Building a Sled | Alaska: The Next Generation

It's a very harsh weather out here, very unpredictable. Takes a lot of time and effort to have everything ready for the winter.

Ready? Yeah. Well pull up maybe, uh, pull the side out first, this way. Go on this side, and I’ll go on this side. This is the sled I’m going to be working on, so we can have something to carry all our equipment and stuff down to the beach. And I've been working on it for a while since my last school year. I just graduated last year and it’s really good to have these things ready before winter comes. It would be really hard without this.

Okay, uh, get the Skil saw, see if we can cut out the, uh, three inches, huh? Yeah. Try to get two on each side, that way it'll be thick enough to use throughout the winter. Everything is hard to get out here. You know, we’re in a remote village. Whatever we can get a hold of, we try to hold onto. Try not to waste anything.

Let’s see, huh? See if it works. Tried to even it out and, uh, looks good, huh? Yeah. How much are sticking out? Got about an inch to work with. That’s good. Right after this garage was built, I put in my wood stove that I made at school last year. I've been working on a lot of things in here. Growing up, my dad taught me how to make things.

We're gonna, uh, put bolts on the front end there to secure the sled. Move back a little ways and kind of go at an angle this way. This way? You hit a screw and tried in here, I think. Ahh. Hey, we're in business. Man, I can’t wait to see this, uh, brand new sled in use.

I know. These sleds are hard to come by. Yeah. You know, wintertime is just around the corner, getting colder and windier. It’s a little bit harder to hunt from land. We’re gonna have a sled looking for the game: walrus, whales, and all the other marine mammals that come along with the ice. They're gonna be plentiful.

Hey. Gotta use different part of the house to bend it, improvise and adapt. Hey, we're done. We’re in business. The weather has been a big factor and we've had a poor season this past year. We gotta prepare for it. You gotta take what life gives you. Try to make adjustments, basically go with the weather. Shouldn’t be too long to finish it now.

Yeah.