Out In The Cold

When it’s -37 Celsius outside and the wind is howling, most of us would do anything to avoid leaving our cosy homes and going to work. But for a lot of people living in the extremes of northern Canada and the arctic, going out in these conditions IS their work.

On Out In The Cold an affable and fearless host Barry Kennedy pitches in and finds out what it takes to wrangle icebergs from the open sea for their pure and ancient waters to flying high in the Rockies helibombing potential avalanche areas. You’ll get chills when we spend a few days with a Yukon bush pilot whose winter passengers include a novelist desperate for seclusion and injured dogs from the Yukon Quest marathon dog race, and be amazed by the crack shot of a wildlife vet who shows us how to tranquillise a massive bison from a helicopter and then do some on the ground medical check ups before the might beast awakes.

Being cold is not just a state of mind as Barry goes to Arctic survival school, learning how to stay alive in dangerously cold Arctic winter conditions, north of 60, on the edge of Hudson’s Bay... doing everything from building snow shelters to learning what to do when you’re no longer on thin ice but actually through it. And when you’re stuck in an airport grounded by winter conditions, on your tenth cup of coffee and muttering to yourself over delayed flights you’ll feel better knowing just getting airborne during a northern winter requires Herculean effort on the ground whether it’s a major international airport or a gravel strip in the Arctic.

The series also sees Barry learn the ins and outs of dog mushing with the pros in the Yukon and lend a hand while building a dazzling hotel made only of frozen H20. From Ellesmere Island North of 80 degrees latitude, to high in the Rocky Mountains Barry Kennedy takes us in to a world few people ever see, to meet the unique and varied characters who tackle the elements everyday with ingenuity and pure guts!