October 16, 2002 - "Winter" or "Studded Tires Rule!"

At long last, another update from the north. Sorry again for the delay! Life's getting interesting up here, which is good but it leaves me less time for communiques.

Well, according to the paper, the record lows we've been setting are only temporary. Word has it that it is supposed to be in the range of seasonal normals by this time next week. However, people here are pretty skeptical since our weather is forecast out of Edmonton and it tends to be less than accurate. We'll see!

In the meantime, here's how October has been treating us. Actually, this first picture is September 30th, but if I remember correctly, it did mostly go away before all the white stuff in the other pictures showed up.

It has been snowing off and on for several days, although there hasn't been much accumulation. However, the snow clearance here is rather different from what we're used to in the south. I haven't actually got a consistent story, but here's what I've heard:

1. The streets are never salted because it's generally too cold for salt, which only works to -30c. (This I've heard fairly consistently.) Nor do they use sand. Instead, they use gravel. It isn't nice, fine crusher dust - most pieces run half an inch to an inch or so across. The first day they used it, it was only at intersections and uphills and stuff like that. However, it was so cold and the streets had a lot of black ice that had already frozen, so the gravel just piled up on the sides in most places. It has improved since then - the addition of new snow and other factors have allowed the gravel to bite in more and actually be useful.
2. The streets are never plowed. In the winter, the snow just builds up so that you sometimes have to step up from the sidewalk to the street. I've heard this from a few sources, but other sources disagree.
3. The streets are plowed twice a year. Period. My source on this one says there was a meeting not too long ago to decide about plowing a third time each year. I don't know whether or not it's true, but I don't know how you'd decide when to use up your two runs.
4. The streets are plowed, throwing snow and gravel and crap onto the main sidewalk that runs between the hospital and downtown, which is not cleared for several days after a snowfall. My source on this one advises using the Frame Lake Trail, which he says is cleared almost immediately after it snows. I guess they really want people to use the Trail. I had abandoned it when the colder weather hit because it is about half a kilometer shorter by road, less hilly, and better lit. I don't know whether I will switch back.

One thing is for sure - I haven't seen a plow yet and there's not much evidence of anything but gravelling. While stuff has been piling up on the sides of the road, I think it is the natural result of traffic.

Here's the roads near my place yesterday morning...

I took this picture while I had Jasmine out for our morning constitutional, brief as it is most days. She looks a bit funny here because I'm probably too close to her while I take the picture with one hand and also because she's trying to see something around my legs.

Of course, the natural question that arises here is how am I getting to work? Well, I'm still biking. I took the advice of some people around town and got myself a set of studded bike tires. They're amazing. I have better traction than most things on four wheels around here. I don't think you can see the studs very well in the picture (they look kind of like bits of snow), so I've marked them to make it easier. Basically, the tires have two rows of parallel studs with an offset so there is almost always one in contact with the road surface. They work very well, even on ice-covered uphills. The only times they don't do much good is if you catch the side of an ice ridge (there's no studs on the curve of the tire, just the flat) and in loose snow. The first is no big deal because the ridges aren't very big and the studs bite almost instantly - only minor slippage. The second is like biking in sand, which is a bit trickier but I've done it before. Of course, the best solution is to avoid ridges and loose sand, which is mostly what I've done. And the studs make a neat buzzing sound on the bare asphalt!

The housing complex where I live is known locally as Disneyland for its unusual architecture. I liked it from the first time I saw it. We live in the top two stories of the pink house in the middle of the picture. Alex's bedroom is in the top floor of the turret (or whatever you want to call it) while the living room benefits from the extra windows on the second floor.

Oh, in case you're wondering - dawn is around 8:30 these days, dusk is around 6:30. Not too bad yet, but the days are definitely getting shorter all the time.

I came home from walking Jasmine yesterday evening and found Scully (Karen's dog) sitting under the edge of the house facing the wall. I took a picture of this strange behaviour...

Then I took another picture from the side, where I could see her better. I was still a bit perplexed.

When I got inside, I told Alex about Scully's antics. He was able to clear things up for me. Apparently there are mice under the house - Alex has seen the local cats catching them. He said Scully likes to watch the mice - sometimes she even climbs over the wall and gets underneath the house. I hope Jasmine doesn't notice and try to join her!

That's all for now - I'll try to get more on soon, but I need to scan some in first. Take care and stay well everyone.

Jan

PS: If you're wondering what constitutes record cold temperatures here, the high temperature on Saturday was about -8c. That's not counting the almost perpetual wind chill which (I'm delighted to report) is almost always caused by a headwind when I'm commuting to work. It hasn't been above freezing for a while now and the nights have been around -10c. Last night it got down to -16c. It's like having a Halifax winter now (minus the rain), but the Yellowknife winter is yet to come.

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