SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daveinthebush]

Pulled the boat yesterday and had 2 feet of snow by the time I got the nine miles back to the house.  It is up to 4 feet right now and still comming down hard.  I have to shovel the roof already and am headed out to do that next.  Probably a little more snow than you Alabama boys are used too!

[Matt in AK]

That reminds me of last year when I found out I had orders for Elmendorf AFB and we were at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas.  I logged onto some Anchorage website with the weather cam and temps.  Everyday I'd tell my Florida-girl/wife that it was colder in Kansas than it was in Alaska...at least every day until Mar 17...when it snowed 27" overnight in Anchorage  :eek:

Lovin' every day in Alaska.  It's beautiful and as they say in Anchorage "You can see Alaska from here" :-)

[Daveinthebush]

How did you do on your caribou/bear hunt. Did you make it out?

I love it here too.  No need for health clubs in Valdez in the winter.  The snow on the roof was up over my waist!!

[Matt in AK]

Dave,

Never did get out for the December black bear hunt....too much to do at work.  The caribou hunt is scheduled for Feb 9 (assuming I'm not deployed) with Natron Air out of Soldotna.  I heard some good things about Tim Pope, pilot at Natron, and he donated a couple fly-out fishing trips to our squadron's Christmas party so some of the airmen would have be able to get out on their own adventure -- classy and generous!!!  Caribou or not it'll be an adventure for this cheechako.

Wife and kids bought me cross-country skis for Christmas and my son (9 YOA) bought himself a set as well.  We've been cruising around the base and enjoying the snow.  No health clubs needed here either...

 :-) Glad to hear your camping trip ended on a safe note.  I'm guessing the money for the tow was money well spent.  Daring souls often drown...

[Dand]

Now you know why Alaskan Natives had sense enough to make a permanent village there - If I have my history right.  Its my understanding that Native folks built their villages in the warmer, less snowy locations around the Sound.

[Daveinthebush]

Valdez was a gold town. One of the routes to the interior during the rush.

As one Athabaskin Indian in Nulato told me: "Gold! Not worth anything. too heavy to carry and too soft to make anything out of. Worthless!"

I think your correct about the placement of villages. Weather or food.  The Athabaskins had a permanent village (trade center) and seasonal camps. Trapping season camp, fishing season camp, berry season camp,  where ever the food was. Many of the villages on Norton Sound are based on the salmon runs and next to rivers. Can't think of one that isn't.

Dabigmoose should be able to confirm this if he is around.

We average 300-500 inches a year.  A coupe of years ago Valdez got 800+. :shock:

[dabigmoose]

yep
 I can back every word ol davy said about
 That Gold  being no good you take all of it and give to me to get rid of for ya.

Most of the villages were built on hunter and  gathering  supply
and there was a lot of indian and eskimo wars in the old days
So some were strategic strong holds .

Oh ya send that nasty old gold i can mold it into bullets
Dabigmoose

[Graybeard]

SNOW!!!!

It did that here once back about '93 or so I think it was. Kinda hard to remember jist what that stuff looks like we get it so seldom here.

Shoveling your roof? Say what? How you do dat? Why you do dat?

Down here a couple inches is a big snow. Happens at most every 3-4 years.

GB

[Daveinthebush]

Last week I took waist high snow off of the roof.  You have to shovel it just like any other snow.  Since then I removed another 2' and have 18" up there right now.

My entrance porch is 4 feet high and right now when I shovel it off, I am starting to shovel it up.

The driveway is 300 feet long.  I shoveled it twice last weekend.  When it gets over a foot, I hire a 4 yard bucket loader to clean it.

We have just started our snow season here in Valdez, we average 350-500 inches a year and three years ago they got a little over 800 inches.

It is great exercise and I have lost five pounds in the past week and a half!! Got to love it here!  I have not been anywhere warmer than 65 degrees in two years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[A.J.S]

Never did get stationed in Alaska.  My cold weather was in  Rockville, Iceland.

[Paul H]

Bill,

Folks shovel snow off their roofs so the weight of the snow doesn't make them collapse  :eek:

[Daveinthebush]

There are at least three places in town here where people keep snow blowers up on the roof to clear the roof off.

[DennisB]

I always hated shoveling the roof, but it sure beat dealing with ice dams backing up after a chinook.