It snowed last night

[Sourdough]

Well we got our first snow of the season last night.  We went to friends for dinner last night, and on the way home we saw snow flakes in the head lights at times.  this morning the drive and street are white.  Not enough to cover the grass in the front yard yet, but they say we have more coming.  Temp has been down in the 20 during the day for the last week.  In the low teens and single digits at night.  Time to move my reloading bench so we can get the wife's car inside.  Sky and I dragged the snow machines out from under the shed Friday.  Parked the wife's RX-8 and Sky's Miata under the shed and removed the batteries.  I'm going to drive my Miata this winter.  Better mileage than the one ton, 30 vs 12.  Wife commandeered Sky's S-10, cause she can't reach the clutch on the new Jeep I bought for her.  Sky's OK with it gives him and his new girl friend more room than the little cab of the S-10. 

Drove into Fairbanks yesterday to attend a gun show.  There was a big puddle that had frozen, and no one would park on it.  It was only three spaces from the front door, so I parked there.  I was driving my one ton truck, and thought nothing about it.  I parked and went inside.  While I was inside the ice gave way and broke dropping my rear wheels a foot.  When I came out a couple of GIs were looking at it.  When I walked up I pointed out to the fellows how you need to be careful where you park, now that everything is frozen.  I then got into the big truck and drove away.  I had locked it into 4X before going inside, thinking the ice would probably give way while I was inside.

Wife wants me to drive her to work tomorrow.  It will be what we call major crash day.  First snow of the year, and all the new people will be running into everything.  In fact it will be that way for the next two weeks.  The GIs learn fast, it's their wives that don't, and won't spend the money for new wheels and studded tires.  We got a bunch of new GIs this summer at Ft Wainwright.  As we do every summer.  Seems half are driving cars and trucks with those big wheels and wide low profile tires.  It'll take them about a week to realize they need different tires and wheels.  Studs are a big benefit too.  In many cases they had just bought the new big wheels and wide tires before coming up here.  Now the wife is balking at the spendy idea of another set of wheels and tires.  ^They don't see anything wrong with the ones they got.  I went through that with my wife when I first brought her to North Pole.  The third time I had to go and pull her out of the ditch on her way to work the first day, she decided to let me take her car and get new wheels and studded tires.  The third time she was on a good straight road on base, and was traveling at 35mph.  When she lost it she went 15 yards out into a big field.  That scared her.  She took my Jeep and I took her car to the BX gas station for studded tires.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.  Few more inches and we will be out looking for predators.  I like at least four inches before I drive the snow machines. (To you guys they are Snowmobiles, but to people in Alaska they are Snow Machines.  And Sno Gos for guys like Dand who live out in the bush).

[williamlayton]

It is not news about it snowing in Alaska-----Houston, Texas---YES. 
Blessings

[buck460XVR]

We had our first snowfall last week. Didn't stay long, but a reminder of what's to come.





Came down pretty hard for a while......

[mechanic]

Sourdough, as a fella'  that lives in Georgia, where sometimes we will get into the teens for a day or two and consider it a major event, I have no idea what I would do with myself in the kind of cold you guys get.
 
What kind of clothing do you wear in extreme cold?  Wool, down, or sythetic?  Do the Under Armor cold gear type of things work there?  What kind of footgear?  Down here even when it is what we consider cold, I find insulated boots work against me, because my feet sweat before I get to where I'm hunting.  Uninsulated boots seem fine with good socks, but I can't imagine what you guys do.
 
Ben

[Poopers]

Here is Kalispell, MT we had snow on ( I think ) the 1st or 2nd of October, but it didnt amount to anything in these lower elevations. It dumped good in the mountains though

[Ranger99]

had a couple of inches of unfinished
snow.
just needed to be frozen and it would
have been done.


maybe in a coupla months. . . .

[Sourdough]

From now on I will be wearing thermal underwear under jeans and a long sleeve cotton shirt.  When it goes below zero I start wearing wool shirts and pants.  Below zero if I am going to be outside for a while I will wear insulated Carhart Bibs and Jackets.  If I am just going to go into town I wear a Wool Coat with a Goose Down vest over it.  I wear sneakers till it's below zero, then I wear Bunny Boots.  Bunny Boots are good till 65 below.  Your feet will sweat but not get cold till down to 40 below.  After that your feet won['t sweat, but are still warm.

I tried some of that underarmor earlier this year when we went hunting.  I was not impressed, did not help keep me warm.  For snowmachining I wear a suite I got from Cabela's over my regular clothes, with bunny boots, fur hat, and fur mittens.  Don't care what anybody says nothing is warmer than natural materials like Wool, Goose Down, and Fur.

When it gts down below 40 below it hurts to be outside.  There is a big difference between 40 below and 60 below.  I have had to work outside at 70 below, believe me we did not stay outside long.  Have not seen those low temps for a number of years now.  The last time I saw 50 below was three years ago.  Last two years we just had 25 and 30 below mostly for real cold weather.  Most of the time it's 10 to 15 below and that is just annoying.  We go skiing, or ride snowmachines at that temp.  I have enev gong Moose hunting where it gets to -15 during the day and camp out in a tent at 30 below.  Three or four years ago I got stranded and had to spend the night out on the river bed at 35 below, without a tent.  I only had a sleeping bag, a machete, one can of sterno(I had to save that to warm the snowmachine in the morning) and the clothes I was wearing.  Built a shelter and spent a comfortable night.  It was in the morning that was not comfortable.  I had to rawl out at 35 below and start the machine.  Then thaw out breakfast and eat while the machine warmed up.

[oldandslow]

"It snowed last night". And you are welcome to every flake of it.  It would be nice if we didn't get one flake of snow here this winter. Everyone says "oooh, it's so pretty". Pretty big mess is all.

[Conan The Librarian]

We're off to an early winter here in Minnesota. Some unusually cool temps lately. No snow yet, but it may as well have snowed considering the temps. There has been snow in the northern part of the state, though.

[mechanic]

Some years ago, it got down to -5 here in Ga. for several days.  I had taken some time off work to go hunting, and cold or not, I went.  It didn't take me long to realize that I was out of my element, and about to get in trouble.  I just did not have the proper clothing for that cold.  I spent a mizerable hour on a stand shivering, then decided I had better get home before hypothermia set in.
 
My truck had been slow to start that morning, and after setting for an hour, would not turn over at all.  Even though it had antifreeze, that checked to -25, it also had a frozen water pump, and a battery that had bit the dust.  I had to jog two miles to a telephone.
 
I waited until it warmed up before trying that again, and have since bought some better cold weather gear.  That kind of cold is very rare here, but we often see the teens, and even then, most of us are unprepared.
 
Knowledge is power, and ignorance kills...
 
Ben

[Ranger99]

mr. mechanic sir,
i think you live in the humidity belt
like i do. polypro drawers is what you
need. lets all that body moisture go
away and lets your skin stay dry.
also check if wiggy's is still in business.
they sell (or used to) nylon fishnet drawers
that help with the cold & wet.