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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

#121

Post by jval43 »

dlcarrier wrote: post #113
jval43 wrote: post #103

Sounds very grim. I live in a snowy part of Europe and very little of this applies, except the stay dry and warm part. Here are 2 things I learned: 1. Do what everyone else does, when they do it. And don't, when they don't. You could die. There is usually a reason even if you don't understand it right now. You don't want to find out why when you're out in the cold and freezing. 2. Buy gear locally. There's sometimes…

I'm in California. We have good cold-weather gear, you just have to get it from the right kind of store, specifically one that supplies outdoor workers.

Maybe California is a bad example. What I'm getting at is the selection for what you need is usually larger and more applicable to the conditions locally.

I see plenty of tourists with winter gear that is either insufficient, or completely over the top. Whereas if you buy locally you'd generally find the right stuff.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#122

Post by dlcarrier »

keiferski wrote: post #57

I grew up in a snowy place and I still live in one. I tell myself every year that this negative experience “builds character”, that being stuck inside forces one to be more intellectual, read more, etc. I kind of still believe that story, but as I get older it starts to feel like cope, and the sunny shores of Miami / Spain / Warm Place seem more full of life.

Also, sunlight improves your health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYnUPxG7ONk

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#123

Post by wellf »

Tor3 wrote: post #117
wellf wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The remedy is swim or air conditioning.

Swimming (where, by the way?) or air conditioning isn't helping when walking outside.

Yeah it is basically don't walk outside much when above 35C. Unless you are a weird person with a body that can handle a 10km run in such conditions! Not me.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#124

Post by dlcarrier »

jval43 wrote: post #121
dlcarrier wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in California. We have good cold-weather gear, you just have to get it from the right kind of store, specifically one that supplies outdoor workers.

Maybe California is a bad example. What I'm getting at is the selection for what you need is usually larger and more applicable to the conditions locally. I see plenty of tourists with winter gear that is either insufficient, or completely over the top. Whereas if you buy locally you'd generally find the right stuff.

I think the bigger problem is that many of the tourists don't normally spend time outside, so they are used to only having enough gear for a heated building or car, even at home.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#125

Post by ansgri »

throwaway290 wrote: post #112
coffeebeqn wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Article should be called Lessons you learn living in a place where it regularly snows but with terrible infrastructure and seemingly no societal preparedness for said regular snow

Even in deep Russia I don't think "power goes out with first winter storm" is a thing. and I thought russian infra sucked... That said I remember power could go out from a lightning storm or without any reason. But pretty rarely

Russian infra doesn’t suck that much, I guess it was overbuilt in soviet times. Armenian, on the oner hand… But they’re “societally prepared” in the sense that repairs are quick usually, and there are even some upgrades recently.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#126

Post by fuzztester »

nxpnsv wrote: post #41
colechristensen wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those of us with above ground power lines especially not in cities experience power outages. Particularly when it's near freezing and there's significant ice accumulation.

We have above ground power lines in the nordics too. They are just built to handle our climate.

how?

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#127

Post by steve_gh »

Gloves: if you have to take them off outside, brush the snow off them first, then put them in an inside pocket. You will naturally sweat a little, so the gloves will be a little damp inside even if you don't notice it. If your gloves are in an inside pocket they stay warm. Otherwise you will find that your hands freeze when you put your gloves back on.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#128

Post by kalleboo »

dlcarrier wrote: post #78
brabel wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, here in Sweden it’s mandatory to change tires. Once I did it a bit late and drove on some ice, just a little. The car was like on ice skates for a little while .

I wonder if it's a carryover of an old regulation that used to make sense. Modern all-season tires are better in snow than the best winter tires were several decades ago. Also, you need studs or chains to get traction on ice. The difference between a winter tire and a summer tire is the temperature range where the rubber stays flexible. When the rubber gets hard, it will keep its shape instead of complying with the s…

Nordic studless winter tires (different from Central European winter tires so also probably different from whatever you get in the US) do give some grip on ice, while all-seasons can be nearly as bad as summer tires. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-66968-2_...

The government has done ongoing research on these subjects and the regulations do get renewed (e.g. some properly rated all-seasons are now allowed)

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#129

Post by xxs »

hysan wrote: post #54
fwipsy wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really meant to be advice. It's the author's own experience, ironically written as if it were advice. For example: "You did bleach ten gallons of well water for long-term storage already earlier in the year, right? Good." This is sarcasm, because the author did not do that.

Ah I see. That didn’t translate well for me. Maybe because the title primed me into thinking that this was meant to be helpful.

It's obviously a self-depreciation/joke style.

There is some truth in it [that doesn't translate well over to some other part of the works]. It requires rather poor infrastructure to be present.

There has been snow for over 2 months here, with relatively low lows (-29C) but no issue like lack of electricity or water.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#130

Post by SenHeng »

I've found used snowboarding gear is best for when you need to muck around in the snow.

Mittens keep your fingers warm while still letting you handle stuff like shovels and grab at things. You can dig through snow in mittens.

Used snowboard boots tend to be fairly water proof, soft enough that you can walk in them, hard enough that you won't stub your toes and are fairly good at keeping the snow out.

Snowboard pants and jackets are both water _and_ wind proof to keep the weather out. They're baggy so your movement is not restricted. They also have a million pockets so you can carry stuff. Jackets usually have a hoodie so you can put on headphones.

When shovelling snow, don't use a shovel. Use a snow scoop. Push instead of lifting. If you have to use a shovel, use something metallic that easily slices through snow, then push them out of the way with the scoop. Don't lift.

Or get a snow blower.

If your city plows your streets, clear the snow onto the streets just as the plower passes by your house. Then you don't have to get rid of the snow yourself.

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