

My coal, my resources,

the things that I can
keep my clients safe with.

I don't think anybody's gonna
call me Suenardo da Vinci

anytime soon.

But,

I like it.

I could keep making
changes all day long.

But at some point you
gotta put the tools away.

I do think that this map
is a ballad if you will.

I've added in,

a lot of my personal
history here.

[Man] There it is.
Home sweet home.

[Sue] I've been here, 19
going into 20 years now.

Survived storms that'll tear
the skin right off your hide.

[soft music]

I travel the land.

I use resources from the land.

There are those of us that
are natural born explorers.

I was here when this hill,

got wiped out by the flooding,

and that I was the one
trying to get across there,

in the really heavy currents.

I'm the one that's been
here to see the wolf den

and see the wolves,

the bears,

caribou crossing.

I've gotten ptarmigan
and berries here.

I didn't just draw a fox,
it's a happy playful friend.

It's not to scale because
it's part of my heart

and very important to me.

Today,

by simply

being curious

and wanting to do a map,

I discovered a spring.

That's new, that wasn't there.

This is all new territory.

As I discover more,

I can add more because
in the almost 20 years

that I've been here,

there's not been one year go by,

that I haven't been
amazed by something new,

different,

that I've never
seen or done before.

A little bit of hard work,
a little bit of freezing,

a little bit of fun.

Come on!

A couple of decades of living.

Welcome to the
Kavik resource map.

It's imperfectly
perfect. Just like me.

[wind howling]

[Jessie] Out here you can
be wrong once. That's it.

You don't get another chance.

You can't gamble with your life.

[ominous music]

To burn this cabin out, I
gotta get the snow off the top

so, take a little work,

but it's not the biggest
cabin in the world

so shouldn't take too long.

And I'll make sure I don't
fall through [mumbles]

very old cabin.

Having my brother Victor's
cabin still up like this

is almost like we're
holding the spirit back

of our late brother.

For me to go out
here and burn it down

it's kind of like fulfilling
the wishes of my late mom.

There's a reason behind
everything in Athabaskan culture

and she wanted us to
burn this cabin down

just as a way to let go.

Having this cabin
up all these years,

it's been hard for me to
let go of that experience

that happened way,
way back 30 years ago.

[soft ominous music]

[speaks in foreign language]

[chants in foreign language]

[soft music]

What did I say is just
[speaks in foreign language]

and thank you to
my older brother.

[speaks in foreign language]

I always bring food.

It's like giving back
to our ancestors and,

people who have gone before us,

to honour and burn food
for my brother Alan.

[soft sombre music]

[fire crackling]

Here they're probably
starting to catch fire, so.

[sombre music]

Last thing I gonna do here and,

last time I'll see
this place ever again.

[soft sombre music]

Feel like, I let go a
lot of hard feelings.

And also, I think it's
a very healing moment

because it was hard
for me to get out here,

to find the place
and not only that,

just bringing myself
emotionally to do this.

Now that the cabin is burning,

I feel like on the other
side, there's some place.

My late mom, my late
dad, my late siblings,

including my late brother, Alan,

wherever they're at right now,

I believe they're
smiling down on me

and they're happy
for what I did.

I think that was a final chapter

and letting go of
my late brother

was by burning this cabin down

and letting his spirit move on

and also letting my spirit
heal and let me feel better

and the rest of my family and
move on in life and enjoy life

because in the end,

we'll all be on the other side.

[soft music]