[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

The fine print in the OP clearly states that Finns and Canadians aren't eligible for the winning prize.

Dammit.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Pffft. Spent two years working the oil fields in Northern Alberta. You know what we called -20? Spring.

The native Inuit would be walking around in t-shirts at that temp.

Seriously, once you go from around -60C (near -80F) to only -20C or so, it feels like spring. People would no longer wear a hat or gloves, and would bring out their lighter jackets, it feels a LOT warmer.

Also, at around -60, steel has a tendency to shatter, like wheels and driveshafts. We would also leave our trucks running for pretty much 2 months (Jan/Feb) straight in the winter. If we ever shut them off and they got down to ambient, pretty good chance they would not start till spring.

We experienced that during an inversion effect in CO last year. Was -25 at the base of the mountain and was 5 at the top. Turned into an icicle waiting to get on the Gondola, felt down right warm when you got off. Weird.

[Fahrvergnügen]

Originally Posted by RABAUKE

I was in Edmonton 3 years ago and it was -59C. That's just wrong. I was on course with the Canadian and US Navy for Icex a few times and -40C was the norm in Quebec City in February. It was warmer under the ice.

Are people posting actual temps or wind chill temps? -59C (-74F) seems a bit far-fetched considering the coldest temp ever recorded in Canada was -63C (-81F) in Yukon territory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._ever_recorded

I used to work in oil & gas on the North Slope of Alaska (200 miles north of the arctic circle. In February, it was a desolate, cold place where you have to connect your car to keep it charged if it was parked, even that place was only ~-29C (-20F) on average... wind chill of course made it 20-40 degrees colder.

Edit: looks like the lowest temp ever in Edmonton was -49C (-57F) so you must be posting wind chill temps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton#Climate

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Lups

Yeah, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a reporter. I didn't fancy writing the bs that's financial news or cat shows, so politics and crises was my to be path.

...

911 happened when I was still there and I didn't feel like writing for 40 years that we are fucking it all up. I got over that dream real fast.

Yeah I see Anna . But I need to say it still sounds interesting .

And I'm sure with your words you're able to stop a war !

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

We experienced that during an inversion effect in CO last year. Was -25 at the base of the mountain and was 5 at the top. Turned into an icicle waiting to get on the Gondola, felt down right warm when you got off. Weird.

It's amazing really. Live in -50 to -60 for a couple months and -20 really feels warm. Same goes for the other extremes. When my sister came back from a tour in Afghanistan, she arrived and we were having some pretty hot weather 32C to 35C (around 90F- 95F??). She was actually freezing. Sitting there with a sweater on shivering. But she was used to 45C-50C or 115F-120F temps.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Lups

Dude germans learned one thing from the world war two: All vehicles must handle Russia.


(yes, I know, a bad one, but my family always had citroens when I was growing up, and those guys learned nothing from their history!)

[Lups]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Pffft. Spent two years working the oil fields in Northern Alberta. You know what we called -20? Spring.

The native Inuit would be walking around in t-shirts at that temp.

Seriously, once you go from around -60C (near -80F) to only -20C or so, it feels like spring. People would no longer wear a hat or gloves, and would bring out their lighter jackets, it feels a LOT warmer.

Also, at around -60, steel has a tendency to shatter, like wheels and driveshafts. We would also leave our trucks running for pretty much 2 months (Jan/Feb) straight in the winter. If we ever shut them off and they got down to ambient, pretty good chance they would not start till spring.

Holy shit, you've had one rough job man! How hard was it for the equipment to handle the (okay, shortage of words hit me, so try to figure this out) way metal shrinks and expands in those temperatures? I can imagine dehydration becomes a serious issue there? That's the one I remember being the worst on camps in lapland.

I can believe this, since we've had a few colder days here (cold as in USA cold) and I am now again walking around in t shirts, since it's barely freezing again.


It's also weird, how humidity makes the weather feel a lot colder than it is. Most days when it's above 32f, I at least complain a lot more than when it hits minus side of the thermometer.

[ciaranob]

Ran some classes and did some work up in Fort McMurray where it was -50F on the mine floor (Muskeg River Mine) - hardly any wind that day but all it took was a 10 mile an hour breeze to bite you face off!! Different part of the world indeed!

Originally Posted by Fahrvergnügen

Are people posting actual temps or wind chill temps? -59C (-74F) seems a bit far-fetched considering the coldest temp ever recorded in Canada was -63C (-81F) in Yukon territory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._ever_recorded

I used to work in oil & gas on the North Slope of Alaska (200 miles north of the arctic circle. In February, it was a desolate, cold place where you have to connect your car to keep it charged if it was parked, even that place was only ~-29C (-20F) on average... wind chill of course made it 20-40 degrees colder.

Edit: looks like the lowest temp ever in Edmonton was -49C (-57F) so you must be posting wind chill temps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton#Climate

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Lups

Holy shit, you've had one rough job man! How hard was it for the equipment to handle the (okay, shortage of words hit me, so try to figure this out) way metal shrinks and expands in those temperatures? I can imagine dehydration becomes a serious issue there? That's the one I remember being the worst on camps in lapland.

Ya, have to drink a LOT of water, it is so damn dry. Nobody dressed for fashion, it was purely about survival. Many layers and everybody wore big pipeliner boots rated for -100 or so. Equipment just broke more often, mostly due to being brittle. Stuff like tires exploding and rims shattering just happened every once in a while. You fixed it and went on with surviving. Things that you don't really think about became pretty common, like vehicles overheating surprisingly. The coolant in the rad would sometimes freeze solid while driving, had to watch your gauges closely. As soon as it started to overheat, you had to stop driving, pull over and let the rad thaw. After 10 or 20 mins you could start driving again.

[KennySRFElite]

There are alot of you that live and work in areas colder than my -16F. That life is not easy, and I commend you for it, especially if you are in the service, I got the heat, snakes, and spiders of Fort Polk Louisianna. Saturday was cold but if you where covered it was no problem. Bring on the snow, it's fun to drive in!
KP

[Lups]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Ya, have to drink a LOT of water, it is so damn dry. Nobody dressed for fashion, it was purely about survival. Many layers and everybody wore big pipeliner boots rated for -100 or so. Equipment just broke more often, mostly due to being brittle. Stuff like tires exploding and rims shattering just happened every once in a while. You fixed it and went on with surviving. Things that you don't really think about became pretty common, like vehicles overheating surprisingly. The coolant in the rad would sometimes freeze solid while driving, had to watch your gauges closely. As soon as it started to overheat, you had to stop driving, pull over and let the rad thaw. After 10 or 20 mins you could start driving again.

Lol, epic! It's insane to read that, but then again, if there are oil, humans will come. How long did you work there? And dude, what the hell happened to you that you decided to accept that job? I mean, how did you talk yourself in to it?

Make sure to tell all these to your kids if you'll have any. Stories from extreme conditions are something especially tiny boys love (see, you got used, I'm gonna look very cool in the breakfast table in a few hours!). I withdraw myself from the race, you should be seen as the bp cold weather expert (until some other Canadian comes to report they hunt extra fluffy polar bears from the pole area only as their job).

The dehydration is the weirdest thing, at summer time, especially below canada/ finland circle you get thirsty, then you faint. In the north it's you faint, and die in the snow. You just don't feel the thirst. As for fashion, I can't comment. My current winter hat is 60 years old, a third generation heirloom and I leave the house only using an exit route that keeps me clear of all mirrors in a seriously cold day.

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Because you left for work so late slacker!

Leave at 5am and it would probably be -20!

That temperature is beyond me. Does it hurt your lungs when you get in the car? Do you have to run the AC on the car to keep cool with all of those layers?

Nah, doesn't hurt your lungs. Unless you suck in too much of it, then its sort of a dry / biting sort of feel...hard to describe, but that's the way I would put it. And that's only at -40 or so with the chill. You just pace yourself and breathe steady and you are ok. But I have no idea what it would be like at -50 or less, I imagine much the same.

It's honestly not that bad if you dress for the weather. I've got some nice boots - rated for -72. Man are they warm. So warm. And so light too (Baffin boots). I was going to go with a pair of Sorels, but they are just too heavy when compared to Baffin. Highly recommended.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

Nah, doesn't hurt your lungs. Unless you suck in too much of it, then its sort of a dry / biting sort of feel...hard to describe, but that's the way I would put it. And that's only at -40 or so with the chill. You just pace yourself and breathe steady and you are ok. But I have no idea what it would be like at -50 or less, I imagine much the same.

It's honestly not that bad if you dress for the weather. I've got some nice boots - rated for -72. Man are they warm. So warm. And so light too (Baffin boots). I was going to go with a pair of Sorels, but they are just too heavy when compared to Baffin. Highly recommended.

I can knit a hat, or a shirt, even mittens but wool socks are too hightech for me! Those are the shit in the winter time, and the only reason my sisterinlaw is alive. I doubt my motherinlaw would make me new ones if I did the things to her I often dreamed about when she visits us.

I'm googling the brand of shoes you mentioned! You're my shopping guide now!

[DieselOG]

My 12' TDI -34°F
335d- Cranked over at -18° the other day so I'm satisfied

[Lups]

Originally Posted by DieselOG

My 12' TDI -34°F
335d- Cranked over at -18° the other day so I'm satisfied

My dad's last winter before he got sick was an epic shit show.

For once, we had a beautiful and extremely cold winter. My dad in his great wisdom decided they needed a new car, since citroen they had had mild electrical issues (I mean everything broke to bits in a two year old car).

He traded their old beauty to a new one, a C4 picasso. It was a very nice family hobby, and I got so familiar with towing them to places I stopped taking off the hook from my car.

Funny, but none of the issues battery related. I never did figure out what exactly went wrong with it daily, and neither did the dealership the car visited very regularly. I'm glad they bought it though, thinking about that damn car brings back a lot of happy memories for me these days.

[eluded]

It's 40° right now. Been going on for three weeks. This cold wave needs to go. Just not right

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Lups

Lol, epic! It's insane to read that, but then again, if there are oil, humans will come. How long did you work there? And dude, what the hell happened to you that you decided to accept that job? I mean, how did you talk yourself in to it?

Was way back in my younger years. Started University honestly too young, dropped out half way through my first year. Was not really doing anything and then got offered a job through a friend of a family friend. Said why not, was on a flight within a week, out west. Spent two years out there. It was a "town" of about 180 people, a lot of young guys making healthy 6 figure incomes with nothing to do during their time off, so there was a lot of alcohol and drug abuse and all the ills that come with that. If you were not into fishing or hunting ( I would rather go to the Opera ) there really was nothing to do except leave town. Edmonton was the closest city, and that was 5 hours driving straight south away, half of it on gravel roads.

The darkness in the winter hit me the hardest, only getting 2-3 hours of daylight in the winter. Had to get out before I put a bullet in my head, so I returned to University to finish my Engineering degree.

I still get hit my SAD pretty bad every winter since. Actually, it was getting better until my first wife passed away suddenly 6 years ago, and is now worse again.

Sorry for the sidetrack OP.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Was way back in my younger years. Started University honestly too young, dropped out half way through my first year. Was not really doing anything and then got offered a job through a friend of a family friend. Said why not, was on a flight within a week, out west. Spent two years out there. It was a "town" of about 180 people, a lot of young guys making healthy 6 figure incomes with nothing to do during their time off, so there was a lot of alcohol and drug abuse and all the ills that come with that. If you were not into fishing or hunting ( I would rather go to the Opera ) there really was nothing to do except leave town. Edmonton was the closest city, and that was 5 hours driving straight south away, half of it on gravel roads.

The darkness in the winter hit me the hardest, only getting 2-3 hours of daylight in the winter. Had to get out before I put a bullet in my head, so I returned to University to finish my Engineering degree.

I still get hit my SAD pretty bad every winter after that.

Sorry for the sidetrack OP.

That's epic! I showed my mildly obsessive son the rough area you worked at, and told him the stories you told here. The little smart ass (we too have like 4hours of sunlight per day now) said he will be a solar power engineer and he is going to find a school in Italy to be one.

"pizza, pasta, sun and no freezing temperatures. I have my life plan set!"

The darkness doesnt bother me. I love walking on frozen lakes with the dogs and ice fishing is so incredibly dull it makes everything feel better after you give up (I'm not much for opera, but I'd pick that over sitting on a lake waiting for the magical moment when I give up any day!) and go home. After the snow falls, it feels like seven suns have been set to shine upon me.

... If we get snow. If not, I too go nuts with the darkness.

[upstatedoc]

5 degrees on the way into work this morning