Andy Bassich Biography
Andy Bassich is an American musher and television personality born in 1959 in Washington DC. He is known for hosting the series ‘Life Below Zero’ on National Geographic Channel Star. He lives in Alaska with no electricity, water and internet connection. He moves around with his dogs, he is said to control over 37 sled dogs, to different places within the Alaska wilderness.
Andy studied at John. F Kennedy High School but didn’t proceed to college due to financial instability. He worked as a carpenter in order to help her parents financially. He later developed an interest in rearing dogs and hunting which prompted him to move to Alaska where he started out as a musher and doing other menial jobs. He became so good at his work as a musher and got roles on the Television Series ‘Life Below Zero’.
Due to his work on ‘Life Below Zero’ he got other similar shows in which he features such as Chip and Agnes Hailstone, Jessie Holmes, Sue Aikens. Andy also runs a Dog school and Survival school.
Andy Bassich Age
Andy was born in 1959 in Washington DC. ( he is 61 years old as of 2018)
Andy Bassich PhotoWhere Does Andy Bassich Live?
Andy lives alone in Chandalar 200 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska and 65 miles North of the Arctic Circle.
Andy Bassich Wife
Andy was married to Kate Rorke Bassich until they divorced in 2015. The couple met in 2003 when Andy worked as a riverboat captain and Kate had gone to Alaska Wilderness as a tourist. The two announced their separation in an episode of ‘Life Below Zero’. They officially divorced in 2016.
Andy and Kate never revealed the reason for their divorce but later Kate said that she endured abuse and torture both mentally and physically. Kate left Alaska wilderness, after leaving there for ten years, and said she was relocating to Canada.
Andy Bassich Girlfriend
Andy is in a relationship with Denise Becker who is a trauma nurse from Florida. The two met in 2016 when Denise was on a canoe trip with a Boy Scouts troop.
Denise has made it clear that she can survive in the wilderness: “I was born in Canada, grew up knowing what hard work was about. My family homesteaded up in northern Saskatchewan, a farm, which is still an active, hardworking farm. Calico Bluff is full of work, full of great work. Real work that counts at the end of the day.”
Andy revealed that he could not have come back to Alaska was it not for his girlfriend.
“If I didn’t have a partner to help me, there’s no way I could’ve come back here and accomplished what I need to do.”
Does Andy Bassich Have Kids?
Andy as no children as of 2018.
Andy Bassich Life Below Zero
‘Life Below Zero’ chronicles the life of Andy and five other cast members who lce in the remote areas of Alaska and try to survive in the below-zero conditions, demonstrating their everyday struggles as they hunt and depend only on themselves and survive using the resources they have.
Andy moved from Washington to Alaska in 1980 with his wife, Kate, and their 24 sled dogs. They reside along the Yukon River in Eagle, Alaska, 14 miles away from the nearest town. Each winter, when temperatures can plummet to 60 degrees below zero, the Yukon River freezes over and the Bassichs are completely isolated from civilization.
In 2009 he lost his properties as a result of floods and he had to start a fresh as his properties all swept down the lane by flood.
Andy Bassich Salary
Andy earns over $100,000 for his TV series ‘Live Below Zero’ and as a musher he charges $2,500 per person.
Andy Bassich Net worth | How Much is Andy Bassich Worth
Andy has an estimated net worth of $250,000
Andy Bassich Survival Camp | Andy Bassich Survival School
Andy offers cabin & outdoor classroom. He offers a 20 day trek and frontier experience and depending upon the season leaders travel by boat or dog sledge along the Yukon River and visit the cabins of several subsistence residents. They also assist Andy with his lifestyle such as harvesting the salmon run, preparing wild game, gathering and milling logs for cabin construction, piloting river craft, gardening, and maintaining his dog team.
Andy Bassich Injury
Andy suffered from a hip injury during the winter while moving a snow machine that was stuck in the snow. He had to move from Alaska to Florida for treatment. During an episode of ‘Life Below Zero’ he said:
“I’ve been gone for six months due to a really bad hip injury, couldn’t get the treatment I needed in Alaska so I headed down to Florida to get the treatment I needed and spent the last six months with my girlfriend Denise.
He also revealed that he suffered from infections that almost killed him but he was now well and ready to go back to Calico Bluff.
“I ended up with two infections — one in the muscle, one in the bone — and it almost killed me. It’s time to get back to my home in Calico Bluff, play a little bit of catch up this summer with getting my dogs back down there, getting my house back in order… It’s been unmanned and unguarded for six months so I have no idea what kind of conditions I’m going to be walking into. It’s going to be challenging to get everything done using [crutches].”
