2018 Starvation Gulch

Every year, Nanook Traditions at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) kicks off the school year with Starvation Gulch. At the event, enormous and elaborate piles of pallets, wood and other flammable materials are stacked on top of each other and set ablaze to make several huge bonfires. The bonfires have been a symbol of the passing of the torch of knowledge to new UAF students since 1923. It was pouring rain when we first arrived at the event and it continued to down pour for almost an hour- but despite being soaked to the bone, spectators had an infectious energy.

Fairbanks, AK
2018