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Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

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Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#161

Post by euroderf »

mattikl wrote: post #18
slillibri wrote: post #2

The main lesson I learned was I didn’t have to live in a snowy place. I left SW Michigan in 2000 and haven’t looked back. I don’t like being cold, but I loathe snow and ice.

I've lived all my life in Finland, even though all through my early adulthood I was planning to move to some place much warmer. But later (especially now with children for whom the snow is so exciting) I've come to like the four seasons and the balance it gives. That article was a strange read from my perspective, because here the infrastructure is built for winters as well. I don't remember school ever being cancele…

Yes but then in spring come the freeze-thaw cycles that make every town a skating rink. Sand & grit barely rate as halfway measures. More-aggressive snow removal and pavement scraping would help.

I've been obsessed longtime about how (or, better: whether) robots could remove the ice from pavements, but I only see tech challenge after tech challenge.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#163

Post by cess11 »

walletdrainer wrote: post #120
cess11 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I prefer military boots, they have no branding and are typically designed and tested for decent longevity and comfort. My current ones are Bundeswehr surplus, I believe Meindl produced them. They cost about 60 euros or so, never been used. Pick a size larger than you would usually do, unless they're explicitly designed as winter boots. In cold weather you'll want wool socks as well as regular socks and that requires…

You can certainly get cheap Bundeswehr surplus boots, but you should know that soldiers don’t typically choose those if given a choice. When given a choice, soldiers will tend to choose something like Salomon Toundra.

Yeah, I know, I've been in the military, but my requirements are much simpler. I'm not going to walk fifty to seventy kilometers per day in them, and I also don't want to spend as much time taking care of my boots as they do. If I happen to walk through a bog too many and the stench gets permanent it feels better to get a replacement pair if they cost like 60 euros rather than 2-300.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#164

Post by cess11 »

Regarding 5, the colder it is, the quicker the snow will settle and become hard to shovel by hand. Not like when it thaws and refreezes, but if it is -25 C you'll want to move most of it while it is falling or shortly after. It is likely the snow particles are very small and it will become very dense if allowed to sit for a while.

Regarding 6, you can't shovel snow fast. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Don't use a regular shovel, there are sled-like contraptions that allow you to push the snow around on the ground and that will allow you to bring it further with less effort. Dress appropriately, you don't want to become too sweaty and you are going to figure out an equilibrium where your heat and sweat production stabilises your temperature, or you're going to have to take breaks and on average get less done per unit time.

Regarding 9, if you don't have an axe, get one. In harsh conditions tools are what keep you alive and things like axes and knives are part of the basic equipment you need to have and take good care of. You do not split the wood indoors, do not bring it indoors unless it is split in small enough parts that lighting it will be easy.

Also, you should really avoid using wood that hasn't had good shelter up until time of use. Moist wood will add a lot of soot to your chimney and you are likely not able to clear it yourself, meaning that you run the risk of a chimney fire.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#165

Post by joshvm »

degosuke wrote: post #84
computerdork wrote: post #23

Moved a year ago from California to northern Michigan. To add to this list, specifically regarding "Do NOT get wet and cold": o If you're walking out in the cold, have many different ways to keep your feet and your hands warm, because usually, you'll have a good-enough coat and winter-pants that'll keep your core relatively warm, but it's the very ends of your extremities that get cold (just got a small amount of fro…

Any recommendations about the boots? Or what to check for?

Baffin make some of the best cold weather boots. We use them in Antarctica, though you probably don't want the chonky -70C rated ones. I have some lighter boots rated for about -40 and they're great. Really any good gore tex mid-ankle hiking boot is probably fine. Whether you need cold rated boots is going to depend on where you're walking.

Your main concern is to stay dry and minimize snow incursion. Either wear ski pants that act as gaiters, use gaiters or use boots and socks that are high enough that you won't get snow down the sides.

If you buy boots with insulation, try not to compress it. Otherwise be aware that if you don't keep moving, your boots will eventually cool to ambient and it's pretty hard to get that temperature back up.

Check grip? Hard to test but warm doesn't necessarily mean any good on slick ice. Spikes work well if you're going on a hike and there's a lot of packed snow mixed with ice.

Don't forget good socks. Doesn't need to be anything fancy, but wool is by far the best material (not necessarily merino as it tends to be too thin). You may need to size up because of the extra padding.

Also luxury, but fan assisted boot drying/warming stations are great. They make quite a big difference if you go out a lot because moisture build-up takes ages to dry otherwise.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#166

Post by ghtbircshotbe »

computerdork wrote: post #23

Moved a year ago from California to northern Michigan. To add to this list, specifically regarding "Do NOT get wet and cold": o If you're walking out in the cold, have many different ways to keep your feet and your hands warm, because usually, you'll have a good-enough coat and winter-pants that'll keep your core relatively warm, but it's the very ends of your extremities that get cold (just got a small amount of fro…

Get boots a size too big to wear multiple layers of wool socks.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#167

Post by [deleted] »

yokoprime wrote: post #25

> In the first really heavy winter storm of the year, your power might go off. This is understandable Having lived in Norway most of my 40+ years on this earth, I can with some confidence say that this is not an universal truth. I don’t think I’ve experienced any power interruption of over 1 hour in winter ever, and it’s been at least 5 years since the last time. Yes it snows here. A lot.

[deleted]

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#168

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

dlcarrier wrote: post #59
brettgriffin wrote: post #4

Put winter tires on your vehicles. I'm surprised by the number of people who tool around in snow and ice in 'all season' tires. Also, that writing tone is obnoxious.

I'm in the foothills in Northern California, and I've never met anyone here that changes their ties out for winter. When there's chain controls, they'll let you through if you have winter rated tires, including all-season, and all-wheel drive, otherwise you need chains. Everyone I know who drives a lot in the snow gets a vehicle with all-wheel drive and everyone else carries chains. (really they're cables, on a small…

All-season tires are not winter rated. They are 3.5 season at best. True winter usage only exists in all-weather or snow tires with the 3PMS symbols.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#169

Post by boringg »

yokoprime wrote: post #25

> In the first really heavy winter storm of the year, your power might go off. This is understandable Having lived in Norway most of my 40+ years on this earth, I can with some confidence say that this is not an universal truth. I don’t think I’ve experienced any power interruption of over 1 hour in winter ever, and it’s been at least 5 years since the last time. Yes it snows here. A lot.

This article is a bit painful to read. It should be lessons from living in the remote wildnerness in winter. Pretty much all those problems are relative to rural infrastructure and poor home building. If you live in an area with heavy snow load you want an A-frame roof to de-load the roof (for example see: Tahoe, CA ~ 500-800" snow a year).
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