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Just live in the Alaskan Interior for a few years…then tell me about winter. Been there, done that. Whole new mindset. And skill set.
Just live in the Alaskan Interior for a few years…then tell me about winter. Been there, done that. Whole new mindset. And skill set.
Hmm, no.
There’s a certain level of cold and snow I can tolerate. That’s more than I can deal with.That and the whole mosquito being the state bird thing.
No point in suffering intentionally.
Winter? What winter? First day of Spring, and we had a high today of 90°F. We had to CLOSE the doors and windows to keep COOL. And we’re not even anywhere near either coast – as far from the Atlantic as you can get and still be in the State (less than 10 miles from the western border), and more than halfway up from the Gulf. Bizarre!
And I’m with WB. I did enough Detroit and especially Buffalo winters to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Alaskan interior couldn’t lure me at ANY price.
Spent a couple winters on the North Slope (Prudhoe Bay Alaska). That’s a whole different sort of experience beyond just being cold and living with snow.
It is amazing how quickly you can dry out in a frozen desert like that. It isn’t chilling to go out in the wind there, it actually burns the skin. In less than 30 seconds, my eyelashes froze together. Brushing them just broke them all off, then my eyelids started to “stick”. That got painful quick, but that cold, dry air got to my eyeballs the moment I stepped out into it, making them water so much, which is why my eyelashes and eyelids froze up. A snorkel hood on your park is an absolute must, and snow goggles or glasses are highly desirable. The only way to stay warm without a portable heat source is to bundle in bulk, and that makes routine movement quite labored and restrictive. Bending down to do up your boots will make you winded. The constant cold, dry, and darkness amplifies the silence of mid day, when the winds die down enough, and you can hear your heartbeat as the insulation and extra exertion makes the thumping in your chest more apparent. I never had trouble falling asleep at the end of every workday, which was everyday up there. There are no animals, no trees, no bushes, just shades of gray from black to white, as there is not enough light for color vision. At the edge of winter, I saw a wolverine tear apart a caribou trapped in a drift over the course of about 15 minutes.
In my experience, I will take the deep, dark cold of the north over the middle eastern deserts every time. I really dislike being hot. But that particular region was the worst.
I wish I could have spent more time there. Things I remember about Alyeska.
The ice fog. The drunk natives. Wolves. Plug in’s everywhere. Goggles. Glasses fogged right up couldn’t wear them. Caribou meat. Military ice roads to nowhere. Driving to there in December thru BC. Why the hell didn’t I take the ferry. Solitude. Northern lights, fantastic. Iditarod. White bunny boots. Lots of dark for us vampires. Very nice. The spirit world.-
This reply was modified 4 years ago by
Brulen.
It IS surreal in Alaska, especially winter. Stillness of the snow, the Lights shimmering across the stars.
Yes you can die in a few minutes if you don’t pay attention. Even in summer, a stupid move in your boat or canoe, and the deceptively sluggish-looking river sucks you under its glacial silt at a terrifying pace. 34′ water gives you about 3 minutes. They MIGHT find your body in the spruce logjams weeks later, probably not.
If you have lots of expensive equipment and a good log home–and plenty of supplies, it’s great. If you are poor and old, not so much.
And I agree, the mosquitoes are another hazard. The Armed Forces did a study saying if a pilot crashed on the arctic tundra, and was still alive but not mobile, mosquitoes would drain his blood within 4 hours. The wildlife is driven to the brink of insanity by the insects. So are people.
As I said, been there, done that. Including the frozen eyelashes…. On the other hand, fresh moose and salmon taste really good. LOL
Ha ha wildartist,
Blackened salmon is only fish I eat. Delicious!
Brulen, I agree that blackened salmon is wonderful!
Sounds like a Heinrich event in the North Atlantic this year. 5 times as many bergs blocking the shipping lanes. Oppressive rain and bergs beg the question. Maunder Minimum now. Cold wet dreary summer. A summer without a summer. Big time crop losses across the board.
Summer is the greatest day of the year.
We don’t have a”normal” summer, but that’s 7000′ in the Rockies for you. -
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