Yukon, North of Ordinary
Stories about life in northern Canada. Yukoners share what they’re up to on the land, around town, and sometimes in the water, from mountain climbing and cave dwelling to wildlife research and acts of reconciliation. Episodes often correspond with stories in our award-winning magazine. northofordinary.com
Episodes
Whitehorse journalist Haley Ritchie was curious why so many romance books are set in the North. What is it about the cold and dark that gets the heart beating quicker? She unpacks three novels set in Alaska and Yukon.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine.
What does it take to make a good sandwich and a good video about making a good sandwiches? We ask Yukon-bred (pun intended) TikToker Jonathan Ostrander, AKA Sandwich Dad, and take a deep dive into the synergy created when various combinations of fillings and condiments are slapped between two pieces of bread.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
Each spring, northern rivers go from solid ice to flowing water. In the best-case scenario this process goes smoothly, but if ice jams form there could be trouble. That's why Holly Goulding keeps a close eye on conditions year round. The Yukon government hydrologist knows how ice, water, snow, and temperatures combine to create the perfect melt or flood conditions.
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The homecoming of a beautifully woven 19th-century Chilkat robe is cause for celebration and consideration for the Taku River Tlingit First Nation in Atlin, B.C. Why did they have to spend thousands of dollars to repatriate one of their own artefacts? Elder and carver Wayne Carlick explains how they bought the robe and what comes next.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
Spending 12 days alone in the wilderness in the depths of winter might seem crazy, but Jessie Gladish keeps going back for more. In previous years, she skied and walked the 430-mile (688-km) Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra between Whitehorse and Dawson City. This year, though, her biggest challenge yet: to complete the race by fat bike. Trail conditions will dictate how much riding she is able to do, versus pushing her bike through the ...
Cold therapy is all the rage right now. Karen meets up with Valerie, who "dips" regularly in a pool chopped out of lake ice, to get the lowdown on how it works and why she and many others do this. Then, Valerie coaches Karen through her first dip.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine.
Melanie Bennett grew up at Engineer Creek, 200 km up the Dempster Highway, when the road was being built. There were few neighbours of the human variety but the surrounding wilderness was her playground and schoolroom. That upbringing helps her maintain "one foot on the land" in her role as an educator.
*This episode first aired in January 2022.
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- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email e...
When Manu Keggenhoff moved from Germany to a tiny cabin outside Atlin, B.C., 15 years ago, she didn’t have running water or any of the fancy stuff. Manu, also the art director of YNoO magazine, shares about cabin life, cabin fever, and best of all—outhouses. *This episode first aired in in December 2021.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
For drag performer Andy Pee, there's no better high than sharing their true expression of gender on stage and having it celebrated by a room full of cheering people. Andy, AKA Andyboy, tells us how the scene up here differs from mainstream perceptions about drag.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine.
Anyone with even a remote interest in Yukon history or travel will, at some point, come across the work of Murray Lundberg and his 4,000-plus page ExploreNorth website. Although a health condition is stealing his memory, his legacy couldn't be clearer.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine.
As an ice-core scientist, Alison Criscitiello studies ancient ice for clues about our climate, at the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta. As a high-altitude mountaineer, she climbs mountains all over the world. In the highest risk, highest reward expedition she has ever planned, the National Geographic Explorer heads to Mount Logan in search of potentially 30,000 year-old ice. As it turns out, summiting Canada'...
Yukoners Ashley Cummings and Christian Wright reflect on a mind-blowing 30-day cruise through the Northwest Passage. Both worked as educators on a 400-passenger vessel traversing the Arctic from Nome, Alaska, to Halifax, NS. It was the experience of a lifetime for many reasons. And it was especially meaningful for Ashley, who is Inuk.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
There are only a handful of electric trucks in the Yukon and Greg Karais is the proud owner of one (a Ford-150 Lightning Lariat). It’s objectively nifty but comes with a big price tag. Greg takes Karen for a drive to convince her of its merits. He also spills about his "tow of shame" in Haines Junction....
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
Yukoners drive a lot so it's no wonder there's a big push to ditch the gas guzzlers and get on the electric vehicle bandwagon. Shane Andre of Yukon’s Energy Solutions Centre answers key questions about EVs and Andrew Hall of Yukon Energy shares how the public utility plans to keep up with increasing demands for clean energy.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
If anyone in the North sees a sasquatch, they know who to call: Red Grossinger. The Canadian Armed Forces veteran has spent his retirement years collecting reports and doing investigations. He walks us through two sasquatch sightings near Whitehorse.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine.
Wayne Potoroka, associate editor of Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine, doesn't have strong feelings about sasquatch one way or another, but he is interested in the people who are interested in sasquatch. So, he talked to a bunch of them, including the Yukon's number one sasquatch tracker. As it turns out, there's no shortage of stories—or believers.
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- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonka...
What do you know about the Klondike Gold Rush? If you've been to Dawson City, you've probably heard about gold seekers and dance-hall girls. But what about the people displaced by greed and colonialism? Parks Canada is widening its lens and asking visitors to consider their own responsibility to reconciliation.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
We've all had a mosquito encounter (or zillions), and yet most of us know little about these irksome critters. Entomologist Dan Peach bares his arms for science and explains why discovering the secret life of mosquitoes keeps drawing him back to bug-infested bogs.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinary magazin...
When Ian Parker and friends started riding (and sometimes carrying) their road bikes in rough and rugged terrain, they pushed the limits of what could be done on skinny tires and unforgiving frames. Then, they discovered this activity had a name: gravel biking. Now, Ian is helping grow the Yukon's mixed-surface biking scene, one flat tire and mud-splattered smile at a time.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinar...
Bill Donaldson moved into a cave across the Yukon River from Dawson City in the '90s. It's dark and damp—it even floods from time to time—but it's home, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Karen McColl tours the cave and finds out what makes it so homey.
Contact us
- Tweet us at @northofordinary or @theyukonkaren
- Email editor@northordinary.com
You can also read/subscribe to Yukon, North of Ordinar...
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