Arctic Hive is North America’s northern most yoga dome school, completely off the grid, and located in the breathtaking Brooks Range wilderness – 275 miles (443 KM) away from the nearest city.
Co-founders and husband and wife Mollie and Sean Busby, founded Arctic Hive as a wilderness retreat facility. Part of what they offer to guests is teaching them how people live up in the Arctic environment. There is ice underneath all of the ground called permafrost. Because of the permafrost they can’t have any plumbing. They get all their water from the river and filter it. Mollie says they have lots of dreams for Arctic Hive, and they are adamant about being able to provide a comfortable environment to their guests. That means they have amazing guest cabins where people have their own space with comfortable beds. They have an igloo dome as a common area.
Arctic Hive has some of the best northern lights in the world. They are directly under the aurora Oval. Mollie describes a typical day at Arctic Hive: They keep the fire going all night long in the igloo and they make sure it’s a cozy living room space for people to have their breakfast. Yoga is done in the 20 ft. yoga dome, heated by two wood stove! It takes 2 hours to heat it before class to get it from -10 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, warm enough for doing yoga in a tank top! Then they have lunch before going out to do some activities. They have Gates of the Arctic National Park and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in their back yard. Mollie says: “up here, it doesn’t matter what you look like, it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, the experience is being here. “
Yoga Teacher Training in the Yoga Dome
Their Yoga Alliance registered 200 hour yoga teacher training – “SheWild” – begins in February, 2021 over Zoom along with two weeks in person at their home and facility 63 miles (101 KM) above the arctic circle in March. View their website here.
You can join in and experience a true off grid experience above the arctic circle in this incredible part of Alaska with E-RYT 500 teacher Mollie . Mollie has years of highly trained experience spanning across the globe from North America to India’s Himalayas. She also “walks the walk” when it comes to remote off grid living as this is her home and facility.
Mollie looks forward to sharing and passing on her knowledge – Yoga, meditation, amazing vegetarian and vegan meals, sustainable practices, cozy warm cabins, dogsledding, skiing/snowshoeing, northern lights and more.
“A warm and inviting space even when it’s a tiny bit frosty in the morning. The morning began with vibrant northern lights, an ambient temperature hovering around -34°F /-37°C, and a beautiful morning pre sunrise yoga class led by @mollieofthenorth for some of our special guests. This was all followed by fresh organic coffee and breakfast next to our crackling wood stove before they departed. We hope to see them back in the future!” Mollie
A Glimpse of the Reality of Living Off-Grid in the Arctic
The only way to get to Arctic Hive is via the Haul Road. Here is a post from Mollie from her Instagram @arctichiveak, December 15, 2021: “The Enchanted Forest is one of my favorite spots on the Haul Road. This time, I got the sun and the moon on this stretch — since it sits below the arctic circle!
Also known as the “Dalton Highway”, this is the industrial (mainly gravel) road we take when we head the 270+ miles/435+ kilometers to Fairbanks from Wiseman Village. Aka: “a town run.”
It’s also the road featured in the reality TV show “Ice Road Truckers,” which documented how truckers haul materials and supplies to and from Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse to support the work of the Alaskan Oil Pipeline.
Along the way, there are Mile Markers that truckers and thru-traffic (like us) use to communicate to others through a handheld CB radio where we are along the route, if there are hazards or dangerous weather conditions. I would say something on the CB like, “Southbound Four Wheeler, Arctic Circle,” telling folks within CB radio earshot that I’m in my truck (a four wheeler) crossing the Arctic Circle milepost, headed south.
It’s one of the most dangerous and remote roads due to its location, isolation and extreme weather. Fun fact: It’s been dubbed America’s loneliest road. Thus, communication is key Most markers aren’t labeled, but they’re widely know and memorized by those who live in the north, or travel the road frequently. From “Oh Shit” corner to “Rollercoaster” hill, there are important meanings to each milestone.
Everyone is encouraged to travel with two full-size spare tires, and emergency supplies and tools. There’s no cell service once you get 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks… all the way until you reach the midpoint of Coldfoot Camp. There is no AAA towing service, so getting a tow back to Fairbanks for a breakdown can cost thousands. Soooo…you don’t want to break down. The road isn’t friendly to vehicles and almost all of the rental car companies prohibit their vehicles being driven on it. We try not to travel back and forth more than needed if we can! It can be a stressful drive and it can have life threatening weather — and other times (like the drive shown here) it can be the most peaceful, beautiful drive you’ve ever experienced!
It’s one of the most dangerous and remote roads due to its location, isolation and extreme weather. Fun fact: It’s been dubbed America’s loneliest road. Thus, communication is key Most markers aren’t labeled, but they’re widely know and memorized by those who live in the north, or travel the road frequently. From “Oh Shit” corner to “Rollercoaster” hill, there are important meanings to each milestone.
Everyone is encouraged to travel with two full-size spare tires, and emergency supplies and tools. There’s no cell service once you get 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks… all the way until you reach the midpoint of Coldfoot Camp. There is no AAA towing service, so getting a tow back to Fairbanks for a breakdown can cost thousands. Soooo…you don’t want to break down. The road isn’t friendly to vehicles and almost all of the rental car companies prohibit their vehicles being driven on it. We try not to travel back and forth more than needed if we can! It can be a stressful drive and it can have life threatening weather — and other times (like the drive shown here) it can be the most peaceful, beautiful drive you’ve ever experienced!
After a Snow Storm – Yoga Dome Life
From Instagram, December 7th, 2021: “44.9 inches/112 centimeters of ultra light density arctic powder in 24 hours and it’s still coming down. Here in the arctic circle as well as the rest of Alaska we welcome winter storms as they bring warmer temperatures, but this storm was a doozy for our small village (population 12 right now which includes us @seanbusby@mollieofthenorth ). Only a half a foot/15 centimeters were roughly forecasted which we obviously annihilated. Now our village will spend the next few days digging out, rebreaking dogsledding trails, and shoveling roofs. In this photo, we are maintaining our access trail to the village from @arctichiveak. We would snowmachine this route every few hours at the storm’s strongest points to not lose it. Losing it would require rebreaking a new one which would be a lot of time potentially with a stuck snowmachine in over waist deep snow. Better to maintain then start from scratch and waste time…
“Today – we will shovel, break trails, install a new wood stove and chimney, and then get our holiday lights up. Going to be busy but temperatures will be diving back into our normal pattern of -20°F’s/-29°C’s in a few days. Taking full advantage of the warm weather (12°F/-11°C). Life in the arctic.”
In conclusion, if you want to live in the Arctic or visit it for a while, dress warm, start out with some good guidance from the locals and better yet book your stay with Mollie and Sean at Arctic Hive and get your yoga and adventure on at the same time!
