I don’t mind the winters in Canada although I grew up in the tropics. I have no desire to go south for the winter. I’m not fond on sand, saltwater and beaches in general. I like to ski, both Alpine and Nordic, and to snowshoe. Hot weather and humidity do not impress me. As with most things in life, you have to dress appropriately for the cold and know your limitations.
Baby it's cold outside
- Thread starter R181
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The coldest I’ve experienced is -35C/ -31F without windchill. It was many years ago in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Vermilion Bay, Ontario. My daughter and her husband lived for awhile in Pond Inlet, Baffin Island where winter temperatures are commonly around -30C. They enjoyed it, but they were young and foolish and the time.
It can be mandated by law in whichever province or territory you happen to be in. Some mandate it and some don't. It can get tricky if you are travelling in the winter out of your home province or territory. AFAIK you have to comply with the laws of the province or territory you happen to be in while travelling so you can't go wrong with having winter tires on in winter regardless.
Bob
You can tell if you are in an area that gets really cold temps in winter by the prolific appearance of block heater plugins hanging out of vehicle grills. Bet you don't see you many in southern Ontario.
Bob
Nope, none to be seen around where I live. When I lived in Montreal and Ottawa they were de rigueur, as I suspect they are in Thunder Bay along with battery warmers.
Yes, pretty much except the electric battery warmers/blanket. Where I worked for 34 odd years you were allowed to plug in your cars block heater only. The electricians would check and see if you were drawing more than block heater would. If you were the solution was to cut the plugin end off your vehicle and remove your extension cord to which the car plugin was attached. That prevented too many people drawing too much and causing a power outage which would severely piss off the out going shift when a lot of their cars would not start.
Bob
HereticHermit
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I do not wish it upon anyone to live in such frigid weather. It is simply wretched to be in Canada at this time of year, I am sure.
But to share anecdotally, at heights it is just unimaginable misery for lads in green. Forward posts have no heating. My bother sleeps with his light MG because if left in cold, it will simply jam. He wakes up every 2 hour in night to do his 2 min PT drill (while still asleep) or else water content in Capillaries will freeze, leading to death while sleeping. You don’t feel hungry even after acclimatization and canned rations just make one puke, so mess keep working almost 24x7 since it roughly takes about 4 hour to cook fresh meals even using pressure cookers. No one find those those protein and chocolate bars tasty after few bites so they keep piling up at supply base and sent up only on demand. Only tetra pack of mango pulp drinks are accepted because they are 'better' defense against stray bullets that find way into their camp. His cabin is plastered wall to wall those as fortification walls made of small rocks simply shatter on impact. Standing eye to eye against each other, at pre determined intervals (mutually agreed) they fire off their Howitzers into each other's territory such that Guns don’t jam. Amidst all this 28% of young lads still in early 30s have to take premature retirement because some organ or body function just can’t cope with prolonged exposures to these temperatures and gives up.
That, I think is real misery of having to rough it out in such low temperatures.
It is most certainly not wretched in Canada during winter by comparison to what you describe your brother is enduring at altitude in the mountains. Thank you very much for sharing this insight on the conditions they are facing in the mountains and how they are dealing with those. This puts the brutal reality of what is going on there for those involved in a context that is not seen in the brief and scant reports we get in the media over here. Calling it misery is a severe understatement.
Bob
When I lived in Ottawa in the 1970s I was a scoutmaster. One of the important skills we taught the boys was winter survival. Ottawa winters are very cold and snowy, so each year we held a winter survival course over a long weekend in Gatineau Park, a wilderness reserve across the river from Ottawa in Quebec; no amenities or facilities there in those days. The course included, among other things, snowshoeing, orienteering, how to dress for extreme cold, building a fire and cooking meals in the cold, building a shelter for sleeping and actually sleeping two nights in it, maintaining bodily hygiene, first aid, etc. All the gear would be carried into the bush by the boys on sleds they built and pulled; all of us wore snowshoes because the snow was very deep. We all had a lot of fun and learnt a lot, especially the importance of being prepared and properly equipped for extreme cold. I should point out that the best time to do this was when the temperature was well below freezing as the snow was “dry” and didn’t melt on your clothing or gear.
Twelvefret
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I participated in similar winter training while being a member of CASARA, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. It was informative and at times uncomfortable but nowhere near what somewhat similar circumstances when done at high altitude for extended periods of time. The first is manageable while the second borders on insane.
Even with the less rigorous winter conditions in Canada, every year uninitiated and unprepared people die of exposure/freeze to death. This is a recent example.
Bob
Twelvefret
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22F here and upper 40's and sunny today.
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I'll bet it is. It would feel pretty good up here though after these past few weeks.
Bob
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