Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 13:07:58 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: How Cold Is It? (NVC)
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I lived in Alaska for 30 years. I spent one winter in a valley in the
Brooks Range north of the Yukon River, and it was one of the coldest of
winters ever. 'Course that far north the sun was always very low or
below the horizon from the valley and we lived in darkness or purple
shadow except when the moon was up. No solar energy for us. But even on
the darkest of nights, the night glow from the star field above
reflecting off that pure white snow provided some visibility. Got so
cold the smoke from the chimney on the cabin rose about 2 inches, slide
over the chimney edge, then tumbled down the roof to the ground.
Had neighbors in a cabin across the little valley and if you yelled
loud you could communicate in that arctic stillness. By this time of
that year - January - the cold had really settled in hard. One morning
it was so cold that the metal bolts in the hinges holding the door in
place had frost on them on the inside of the cabin, even with the old
steel barrel stove glowing cherry red hot.
As I did every morning, I went for firewood, and waited from my usual
hail from the neighbors. Nothing! Then I realized there was not a sound
anywhere. No snow crunch from walking, no Robber Jay noise, nothing. As
I went back in with my firewood, I noticed the thermometer on the tree
by the cabin had bottomed out at -40 F. How cold it really was I
couldn't tell. I was puzzled over the lack of sound outside, then it
dawned. It was so cold that sound had stopped, trapped in the cold.
Yessir, that was a winter to remember. It was so cold we had to wait for
spring thaw to hear what had been said between neighbors!!!
John Rodgers
Alaska Sourdough, Retired
88 GL Driver
Now Living in the Warm South!!!! ( Alabama where it is 6 degrees F this
morning in my patch of woods)
Loren A. Busch wrote:
>I just heard that somewhere in the 'cold zone' a local lake froze over
>so fast it caught all the frogs trying to jump into the water, froze
>them in place with their bodies in the ice and their legs sticking out
>into the air. Last report was of someone driving onto the lake in a
>Vanagon (what kind of tires??), pulling out a lawnmower and pushing it
>across the ice, harvesting the frog's legs for the local French
>restaurant. A list member maybe?
>
>
>
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