What it’s like living in the coldest town on Earth

Post by awor » Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 2:40 AM UTC

proveanegative wrote: post #30

grecy wrote: post #14

I live in Whitehorse, Yukon. Last week it was -37C for a few days, I rode my bike/walked to work every day. I've been out Caribou hunting in -48C snowshoeing around right near the Arctic Circle. Snag is just down the road, where it was once -63.9C (-83F) - the coldest temp ever recorded in North America.[1] I'm originally from Australia, so this kind of thing is Alien to me, and I think I do a decent job of explainin…

How good is your Internet connection and cell phone coverage? Do you see weather-related interruptions of service frequently?

Post by awor » Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 2:52 AM UTC

ctdonath wrote: post #42

cbd1984 wrote: post #2

> people here regularly consume frozen meat Unless they eat it while it's still frozen, why is this noteworthy? Also: > Most people use outhouses, because indoor plumbing tends to freeze. This is due to their poverty, not the cold. If it was just cold there, as opposed to cold and impoverished, they could either keep water constantly running through the pipes, or, if that won't work, insulate them better, possibly wi…

Methinks you're severely overlooking the cost of maintaining temperate-lifestyle behavior in deeply frozen environments. Thawing meat takes time & energy. It may very well be more convenient to just eat it frozen, especially if you're working outside and your lunch is frozen by ambient temperatures as the norm. Keep water constantly running thru the pipes That's a LOT of water - where do you get it from? where do you…

Post by _delirium » Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 4:49 AM UTC

exprE wrote: post #68

ptaipale wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool (sic). We don't have them mandatory in new cars - presumably because it would be a trade barrier within EU to require them only here, and we're too small to force the Mediterranians have them. [edit] BTW there is a legend here that in Siberia people actually keep a fire under engines to warm it up. I even found a photograph of lorries to support this: http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/art/photography/workers.…

If I had to guess, the reason why block heaters aren't mandatory is because they are rarely necessary, especially with petrol engines. Helpful perhaps, but not necessary. (Yet I do have a petrol-operated heater to help reduce harmful emissions and possibly engine stress -- if only I remembered to use it those rare occasions I store the car in the cold. I've yet to come across a situation where a car wouldn't start be…

Post by ptaipale » Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 7:51 AM UTC

_delirium wrote: post #85

exprE wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I had to guess, the reason why block heaters aren't mandatory is because they are rarely necessary, especially with petrol engines. Helpful perhaps, but not necessary. (Yet I do have a petrol-operated heater to help reduce harmful emissions and possibly engine stress -- if only I remembered to use it those rare occasions I store the car in the cold. I've yet to come across a situation where a car wouldn't start be…

Yes, I think it has to do with most of the Scandinavian population being in areas that just don't get cold enough to need a block heater. Many people have one anyway, but a modern car doesn't really need a heater until it gets below about -20 C. And the biggest Scandinavian cities (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Oslo, Aarhus, Bergen, Malmö) rarely get that cold. A typical winter day in those cities is gray, hover…

Post by ptaipale » Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 10:24 AM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #88

ptaipale wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have engine block heaters in cars in Yukon? In Scandinavia we have electric heaters installed to engine blocks for people who keep their cars outside. The heaters are typically in the 500 W range and keeping it on for an hour before starting up the car in the morning makes the starting a lot easier. We also have cabin heaters for cars (typically in the 1000 W range) but they are more for the convenience (but a…

Interesting. My dad has a "Webasto" system, which is essentially a tiny, diesel(or petrol,if your car uses petrol) powered heater, which heats up the coolant - when you turn it on(it has a remote) it also turns the fans on, warming up the engine and the interior. And it uses the fuel from your tank(it has its own fuel pump), so it doesn't deplete your battery to heat up the interior.