As the Arctic thaws, Alaskans must seize the endless daylight to prepare for winter.

Daylight for 24-hours in the spring allows Alaskans to work nonstop to prepare for winter.

As the ice and snow melt across the Arctic, Alaskans take advantage of the warm season.

In the final days of winter, Alaskans use their time to prepare for what lies ahead.

Alaskans learn new survival skills as winter loses its grip on the Arctic landscape.

At the apex of winter, a lack of snowfall in the Arctic makes basic tasks more difficult.

Alaskans scurry to find precious resources in a constantly changing winter landscape.

In the midst of dark winter, Alaskans burn the midnight oil to complete necessary tasks.

To survive a year in the Arctic, Alaskans must adapt to the ever-changing seasons.

Alaskans struggle to survive the brief, cold and dark days as winter overtakes the land.

Alaskans race to secure resources and ready their camps for the coming dark winter.

To prepare for a dark and cold winter, Alaskans must harvest necessary resources in unfamiliar territories.

Winter has arrived with a vengeance, and Alaskans prepare for the worst-case scenario.

To survive dark winter, Alaskans must be relentless in their pursuit of critical resources.

Winter has arrived, and Alaskans struggle to survive the severe weather and predators.

Sue Aikens plays a game of chess with a predator; Ricko DeWilde hunts for moose; Jessie Holmes' plans shift from one final resource mission to simply surviving the day; the Hailstone family prepares vital tools needed to endure winter in Noorvik.

At the edge of the warm season, Alaskans prepare to pay winter's cost; Ricko DeWilde heads out on a proxy moose hunt to aid a village elder; Sue Aikens builds an arctic entryway; Jessie Holmes works to finish his dream cabin before conditions worsen.

As summer continues in the Arctic, Alaskans work to stockpile resources and explore remote terrain; in Kavik, caribou have arrived, and Sue Aikens jumps at this new hunting opportunity on the tundra, while Jessie Holmes embarks on a major move.

To survive in the Arctic, Alaskans must respect and honor the land and its inhabitants.

Alaskans must maximize the longer summer days in the Arctic before the freeze returns.

Alaskans work to gather newly available resources with the spring season underway.

Each year adventurers make Alaska's mighty Yukon River their home for five weeks. They float downstream on homemade log rafts to sell firewood and other supplies to remote villages. The reality-documentary "Yukon River Run" presents hourlong episodes tracking the progress of various crews. As harsh winter months approach and threaten both safety and success, stakes are heightened as rafters endeavor to cash out and escape from the cold.

"Alaskan Bush People" is a reality-documentary series that introduces the Brown family -- Billy, wife Ami and their seven grown children who -- according to Discovery -- are interesting because "they are unlike any other family in America." The channel says they are so far removed from civilization that they often go six to nine months each year without seeing an outsider. They refer to themselves as a "wolf pack" and, perhaps due to isolation, have their own accent and dialect. The Browns live in the Copper River Valley, where temperatures can drop to 60 degrees below zero, and the family recently relocated and built a cabin there because, they say, their former home of many years was seized and burned down for being in the wrong location on public land.

Head to the Alaskan Bush with the Browns, a family with seven children who live off the grid.

Extreme survivalists go head to head in a race across the Alaska wild. Using ingenuity, experience and just the gear they can carry in their packs, the participants have 60 hours to reach the finish point of each leg of the adventure -- the series features 13 legs -- and in addition to navigating treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, the challengers battle hunger, dangerous predators and unpredictable weather. There is no grand prize awaiting each leg's winner, other than the pride of accomplishing a grueling feat. For season three, the 12 competitors are divided equally into four teams -- Military, Endurance, Alaskans and Lower 48.

The breathtaking beauty of Alaska sometimes hides the fact its winters can be incredibly harsh, especially for those who live in the state's outlying areas. "Alaska: The Last Frontier" perfectly illustrates this reality, as the series profiles life for the Kilcher family in the isolated community of Homer. For four generations the Kilchers have lived off what their 600-acre homestead has provided, but cultivating that living is never easy. Led by patriarch Atz Kilcher and his brother Otto, the family spends the short summer and fall gardening, hunting and fishing for food, gathering supplies from the land and preparing their animals for the winter. Viewers, who may or may not have a fancy phone by their side while watching on their big-screen high-def TV, also see the Kilchers living off the grid, where running water and electricity aren't daily staples, nor is contact with the outside world. Atz, by the way, is the father of music superstar Jewel.

Tradition collides with transformation in McCarthy, Alaska. The isolated town -- once considered to be the state's version of "Sin City" -- flourished during the Gold Rush but is now home to roughly 40 people, a mix of mavericks, risk takers and rabble rousers willing to brave extreme conditions to live free. While some believe in continuing the town's frontier way of life, others feel the future of McCarthy depends on dragging it into the modern age. Long-standing resident Jeremy Keller fights to protect its roots, while Neil Darish has purchased multiple properties in town and plans to restore its vibrancy. "Edge of Alaska" tells the story of a hinterland at a crossroads.

Tanana, Alaska, is like the Pacific Northwest's version of Hotel California: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Well, not exactly, but describing the town as remote is akin to saying the winters are chilly. Located at the junction of the Tanana and Yukon rivers deep in the state's interior, the town has no roads in or out, and for its 200-plus residents, survival in the winter is a daily challenge. "Yukon Men" unveils the people of Tanana, who struggle to find food, heat their homes, and ward off predators. But they stick together, a bond that helps them overcome the harsh conditions.

Patrolling America's largest state is the job of roughly 400 troopers in one of the toughest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Essentially, these cops say, nearly every Alaskan resident is armed and they know how to use their weapons, which makes any scenario a trooper encounters a potentially fatal one. Follow along as the "blue shirt" Alaskan State Troopers police the towns and villages, and the "brown shirt" Alaska Wildlife Troopers enforce regulations covering both commercial and sport fishing and hunting activities.

Back to the beautiful state of Alaska for another reality-documentary series, this one set in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area home to thousands of native animals... and a handful of people. In 1980, the U.S. government banned human occupation in the refuge, and only residents in seven permitted cabins are allowed to remain. The series depicts the daily rituals of four families living in isolation and contending with bitter weather, frustrating setbacks, and aggressive wildlife in an unspoiled and unforgiving wilderness. The nonconformists include Heimo Korth, the "godfather of the final frontier," and wife Edna; Bob Harte, who has spent 40 years living by his own rules; and young couple Bob and Ashley Selden, who admit that they've survived by trial and error, learning day by day the harsh reality of frontier living.

The life of an Alaskan bush pilot is never dull.