I always get a kick out of you AmeriYank's 'complaining' about the cold. Especially when some of ya'll complain about "the northern area of North Dakota.
(All these comments do NOT apply to Alaskanians
Ya'll are still SOUTH of where I/we live, which at the moment is Winnipeg. I used to live in Northern B.C. Right now, here at home it is -30/-34 outside. Just a normal winter day here at home.
But let me tell you a story about living in Northern B.C. and the guys I worked with in the sawmill. For entertainment they would sled (that's "Ski-Doo'ing to you Southerners) the fresh powder that was famous on top of Morphee Mountain. The town was located relatively close to this particular mountain, so one "could" be on top of it in about an hour and a half of sledding. They all left when it was -35 and enjoyed their climb to the top. That is where the powder is the deepest, and the fresh'est. That is fun sledding in itself.
Anyone here ever heard of an "Inversion"? That is a temperature/air mass flip-flop where there is a huge 'bubble' of warm air from somewhere else that realistically 'shouldn't be there'. This particular day the boys experienced one. They were all in their layers and proper attire for the temps that they left at, and expected for the duration. All-the-sudden it got unbearably warm. They started pulling off layers, so that they wouldn't sweat. (smart and needed in these clime's) A few of the guys took advantage of the opportunity and went all-out.
(Brief explanation of "acclimating" for those who don't know. When one's body is used to/adapted to a particular climate, it functions properly and easily. This is it's "base-line" or "normal" status.) That being said, when one has been living in 'frigid temperatures' and working outside for a number of weeks and then all-the-sudden goes to a warm climate, there's something that has to shift)
A few of these guys stripped down to their underwear and boots, and were sledding around this mountaintop for well over an hour simply enjoying the ability to be in such deep, fresh powder, and do such in the incredible "rareness" of doing such "so warmly". (-5 to -10 is incredibly warm, when you're used to -35) Oh, they had a blast and laughed and had a 'great old time'. But then the sun started to fall, and with it the temps fell, and they started layering up again, and got ready for the ride home. Which was still a fair bit away, and "back to reality".
The boys who DIDN'T strip down to their underwear were telling us about it at the sawmill the next day. The boys who DID strip down, they weren't at work for a few days. The reason is, they were atop the mountain surrounded by all that fresh, white snow-powder, for such a long time (where they'd normally be covered in many layers otherwise) that with all their exposed skin (nearly all of it) was so BADLY SUNBURNED that these guys could barely move. I shit you not. None of them even thought about 'sunscreen', and who could blame them because when your 'regular attire' is a ski-doo suit the last thing your thinking of it 'tropical stuff'.
True Story.
Another one, that I've shared before, is 3 of us having to work together in -52 out on the log decks of the sawmill. It took the 3 of us well over 45 minutes to do a job that it would normally take only 1 of us, less than 5 minutes to do. This is simply because we had our own tools in our pockets to keep them warm for the 2-3 minutes of exposure, as well as our hands under our armpits because the damned parts were so small that gloves couldn't be worn.
Side note, but at -45 the logging trucks are shut down/receiving is closed simply because too many trailer axles break in half at temperatures colder than that. It had happened too many times, and drivers in those climes are worth more than the risk. I don't know anything about 'barrels breaking' but I do know about 'whole axles' shattering. Those trailers are 72' though, not highway trailers. That's a LOT of weight on them.
Enjoy your warm, balmy, tropical climates, and know that "your worst days" are still "our normals".... HA.
