8 June 2016 / leggypeggy

Alaska—where fur still reigns

dogs, Fairbanks, furs, Road Scholar, trapping, travel, wildlife

Beaver and beaded boots, priced at $595 a pair

My mother had a rabbit fur coat and Poor John’s Aunt Esther had a mink stole, but these days wearing fur is considered politically incorrect in many parts of the world.

I’m not a fur-wearer, but after two weeks in wintry Alaska, I have a better understanding of and appreciation for that state’s long history and heavily regulated industry of trapping.

As part of our Road Scholar program, we even had a talk presented by a long-time Alaskan trapper. He told us about the kinds of animals that can be trapped, how trappers go about their work, the array of rules and regulations they must follow, and the licenses they need.

Some animals are in abundance, including arctic foxes and martens. Others are valued for their meat, especially squirrels and marmots. There are strict bag limits for others, such as wolverines and wolves. The lynx is likely to be added to the limited list.

An array of silver fox

I found the beaver to be the most surprising. It’s highly valued for its warmth in winter clothing. In fact, we visited the Alaska Raw Fur Company in Fairbanks and they were selling beaver gloves and beaver fabric that could be made into gloves. A young couple was buying fabric while we were there. His job meant he stood outside in frigid conditions for long hours.

Having stood outside to see the Northern Lights on a freezing night in Coldfoot Alaska, I can understand why warm clothing is so important. It was bone-chilling, and even those nifty things called hand and toe warmers couldn’t keep me warm.

The only thing I could do was to escape inside from time to time to warm up by the fire.

We visited the Alaska Raw Fur Company after our six days in Coldfoot, and I was fascinated to see the range and sheer volume of furs. All so beautiful, all so soft and, yet, all still so sad.

The company’s website says that every year they travel by small ski plane from one remote cabin or village to the next to collect the winter’s ‘harvest’. For the trappers, it is a source of food or source of income or both. It’s still hard to think of the loss.

That said, the sheer volume of furs in the shop is an indication of how common trapping is in Alaska, and how great demand must be.

We didn’t buy anything, but I was rather tempted by some of their other products. I have lots of friends who are keen on quilting and beading, and the shop had fabulous arrays of fabrics and beads. I hope they don’t hold it against me that I didn’t bring back any of the amazing Alaskan prints.

Two comments about wearing furs

I spent much of December 2000 in Europe. It was freezing and I was plenty cold. We (the daughters and I) went from Belgium to Luxembourg for the day, and every second woman was wearing a fur coat.

Not many of the coats actually fitted the person wearing them (some even dragged on the ground), which led me to believe they were wearing their grandmother’s gear. That said, it reminded me how important it is to stay warm in cold climes.

Oh, and I mentioned my mother at the beginning. Even though we lived in cold, cold Nebraska, Mum didn’t wear her rabbit coat very often, but when she did our dogs (a boxer and a cocker spaniel) wouldn’t leave her alone. They’d nuzzle in against her legs and walk round and round her. I can still see it in my mind’s eye and it is a wonderful memory of my mother and those two dogs.