Whatever Happened to the Cast of Life Below Zero? 2025 Update
If you’ve ever binge‑watched Life Below Zero, you probably found yourself asking that very question: “Hey — are Sue and Chip and the Hailstone family still out there surviving in subzero temps, or did reality TV life pull them back to civilization?” Over more than a decade, fans watched these hardy Alaskans build cabins, hunt caribou, fish rivers, and carve out survival where most people wouldn’t last a week. Viewers got invested not just in the drama of storms or broken equipment, but in the long arcs of family, resilience, and tradition. Sue holding down Kavik River Camp alone; the Hailstones raising generations in Noorvik; Andy Bassich’s recovery with Denise after a near‑fatal hip injury; and the newcomers from First Alaskans all added to a living portrait of rural Alaska.
Now that the cameras have stopped rolling, curiosity naturally follows: who’s still living the bush life, who stepped away, and who’s been forced to adapt to changing conditions and modern realities? Here’s a detailed look at the cast’s journeys and where they stand in 2025, after 23 seasons of surviving and sharing one of the harshest environments on Earth.
Table of Contents
The End of the Show — and What That Means
First off: Life Below Zero officially ended. After 23 seasons, National Geographic closed the chapter on one of its longest‑running reality series. The final season launched on October 8, 2024 and aired its last episode on February 23, 2025, delivering 13 episodes in total. By November 2024, outlets like Reality Blurred and cast member Chip Hailstone confirmed publicly that there would be no Season 24, with Chip noting plainly that there was no contract to continue.
The cancellation covered not only the flagship series but also its offshoots: Life Below Zero: Next Generation, Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, and Port Protection Alaska. To give fans closure, several familiar faces from the spin‑offs, including Johnny Rolfe and the Roach family, were integrated into Season 23. This created a combined finale that reflected the entire franchise’s community.
Instead of vanishing from Alaska, the cast has largely stayed put. Some have chosen to live more privately without production crews, while others continue their subsistence lifestyle as before — hunting, fishing, and raising families in the bush, just outside of the spotlight.
Sue Aikens — the lone wolf of Kavik River Camp
Sue owns and operates Kavik River Camp, a fully licensed outpost located along the Sagavanirktok River, about a dozen miles from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and roughly 197 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Before her TV career, she was contracted as a year‑round caretaker, during which she removed tons of leftover oil‑industry debris, rebuilt fuel and water systems, and installed safety infrastructure. After years of lease and purchase agreements, she became the legal owner of Kavik. Today the camp serves as a seasonal lodge and aviation logistics hub for bush pilots, researchers, and travelers crossing the North Slope. Sue manages bookings, aircraft refueling coordination, emergency shelter, and camp maintenance herself. Importantly, Kavik is not a guided hunting service—it is a logistics and lodging stop that sustains people in one of Alaska’s most remote regions.
After the show (from March 2025 onward): In a March 2025 live chat, Sue said her workload increased once filming paused. Concrete updates she shared and/or has shown publicly:
- Camp operations: Continues to run Kavik River Camp seasonally, coordinating bush flights, fuel deliveries, water pumping/line winterization, and guest logistics herself.
- Infrastructure upgrades: Adding/upgrading small cabins and camp services to better handle shoulder‑season weather, plus incremental electrical and utility improvements.
- “Garden” build‑out: Following the show’s finale arc, she is expanding short‑window grow space and wind/sun‑protected beds whenever thaw allows.
- Direct-to-fan updates: Posting regular photos/reels of daily camp life, aurora nights, storms, wildlife, and occasional live streams.
- Community & youth focus: Inviting youth outdoors, celebrating Eagle Scout milestones with visits when feasible, and quietly assisting families facing illness—causes she has supported for years.
Where she is now (2024–2025): Sue still splits time between Kavik and periodic supply runs to Fairbanks or other hubs. Her recent timeline of public updates shows how active and present she remains:
- April 2025: Returned to Kavik after winter supply trips. Shared a smiling update about working on the runway so fuel sales could resume, noting Jet A fuel wasn’t ready yet but that 100LL would be available within days.
- May 14, 2025: Posted from Los Angeles at the Biltmore, thanking the “City of Angels” before heading back north. The stopover highlighted her periodic breaks from Kavik for travel and events.
- July 12, 2025: Posted a heartfelt tribute about her mother’s passing.
- September 1, 2025: Shared a sunrise video from Kavik, marveling at the fleeting “reds and oranges” that appear twice yearly before the Arctic night sets in.
- September 2, 2025: Posted about successfully harvesting a bull caribou—her first big game shot since late 2023 after recovering from neck fusion surgery. She expressed gratitude for being able to hunt again and provide meat.
These posts highlight her ongoing presence in camp and her intent to keep fans connected directly. Even without a production crew, she remains invested in operating Kavik River Camp safely, improving infrastructure, and keeping it open as a logistics stop for bush pilots and visitors. The through‑line is hands‑on work: a wilderness entrepreneur and mentor steadily upgrading cabins, utilities, grow projects, and even returning to subsistence hunting while keeping the camp welcoming to those seeking a real Alaska experience.
Health Challenges and Injuries
Beyond the well‑known bear attack, Sue endured a severe snowmachine accident while filming Life Below Zero. She later filed a lawsuit against the show’s producers, alleging negligence and claiming that emergency rescue was delayed to capture dramatic footage. The crash left lasting injuries and added to her long‑term physical struggles.
Over the years, Sue has undergone multiple surgeries. In 2015, she took time off to recover from an undisclosed procedure, a break she confirmed through social media updates. In September 2020, she underwent major spinal surgery, jokingly dubbing her recovery phase “Sue 2.0.”
In January 2024, she revealed plans for long‑overdue spinal fusion surgery to treat cervical spine issues. The operation took place on February 8, involving discectomies and laminectomies across multiple vertebrae. Additional injections later targeted her lumbar (L1–L5) and sacral spine. On February 21, Sue posted a candid update showing surgical scars and noting how an old bear‑attack injury continued to complicate her recovery. These moments underscored both her vulnerability and resilience as she prepared for yet another demanding season in the Arctic.
3. Chip and Agnes Hailstone – family legacy and next chapter
Chip and Agnes Hailstone were among the very first cast members signed to Life Below Zero, after Chip’s early subsistence blog and photographs drew the attention of producers. Agnes, an Inupiaq woman from Noorvik, brought the cultural depth of traditional subsistence hunting, fishing, sewing, and language to the screen. Together, they raised their family on the Kobuk River, teaching their children the skills needed for survival in Arctic conditions.
After the show (2024–2025): Chip and Agnes Hailstone remain based in Noorvik with their children and grandchildren. They continue to hunt caribou, muskrat, and geese, and to fish whitefish and sheefish seasonally. With more than 25 grandchildren now in the extended family, subsistence remains both a necessity and a cultural tradition. Chip has launched an ULU‑making workshop, building blades from spring steel and teaching proper sharpening and handle‑making. He envisions this growing into a small family business, Hailstone Enterprises, selling knives and crafts.
Agnes remains focused on passing down Inupiaq knowledge, including sewing, tanning hides, and traditional foods like akutaq (Eskimo ice cream). She continues to speak publicly about climate changes she witnesses firsthand, from shrinking berry patches to shifting caribou migrations. Their daughters are branching out too: Carol is building her own riverside cabin with her partner, while other daughters have pursued their own paths — some enjoy traveling and attending festivals, and other siblings are raising children, working jobs, or training in trades like heavy equipment operation.
The Hailstones have not retreated into privacy — they maintain a YouTube channel with over 200 videos, post updates on Facebook and Instagram, and even discussed the idea of an online shop for family crafts. While life without NatGeo cameras may feel quieter, the Hailstones emphasize that they are still living the lifestyle viewers first tuned in for: hunting, fishing, and adapting together in Alaska’s changing Arctic.
Andy Bassich — from solitude to partnership in Alaska
Andy Bassich was born in Washington, D.C., in 1958 and grew up in Wheaton, Maryland. After working as a carpenter and cabinet maker, he chased his dream of Alaska in 1980. Two years in Anchorage gave way to a permanent move to Calico Bluff on the Yukon River in 1984. There he bought his first sled dog, learned mushing and trapping, and earned a Coast Guard Merchant Marine Captain License while running riverboats for two decades. By the time Life Below Zero premiered in 2013, Andy had already lived nearly 30 years off‑grid, caring for dozens of sled dogs and mastering subsistence hunting and fishing.
He debuted on the series premiere on May 19, 2013, and went on to appear in 179 episodes across 23 seasons. His storylines showcased the constant work of maintaining his Yukon homestead—chopping wood, running sled dogs, fishing, and surviving the harsh winters. His marriage and later divorce from Kate Rourke in 2016 was part of the on‑screen narrative. That same year he met Denise Becker, a Canadian‑born trauma nurse who became his life partner and an essential part of his bush world. In 2018, Andy suffered a devastating hip injury that led to a near‑fatal infection. He was airlifted for treatment in Fairbanks and later Florida, with Denise by his side. By 2019–2020, he had recovered enough to return north and rebuild routines with her help—scaling back his dog team, upgrading their home, and re‑establishing their rhythm at Calico Bluff.
During the later seasons, viewers saw Andy and Denise work side by side: finishing their dream home’s porch and woodshed, cutting firewood, hauling water, and putting thousands of miles on their sled dogs. Denise gradually took the lead with the team, logging runs of up to 70 miles across frozen rivers and wooded trails. She also balanced occasional nursing shifts in Florida with life in the bush, drawing on her trauma care background to adapt quickly to wilderness challenges. The couple’s bond strengthened through accidents, harsh weather, and trial‑and‑error learning that became part of their story on camera.
By the end of the series, Andy and Denise had settled into a steady partnership defined by endurance and creativity. Off‑camera in 2024–2025, they continue to manage a leaner team of nine sled dogs, cope with the loss of several longtime animals, and adjust to major changes like the collapse of the Yukon River salmon runs. These shifts forced them to rely more on purchased dog food instead of traditional fish wheels, a symbolic change in bush economics that Andy has spoken about publicly. They remain active online, occasionally posting updates about dog training, seasonal hunts, and the Northern Lights from Calico Bluff. Their life now is quieter without the crew, but still rooted in the grit, independence, and partnership that defined Andy’s four decades in Alaska.
May 2025 updates: Denise shared on Instagram that spring breakup on the Yukon brought dramatic ice jams at Calico Bluff. On May 3 she noted the flow had stalled with water spilling over the banks. By the following morning, May 4, she reported that the river had finally broken through the jam, pushing ice downstream and leaving 20‑foot walls along the shore.
Just days later, on May 16, snow still rimmed their greenhouse even as hundreds of seedlings were ready for transplant, and they launched their boat for the season on Mother’s Day. These posts confirm that Andy and Denise remain deeply engaged in subsistence work—navigating river ice, tending their greenhouse, and preparing for another year of life off the grid.
Ricko DeWilde
Ricko DeWilde was born on July 4, 1975, in Huslia, Alaska, and grew up in a large Koyukon Athabaskan family deeply rooted in subsistence traditions. Raised in remote camps without electricity or running water, he learned survival skills from his parents, Lloyd and Amelia, who taught him to trap, hunt, fish, sew fur clothing, and build cabins from scratch. That upbringing instilled in him a respect for the land and a dedication to passing Indigenous knowledge to future generations.
His life took a difficult turn as a young adult. After leaving the family cabin, Ricko struggled with culture shock, addiction, and eventually incarceration. In prison he reconnected with the values of his youth, and after his release in 2005, he committed to sobriety, fatherhood, and cultural education. Determined to rebuild his life, he began raising his children with the same traditions he had been taught and dedicated himself to becoming a responsible parent and cultural role model.
Ricko joined Life Below Zero in 2018 and quickly became a key presence on the show. Over seven years and 114 episodes, he showed audiences how Indigenous knowledge sustained his family in Alaska’s wilderness. His segments highlighted moose hunts, predator control, building bathhouses and cabins, and teaching his children survival skills in real time. Viewers came to admire not just his resourcefulness but his parenting—using every task, from setting fish nets to cutting wood, as a lesson in Athabaskan values. He also contributed as a segment producer for Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, helping to ensure Indigenous voices shaped the storytelling.
By 2024, Ricko confirmed that Season 23 would be the show’s last, and in early 2025 he reflected publicly on its impact. He noted how the production had brought work to Huslia and other rural communities, and while he hoped for a spinoff, he began charting a new path. Since leaving television, Ricko has continued running his HYDZ Gear apparel line, which blends Athabaskan culture with modern streetwear, and he has started training as a licensed assistant hunting guide under longtime friend Gilbert Huntington. He divides his time between Huslia, Fairbanks, and Anchorage, while remaining active in Native-led initiatives, cultural education, and community projects.
Family remains central to his life. Ricko and his longtime partner, Rona Vent, are raising six children, and he ensures they learn both traditional and modern skills—taking them on hunting trips, teaching them to fish, and instilling pride in their heritage. His children’s experiences at the family cabin near Huslia mirror his own childhood, grounding them in Athabaskan culture even as they live part of the year in Fairbanks. Ricko has also honored personal tragedy, including the loss of his sister Riba in 2016, by keeping cultural remembrance alive through ceremonies and storytelling.
As of late 2025, Ricko continues to balance entrepreneurship, guiding, and cultural advocacy. He has spoken about possible new media projects and remains focused on raising his children with the same resilience his parents once instilled in him. His story since leaving Life Below Zero reflects both hardship and redemption—a man who endured loss and personal struggles but emerged as a cultural educator, entrepreneur, and voice for his people, still deeply connected to the Alaskan wilderness that shaped him.
Glenn Villeneuve — the lone wanderer of the Brooks Range
Glenn Villeneuve, born March 18, 1969 in Burlington, Vermont, grew up in Jericho and was largely self‑educated after leaving school early. From his teens he roamed forests, hiked long trails alone, and lived for stretches in tipis, drawn to wilderness life and anthropology. In 2004 he made his permanent move into Alaska’s Brooks Range, trekking 60 miles on foot to a remote alpine lake where he built a tiny cabin and began living largely off hunted meat and foraged plants.
Glenn joined Life Below Zero in 2013 and became one of its most captivating figures, appearing in more than 85 episodes until 2019. His storylines highlighted long hunts for caribou and moose, survival during lean summers, innovative food storage, and his philosophy of radical self‑reliance. He sometimes lived entirely alone for months at a time, while at other points he was joined by family—first his wife Silvia and their children Willow and Wolf Song, later his partner Trisha Kazan and their daughter Agatha. Fans valued his raw honesty about both hardship and wonder in the Brooks Range. His departure in 2019 came abruptly when production stopped contacting him, though he thanked viewers for their support.
Since leaving the show, Glenn has balanced time between Fairbanks and seasonal trips to the Brooks Range. He continues subsistence hunting and aviation travel, and has invested in cabins and property around Fairbanks. His personal life has seen change: he and Silvia divorced in 2012; his later relationship with Trisha ended in 2023, after which she returned to the Lower 48 with her daughter Amelia, while their daughter Agatha stayed in Alaska with Glenn. By 2024, Agatha was old enough to join him on long hikes, including an 11‑mile trek that marked a milestone in her growth.
In 2023 Glenn also began a relationship with Shalane, an accomplished endurance athlete. She introduced him to cross‑country skiing, and together they embraced competitive racing. Glenn skied nearly 60 times over the 2023–24 winter and completed the 100‑mile White Mountains ski race in 2025. Shalane herself won major races, including setting a new women’s record in that same event. Together they also run trail races and marathons around Alaska. Glenn shares these adventures, plus wilderness commentary, with fans online. His story today reflects evolution from a solitary subsistence hunter to a father and endurance athlete still deeply tied to the Brooks Range.
Cast members who left — or shifted paths
Only a few familiar faces stepped away before the finale, while newer additions helped close out the franchise. Here’s where they are now:
Kate Rourke‑Bassich left Life Below Zero after her divorce from Andy Bassich, alleging personal and mental health struggles. Today, she reportedly lives in Newfoundland, Canada.
Eric and Martha Mae Salitan — from guiding to family life
Eric and Martha Mae Salitan were early cast members who lived in Wiseman, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. Eric, born February 9, 1984 in New York, grew up in the Finger Lakes region obsessed with the outdoors. After high school he drove to Alaska, studied wildlife biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and worked odd jobs before becoming a registered guide and bush pilot. Martha Mae, originally from Iliamna, Alaska, shared his passion for fishing and bush life. The couple raised their son Lucas while running a remote tent lodge for adventure travelers. They joined Life Below Zero in 2013 and appeared for four seasons until 2016, showcasing guiding, fishing, and raising a young family in Arctic conditions.
They left the series to focus on family and business. Together they built Bushwhack Alaska Guiding & Outfitting and later ran lodges in the Brooks Range and Iliamna. In 2020 they sold their original Brooks Range lodge, and by early 2024 they sold all lodges and the guiding company to new owners, including Under Armour co‑founder Kip Folks. Erik now works with clients as a licensed guide without the stress of full ownership. The Salitans live in Iliamna where they are raising three sons: Lucas (15), Sterling (5), and Victor (1). They continue to hunt, fish, and trap, passing subsistence traditions on to their children while also building a new family home in the community. Despite a past minor controversy over a 2012 hunt, Erik maintains his license and reputation. Today they balance semi‑retirement with guiding, family, and a quieter but still subsistence‑rooted life in Alaska.
Jessie Holmes
Jessie Holmes’ story begins in Odenville, Alabama, where he was born in 1982. Restless and drawn to the wilderness, he left home at 16 and worked as a carpenter in Montana before traveling north through Canada and into Alaska. By his early 20s he was running remote traplines with sled dogs, eventually settling in Nenana, where he built a cabin without electricity or running water and embraced a subsistence lifestyle of trapping, fishing, and dog mushing.
His life changed again in 2015 when he joined Life Below Zero, making his debut in Season 6. Over the next eight years and 132 episodes, viewers saw him construct a smokehouse at his fish camp, reorganize his sprawling dog yard, build and insulate cabins through brutal winters, and haul thousands of fish with his wheel to feed more than 40 sled dogs. He was also shown bartering for lumber, repairing his cabin after surgery, and persevering through injuries while keeping his dogs ready for race season. His authenticity and hands‑on skills made him a central figure on the show until his final appearance in Season 21 in 2023, when he stepped away to focus fully on racing and life in Nenana.
Since leaving the show, Holmes committed himself fully to competitive dog mushing. In March 2025 he reached the pinnacle of that pursuit by winning the 53rd Iditarod, completing more than 10 days on the trail to Nome and securing his first championship title. That achievement was built on a steady rise through the sport: he won the Yukon Quest 300 in 2016, the Kobuk 440 in 2017, and logged consistent Iditarod results that included 7th place as a rookie in 2018, 5th place in 2021, 3rd place in both 2022 and 2024, and 5th again in 2023. Along the way he earned more than $100,000 in prize money and established his team as one of Alaska’s most competitive kennels. His dog yard in Nenana remains the heart of his life, where he trains dozens of sled dogs and supports them year‑round by harvesting salmon, hunting, and taking on carpentry and guiding work.
Holmes has also endured setbacks. In September 2022, while volunteering in Golovin after Typhoon Merbok, he was badly injured in a UTV accident. The crash left him with a broken collarbone and other injuries, requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery. A GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $48,000 to cover medical costs, and against the odds, he returned to racing at a high level. The resilience he displayed in recovery reinforced the grit viewers had long admired on television.
Away from racing and survival, Holmes remains private about his personal life. He once shared that he came close to marriage years ago in Eagle, but since then he has stayed single, devoting himself to his dogs and the life he built in Nenana. Fans occasionally speculate about connections with other mushers, but he insists his kennel provides all the companionship he needs.
As of late 2025, Jessie Holmes is still living and training in Nenana. His Instagram updates from September 2025 show just how active he remains in the mushing world. He posted about taking his team more than 400 miles into the Iditarod before a major 24‑hour rest in Kaltag, calling it a key turning point in his winning run. Another video revisited the last two‑thirds of the race between Grayling and Anvik, where he described his dogs as “pure grit” and promised big announcements about upcoming kennel plans.
In early September 2025 he shared a 30‑mile training run with his Copper Basin 300 team, noting that sixteen dogs left the yard before 4 a.m. with Polar and Nola—two of his strongest leaders—guiding through darkness and mud. These glimpses reveal a musher still deeply committed to racing and strategy, carefully preparing his team for future competitions. He continues to live sustainably and independently in rural Alaska. His Iditarod championship remains the crowning achievement of his career, but his ongoing training and race plans show that his story is far from over.
Johnny Rolfe
Johnny Rolfe, first known from Life Below Zero: Next Generation, was folded into the main cast in Season 23. He continues to identify as a nomadic subsistence hunter and gatherer. On September 18, 2025, he posted an Instagram update, writing that he lives “in over 100 trees, all of which were already dead before I cut them down and built this cabin.” He described the lifestyle as “a couple goofballs working hard and playing out here. Life be good in the wood.” These updates confirm Johnny is still living off‑grid, actively hunting and building, and sharing glimpses of his wilderness homestead with fans.
The Roach family
The Roach family, originally from Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, were also featured in the final season. They brought an Inupiat perspective, highlighting traditional food gathering and cultural practices.
In March 2025, they shared a comprehensive video update on their YouTube channel Roots in Alaska—titled “Roach Family Story Updates.” In that self‑described “GoCast” podcast, they looked back on winter life with two young children and how their routines had shifted since the film crew departed. Both Chevie and Sonta admitted that the cameras once encouraged them—sometimes even “happily forced” them—to get outside more. Without that push, they spent more time indoors, though subsistence work still shaped their days.
Chevie described the season as more “domesticated” but still grounded in hands‑on traditions. He bonded with his eldest son Ryder in the shop, repairing several snow machines—including the M6, M8, and Titan. Early low‑snow conditions made trapping difficult, yet he reset old traplines and managed to catch a few marten. Later, after heavier snowfall, he successfully tracked and hunted a wolf, continuing a practice he began as a teenager with his father and brother. The family also tried setting snares, though limited snow cover and shifting weather reduced their success.
This period allowed the Roaches to slow down, maintain their trapline “infrastructure,” and balance parenting with outdoor work. Sydney, nearly 13, leaned into school, volleyball, and gym nights, while her younger siblings remained fully immersed in homestead life. Chevie and Sonta acknowledged missing the days when Sydney joined every trip on the trapline but emphasized letting her choose her own path back to the land.
They closed their update with optimism for spring: longer days, waterfowl season in April, and more time outdoors as a family. With moose meat still in the freezer from last year, they plan to hold off on hunting until needed, prioritizing balance and sustainability. Through it all, the Roaches stressed gratitude for being able to raise their children where subsistence life is just outside their front door.
In September 2025, the Roaches shared another video documenting a four-day trip on the Innoko River, where they fished for silver salmon, built a temporary smokehouse, and pressure-canned fish for winter. These updates highlight how the family remains firmly rooted in rural Alaska, adapting to parenting and subsistence without the support of a production crew.
Gage and Avery Hoffman
Gage and Avery Hoffman, likewise from First Alaskans, joined Season 23 and were shown enduring intense blizzards and wilderness hazards. Their timeline since the show reflects both bush life and growing community roles. In December 2024, Gage represented his tribe at the White House Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C., helping bring Alaska Native perspectives to national policy. By June 2025, he reflected on their television journey, sharing that the brothers had wrapped 15 combined episodes across First Alaskans and Life Below Zero—a chapter he described as one that brought him and Avery closer together. By August 2025, Gage was hosting HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Senator Lisa Murkowski in Bethel through his work with the AVCP Regional Housing Authority and as Chair of the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC). The visit highlighted affordable housing initiatives in the region, linking national leaders with the realities of life in Alaska Native communities.
Meanwhile, Avery Hoffman reached a personal milestone in May 2025, when his fiancée Kaitlynne Rice announced their engagement on social media. The couple had gone beaver hunting when Avery proposed to her, and Kaitlynne later shared the moment on social media, tagging Avery in a celebratory post that showed the proposal unfolding against Alaska’s wetlands. The engagement highlighted how his family life and subsistence traditions remain intertwined, blending cultural practice with personal joy.These updates show how the brothers have shifted from remote filming camps into leadership and advocacy roles while still honoring subsistence traditions. Avery continues to focus on family, while Gage blends cultural identity with housing and policy work
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