Jessie Holmes
from National Geographic’s Life Below Zero
Living the Dream
Brushkana, Alaska
Professional Dog Musher
Brushkana is an awesome place to train, an awesome place to be with the dogs. My dogs are like me, they just want to get out & go. They want to see what’s over the next hill & what’s around the next bend. Once I get off the main path, they know they’re going somewhere exciting.
Alaskan Homesteader
It might be modern day, but I have the pioneer spirit. I feel like a pioneer with everything I do. There’s no fences, there’s no property lines. I can go wherever I want in 360 degrees, and that’s living my dream. I put myself on this trajectory to be able to thrive out here, not just survive.
Adventure Seeker
Adventure is my true love & my true passion. Adventure is what I care about most. That’s one of the best skillsets I have – to adapt and come at things at different angles. I’m young and I’m eager. When I look at something, it’s not “You can’t do that.” Instead, it’s “Watch me.”
Remote Lifestyle
Surviving off the land is about knowing the land. Every time I set out, I’m eyes wide open for opportunities. This is rugged, tough country. Everything in my heart and soul has been put into this piece of land. And now I get to enjoy it.
If you want someone to rise, you’ve got to throw them up in the air.
Jasen Hansen
STRONG OUT OF THE GATE
You absolutely never know what you have inside of you until you take it to the limit, to the very end, where you think you have nothing and find you’ve got more.
Whenever it gets bad is whenever I get good. That’s my personality, that’s who I am. Embrace the struggle. Let it make you, let it shape you, because that will all be useful for the future.
RISK TAKER
This is all new to me – it’s all new to the dogs. I don’t think about things that can go wrong. I think about all the things that I’m gonna make go right.
LUCK MAKER
You make your own luck out here. I found my place in life. Now it’s time to rake in the small things that I’ve been missing.
Jessie on the Iditarod
heading to Nome
We’ve been so fortunate to watch Jessie run the Iditarod the last 5 years. His tenacity and competitive spirit are second to none.