The practice hill, with orange pylons as gates, had an intermediate grade, and the run to the bottom took less than 30 seconds. Though clearly visible below, the village is swallowed by the endless white of the island's coast and the pack ice beyond. At a distance, only the leads of open water differentiate the land from the sea. In Savoonga, Siberian Yupik is still the first language. As much as 80 percent of the islanders' diet consists of whale, seal, walrus and reindeer.
Older villagers speak of using skis cut from wooden barrels.
Add a seal-hide strap for your mukluks, wax the bottoms of the slats, and off you went, said Savoonga postmaster Denny Akeya. Nordic skis were occasionally used when hunting over land. But rarely had anyone in Savoonga come into contact with Alpine skiing. They were really into it. But they really didn't even have a concept of downhill skiing, so it wasn't something they thought would ever be possible for them.