Chip Hailstone is a reality TV star, known for surviving Alaska’s harsh climate with his family. Their story was told in the popular series ‘Life Below Zero’, which premiered in 2013 and continues to run its 11^e season, closely followed by millions of fans. The show has introduced people to Chip, his wife Agnes, and their children. They showed how to survive and even thrive in the icy weather by hunting and fishing.

Chip currently lives with his family on the Kobuk River, located in the northwestern part of Alaska.

A skilled hunter, he can handle both a bow and arrow and a gun, and Chip can also use his bare hands when needed. Let’s take a closer look at this hardened man and his tough family.

Early life and family

On May 8, 1969, Chip became Hailstone born in Montana, in the US to parents Mary Lois and Daniel Franklin Hailstone. He grew up in Kalispell where he learned to fish and hunt.

Chip was always fascinated by the life of a hunter and wanted to become one himself. When he first arrived in Noorvik, Alaska in 1988, when he was 19 years old, he didn’t think he would stay there too long. However, fate played a part and Chip is still here, living the life of a hunter the way he wanted to as a child.

Educational background and career

It’s not clear if Chip studied anything after finishing school.

His career is really just that he lives in the (too much) difficult landscape of his current home. He rose to fame when he and his family were chosen to be a part of ‘Life Below Zero’. Aside from this fame, he does not pursue a life in the spotlight. The show itself has won many awards such as the 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award.

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Chip enjoys what he does for a living: hunting and fishing. He also enjoys spending time with his children and wife. Other than that, he doesn’t seem to have any hobbies.

Relationship with Agnes Hailstone

Chip and his wife Agnes have been married for over 25 years. She was born of an Alaskan tribe called Inupiaq. Raised to know how to hunt and fish, she is a very good hunter, and a good match for Chip when it comes to survival in Alaska. They met in Noovrik in 1990, became friends, apparently quickly fell in love and married in 1992. Although Agnes is a tribesman, Chip did not become one when they married, so he does not enjoy the benefits of the tribe such as hunting sea creatures ; he is her husband and nothing more.

They have five daughters together – Qutan, Caroline, Mary, Iriqtaq and Tinmiaq, the eldest; she was homeschooled at first, but eventually attended a local school. The family also includes two sons born of Agnes’ first marriage, Jon and Douglas. The family migrates seasonally, which means they have very busy lives. In 2015, Iriqtaq graduated from Noovrik High School where she was the captain of the basketball team in her freshman year.

Chip enjoys teaching survival skills to his youngest girls, Qutan and Caroline.

Problems with the law

Chip ran into trouble that saw him missing from the show in 2017; he served 10 months of a 15-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury. It started in 2011 when his stepson Jonathan Carter got into a fight with another family. Chip then claimed that someone had pointed a gun (a rifle) at his daughter, Tinmiaq, who was 17 years old at the time.

Then Chip said Christopher Bit, a state trooper, had physically assaulted Tinmiaq. During an interview, he said she was held in a submissive position and added that his family lived in fear. He was next put in prison at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

Chip was forbidden from using modern weapons and Agnes had to shoot during the next hunting season. In December 2017, Chip was cleared of all convictions against him and is now allowed to use firearms. This is something he looked forward to because he couldn’t hunt.

Physical Characteristics

• Hair color: dark brown
• Eye color: dark brown
• Height: 5 feet 9 inches (1.76 m)
• Weight: Undisclosed
• Birth Sign: Pisces

Net value

It is estimated that Chip and his wife have a combined net worth of about $250,000, most of which comes from selling animal parts. They hunt and sell fish and animals such as wolves, foxes, whales and bears. Chip on its own is supposed to be one net value of $200,000.