Featured Image Credit: Yes Theory / YouTube
There are countless YouTube videos out there about abandoned areas and isolated towns, but this particular channel shows America's northernmost settlement in a way that has brought many to tears.
Yes Theory are known for their discovery-themed YouTube videos that take on some of the world's most fascinating locations, having previously covered an American city with no laws and the least visited country on Earth.
However, their most recent video has proven to be particularly emotionally impactful, as they took the journey to one of the coldest places and found something that they weren't quite expecting.
Setting off from Anchorage airport in Alaska, the team at Yes Theory were on their way toward Utqiagvik, the largest city of the North Slope Borough, but one of the most isolated towns in all of America.
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The frozen plains leave no roads to other major locations, and access to food and other provisions proves to be difficult. It's home to the Iñupiat, who remain Indigenous to the location.
While they managed to spot some stunning white foxes on their trip, it was an encounter with a whale that proved to be the most memorable for the team and impactful for the audience.
In the dark of night the team received news that hunters were pulling a giant whale to shore, which they had captured over 20 miles away. Whales can only be captured for a few weeks out of the year, and at the end of the season it's an especially prominent catch.
The video captures the moment that the whale comes ashore, and it's size is really something to be reckoned with.
Multiple bulldozers work to pull it's significant weight forward, and its tail alone is much larger than any human nearby.
It's described as 'dangerous' and 'terrifying', but one of the whale fishers explains that he's "been doing it all these years," being 72 at the time of recording, but the fear of the dark still remains strong.
The comments underneath are in agreement over the powerful nature of the video, as one person details: "I just realized that all of the vloggers I have been following tell stories about themselves... You are the only channel that is focused on others. That's why I love your channel so much. You are making a difference."
"I got tears," another commenter explains, "when the captain said, 'We have different religions, but we are a big family'... Amazing video as always."
The team's guide on the trip has even shown their appreciation in the comments, explaining: "I feel like crying, reading all these positive comments is what I needed.
"That day I almost didn't want to go out to that whale, I was worn out after going to most of the whales this fall season, but I did and now I am so glad I went out that day."
It goes to show that sometimes the most effecting stories are the ones that aren't planned, and this particular video has proven to be impressive for many in what it covers and how it goes about doing it.
