Yukon, North of Ordinary

Jan 29 2025 79 ep. 30 mins 112
Yukon, North of Ordinary Podcast artwork

From the offbeat to the extraordinary, we document life in and around Canada’s Yukon and offer deeper insights into the content in our award-winning magazine.  

Hosted by Karen McColl
Produced by Karen McColl & Mark Koepke

Northofordinary.com

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Gearing up for a 12-day Arctic endurance race

Jan 29 2025 35 mins  
Biking 430 mi/688 km alone in the wilderness in the depth of winter might seem crazy, but Jessie Gladish is no stranger to longer treks in the woods. She already completed the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra race on foot and skis and now plans to do it on a bike. Trail conditions will dictate how much riding she can do versus pushing her bike as a glorified luggage cart. Only one thing

Smoke! Life at the fire tower

Jan 15 2025 36 mins  
Spotting wildfires is serious business. Former "lookout" Trina Moyles visited the Dawson City fire tower and tells us about its veteran smoke-spotter, Markus Lenzin. Drawing from her own seven seasons stationed at a remote tower in northern Alberta, Trina shares the solitude, awe, and challenges of the role of a lookout in detecting and reporting wildfires in the Yukon and beyond.

YQ | change makers Davida Wood & Tosh Southwick

Jan 01 2025 31 mins  
Davida Wood and Tosh Southwick were featured in a story about the Yukon’s Indigenous consulting sector in the Winter 2024 issue of Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine. Now, the podcast puts them both in the hot-seat for a special two-for-one edition of the “Yukon Questionnaire.” Among other things, it turns out this dynamic pair shares a talent for telling tall tales to tourist

The gift of the sandwich

Dec 25 2024 31 mins  
Meet one of the Yukon's biggest social media stars and learn about his unlikely claim to fame. Perfect listening for your turkey hangover. Full disclosure: this is a blatant "re-gift" of an episode first published in March 2023. Featuring Yukon-bred TikToker Jonathan Ostrander, AKA Sandwich Dad. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKEThe Sourdough MocktailThe ice swimmersMicrodosing on the runOn the m

The Sourdough Mocktail

Dec 18 2024 48 mins  
A wild night on the town for the North of Ordinary podcast Christmas party inspires producer Mark Koepke to create a non-alcoholic beverage that will put the Yukon on the map. It's his lovely, lovely gift to all the people of our fine territory. Come for the snow, sample a toe... Whether you're into Sourtoe Cocktails or Sourdough Mocktails, you can plan your visit to the Yukon at t

((Fiction)) by Nadine Sander-Green: reimagining the North through a newcomer's eyes

Dec 04 2024 23 mins  
Remember when Premier Jakowsky wasn’t fooling anybody about his plans for the pristine wilderness of the Vista? Or the triumphant return of Dirty Bird to Whitehorse’s dining scene? Maybe, sort of? Former Whitehorse Star reporter Nadine Sander-Green adapted and fictionalized her personal experience in “Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit,” a coming-of-age novel set in the territory’s rec

The Fantail Five: reliving an epic ski trip on a historic route

Nov 20 2024 44 mins  
In March 2024, a gang of tough female characters set off on a seven-day ski trip from Log Cabin to Atlin, B.C., following the historic Fantail route. Along the way, the forest revealed traces of its storied past. Now, host Karen McColl and her pulk-slingin' trip-mates reunite to reflect on a trip that tested their limits, challenged their gear, and deepened their bond. Mentioned in

The raven revisited

Nov 13 2024 15 mins  
At the mere hint that the iconic gold panner should make an exit, stage left, from the Yukon’s license plate, a lot of Yukoners seemed to go stark raven mad on the North of Ordinary Facebook page. We stuck our beak—trickster-like—into this non-issue… and suddenly turned it into a minor controversy. To clear the air, podcast co-producer Mark Koepke did a deep dive into his a

Winter series | it's time to Manu up

Nov 06 2024 20 mins  
Yukon, North of Ordinary publisher Manu Keggenhoff drops in to discuss how the magazine’s popular photo essays come together. We also get our quarterly rundown on the latest issue from editor extraordinaire Amy Kenny. Plus, we highlight some of the stories we’ll be bringing you for the podcast’s winter series. We’ll even try—not for the first or last time—to draw your v

He's a real batass

Oct 30 2024 38 mins  
The story of how one determined Yukoner overcame his own ignorance, a skeptical wife, and countless winged (and fanged) adversaries to finally win a “bat-tle” for structural supremacy at a cottage on the Yukon’s Southern Lakes. Co-producer Mark Koepke joins host Karen McColl to take his verbal victory lap—and reveal a possible man crush on ‘80s movie star Michael Keaton.