Meet the cast of 'Surviving Alaska: Women of the Wild' — an exclusive interview with Jody Potts-Joseph

Surviving Alaska: Women of the Wild is a new reality docu-series highlighting four women in the Alaskan winterscape, which premiered the first week of October on National Geographic. Enter Jody Potts-Joseph, Ryne Olson, Kaycee Powell and Sarah Poynter.

Jody was kind enough to talk to me about Surviving Alaska. Màhsi’ choo, Jody!

One of the most recognizable faces in the series, Jody has many accolades already. Jody is from Eagle Village. She is a traditional tattooer, and in 2026 was the first Han Gwich’in woman to participate in the Iditarod. She was a longtime Triathlon athlete for 10 years, and now runs Raven Clan Kennels on the Upper Yukon River with her husband, Jamey. Jody was featured in Life Below Zero: First Alaskans for 26 episodes from 2022 to 2024. One of her children is activist and model Quannah Chasinghorse. 

Jody and Quannah were also in Walking Two Worlds — a short film from 2022 that will be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival next year. You can watch Walking Two Worlds on YouTube.

Jody said that all of her Surviving Alaska segments were filmed in a three-week time frame between races and guiding last winter. She hasn't met her costars Sarah Poynter or Kaycee Powell – only Ryne Olson.

"It took about half the time to get an episode, so Life Below Zero would take three to four days to get an episode, and [for Surviving Alaska], they are trying to get an episode in two days, so it's a lot quicker, a lot less cameras," Jody told AK IRL. "I think they pretty much just had two cameras and GoPros versus Life Below Zero used a lot more cameras."

While Life Below Zero is also a NatGeo show, Jody said it was a different production company that she worked with who ultimately produced Surviving Alaska. She hasn't heard anything regarding a season 2 yet, but has heard from viewers who watched her on Life Below Zero and are excited to see her back on their screens.

"I enjoyed working with both production companies and crews," Jody said. "It's been a good experience."

All 8 episodes of Surviving Alaska season 1 are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.

Ryne Olson

Ryne Olson in Surviving Alaska: Women of the Wild. From NatGeo's description: Four women battle the elements to maintain their independent lifestyles.

Viewers first meet Ryne Olson, who lives in Twin Rivers. Ryne moved to Alaska 15 years ago under the initial guise of a single winter season and never left. She has since earned her pilot's license, competed in the Iditarod four different times (and five times in the Yukon Quest!), along with several mid-distance races, including first place in the Copper Basin 300 in 2017.

She operates her own kennel, Ryno Sled Dog Kennel, and now provides reindeer and sled dog tours at Chena Outdoor Collective.

"It's just amazing what they've done," Ryne said about her dogs during a 2017 interview after winning the Copper Basin 300. "This is pretty much the same team I had when we finished third, and then when we finished second [in 2016], and now first. So it's just really cool to see. There have been a couple substitutions, but for the most part, it's like the exact same team, so it's been really cool to see them mature and develop. And it's really fun, they have that team unity as well. They know who is in their pack, and you can see they have really bonded."

"My dream with the reindeer is to build up a herd that are trained to pull sleds, go packing, [and] be able to go into the backcountry with them," Ryne said in episode 1 of Surviving Alaska.

Kaycee Powell

Kaycee Powell lives in the Goldstream Valley outside of Fairbanks with her son, Helm. Viewers first meet Kaycee after she’s driven 200 miles to the far north Brooks Range, then 15 miles via dogsled to a remote trapping cabin where she stayed a month.

Kaycee is the program director at Noble Paws, a Fairbanks nonprofit that teaches people with disabilities how to run their own dogsled team. Kaycee also has her own kennel, called The Goat Project.

"I did not grow up trapping," Kaycee said in Surviving Alaska. "It's pretty new to me, actually, over the last few years. I love everything about it. I love the lifestyle. It's very hard, but it's also very rewarding... Every fur out here gets me closer to my goal."

Sarah Poynter

Sarah Poynter lives on the Talachulitna River. She and her husband, Chris, operate a small fishing lodge out of their home and host guests for a month every summer. The nearest road is 100 miles by snowmachine.

Sarah and Chris catch martens and rely on trapping to make ends meet. They make hats and gloves; in a good year, the trapline can garner more than 50 pelts, worth around $100 each. Their value more than doubles after the furs are crafted into winter garments. The narrator said with apex predators, furs can be worth up to eight times the price due to their size and scarcity.

"I really want to get a lynx this year," Sarah said in Surviving Alaska. "It's been a while since we got a lynx. I'll be happy with coyote. It'd be amazing if I could get a wolverine."

Sarah first appeared on season 11 of Alone, where she lasted 42 days. We're watching her season, along with every player from Alaska featured on the show, for next week's AK IRL letter.