It snowed last night. That means that when I woke up, the world was blanketed in two inches of soft, white powder. I had, on short notice, agreed to bring my poster in and speak for a student event.
Ordinarily, I walk. Bringing my poster meant driving. In snow.
Newcomers don't understand why Portlanders hate driving in snow. They think that the way the city shuts down is ridiculous, especially the ones who come from those icy northern countries like Nebraska, where it snows ten feet a day every winter, and the winters last eight months. The thing they don't realize is that there are multiple factors influencing Portland's snow-preparedness. The first, not insignificantly, is that this shit only happens about once every three years, and it usually melts off or evaporates before anyone has to drive in it. For the first 30-odd years of my life, the City of Portland only owned three snowplows. The first response to snow is "ignore it and see if it goes away". Not without reason; it usually does. IF the roads get graveled, it will invariably be too late, after the snow has been packed into ice. And they use pea gravel. The effect on vehicular traction is not unlike throwing ball-bearings on a skating rink.
If people want to live in a city that is prepared for snow, they should move to one where it snows.
I myself have only driven in Portland snow twice, including today. I've driven in the mountains in the winter; that's utterly different. Driving in the snow in Portland is terrifying, and that terror is five parts snow, and eight hundred parts people who came here from somewhere else who think they can drive in snow. They're probably right, but that's irrelevant; the mistake they're making is in thinking that snow in Portland is actually snow. That's an easy mistake to make, but it isn't snow, it's treachery, and it's a lot harder to drive in treachery than it looks like it would be. So they're like "I have my four-wheel-drive SUV and I'm experienced in snow driving" and the thing they don't realize is that it's going to use that against them. And then the next thing they know they've driven into a row of bike racks, a motorcycle, a parked car, and a light post at 5 miles per hour, their SUV is totaled, and they're confused and humbled. Thereafter, they are just as afraid to drive in snow as any good Portlander, because what happened didn't make any sense and they don't understand it so they fear it. Just like the rest of us.
Science tells us that it is this way because the temperature here just isn't cold enough, so the snow packs down into ice on the roads right away and is so close to the melting point that the friction of car tires melts it a tiny bit, making it extraordinarily slippery. My theory is that it's the song of the bridges, the same song that occasionally causes us to have the urge that leaves a lone bicycle leaning against the railing, no rider in sight. We don't mean to, it's just that the siren song rises these urges up in us and before we know it we're on autopilot, climbing over the railing or fighting the impulse to swerve off the bridge.That water vapor rises right up off the rivers and captures some of that song, and then it falls down on us in the winter, the soft pat-pat-pat of the snowflakes masking the song as they fall.
THAT'S the real reason the city shuts down when it snows, and the real reason everyone scurries home, pulls the blinds, and drinks until it passes.
I did get there safely, despite several mildly alarming slides and being stuck behind a guy turning left for several lights because he couldn't seem to get enough traction to get started. When I got to the auditorium, the event was canceled.
See, I like driving in snow. Not because I am a good driver, I'm a shitty driver. But there's something almost therapeutic about taking a several ton vehicle out into the icy wastes and just spinning in circles in an intersection until you puke from the vertigo. It's the perfect metaphor for life. There's no control, no traction, and even if you did pick a direction, it doesn't matter because you probably can't get there the way you planned on anyway so you might as well just roll with it.
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on December 07, 2013, 12:36:01 AM
See, I like driving in snow. Not because I am a good driver, I'm a shitty driver. But there's something almost therapeutic about taking a several ton vehicle out into the icy wastes and just spinning in circles in an intersection until you puke from the vertigo. It's the perfect metaphor for life. There's no control, no traction, and even if you did pick a direction, it doesn't matter because you probably can't get there the way you planned on anyway so you might as well just roll with it.
We don't have the luxury of doing that here because the streets are narrow, old-fashioned-style, and there's no off-street parking so they're lined with cars on both sides.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 07, 2013, 01:45:22 AM
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on December 07, 2013, 12:36:01 AM
See, I like driving in snow. Not because I am a good driver, I'm a shitty driver. But there's something almost therapeutic about taking a several ton vehicle out into the icy wastes and just spinning in circles in an intersection until you puke from the vertigo. It's the perfect metaphor for life. There's no control, no traction, and even if you did pick a direction, it doesn't matter because you probably can't get there the way you planned on anyway so you might as well just roll with it.
We don't have the luxury of doing that here because the streets are narrow, old-fashioned-style, and there's no off-street parking so they're lined with cars on both sides.
Spinning around aimlessly is best done in an intersection. Or a parking lot. Narrow streets and poor parking make snow-style bumper cars problematic.
By the time the snow falls all the Others have left, more or less. The Others are here for fun, to brefly run away from their heartache or money problems or legal problems that aren't all that bad. Or snowbirds, or the carbon copy of the same near-geriatric white couple in neon and pastel windbreakers, white hats, and lost disposition.
Most of the happy people fall into one of those catagories.
The rest...the rest of us are survivors, if nothing else. Often nothing else. Eventually survival is all you've got, and the ony reward for survivial is the opportunity to do it again and again and again.
Escape becomes much more perilous once the snow is on the ground here. It means the snow has been on the ground on the ALCANHighway for some time, so that's out. And if you could fly you'd have to leave your house, you'd have to pack things, you'd have to DO SOMETHING. Your tiny, tiny mammal brain cannot possibly handle this on any kind of rational level.
So we that who are left after the snow falls are different from those beautiful snowbirds. We are in no way free like they are. But we know each other. Often in the biblical sense. What else is there to do? That paripheral effect though, it can be a motherfucker.
Especially when you're not very nice at all.
The people left over just stare at you from a distance, and look away as you get close. This is common enough. In some native cultures here it's very disrespectful to look people in the eyes.
All the people who do any different seem to be gone. Must be the weather.
It was explained to me as a child that it's disrespectful to look people in the eye. It makes people uncomfortable, of course. It is too intimate, an invasion of their space, an expression of dominance.
Curious how that one, tiny cultural divide can have a crippling effect on someone, because they don't look people in the eye in a society where it's expected. Funny, too, how it can be passed down from generation to generation without saying a word.
I will remember your hair, your smile, your teeth, your chin, the way your cheek is shaped and how the tip of your nose moves when you talk, your hand gestures, your walk, your body language, before I know the color of your eyes.
It was over 20 years before I discovered that the man I am in love with has a wandering eye. I didn't see it until we were in bed together, and I could freely make eye contact because of our intimate situation.
Driving in Portland in the snow sounds exactly like driving in Providence or Boston.
...Except that this is New England and snow is GUARANTEED TO HAPPEN EVERY MONTH FROM NOVEMBER TO MARCH, and there is NO FUCKING REASON WHY people seem to FORGET EVERY FUCKING YEAR how to DRIVE IN IT -OR- why the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts (except western MA in the mountains) seem to hold off plowing or sanding until it's too fucking late. I'm 87% sure this is the major catalyst as to why I hate snow. The rest has to do with the fact that Providencians have an aversion to de-icing or shoveling of any kind, and I'm a pedestrian, and that it's cold and wet. Shit sucks, I say.
I couldn't even imagine living in a city where they don't get regular amounts of snowfall and having to deal with it and the chaos it causes. :eek: Portland is pretty hilly too, isn't it?
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 07, 2013, 01:45:22 AM
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on December 07, 2013, 12:36:01 AM
See, I like driving in snow. Not because I am a good driver, I'm a shitty driver. But there's something almost therapeutic about taking a several ton vehicle out into the icy wastes and just spinning in circles in an intersection until you puke from the vertigo. It's the perfect metaphor for life. There's no control, no traction, and even if you did pick a direction, it doesn't matter because you probably can't get there the way you planned on anyway so you might as well just roll with it.
We don't have the luxury of doing that here because the streets are narrow, old-fashioned-style, and there's no off-street parking so they're lined with cars on both sides.
My first winter up here, I spun out on a small bridge. It was my own fucking fault because I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and I took a corner at 40. I handled it though, seeing NASCAR races too many times to know how to counter steer. I have to say I didn't find it all that fun. :/
Quote from: Suu on December 08, 2013, 07:37:27 PM
Driving in Portland in the snow sounds exactly like driving in Providence or Boston.
...Except that this is New England and snow is GUARANTEED TO HAPPEN EVERY MONTH FROM NOVEMBER TO MARCH, and there is NO FUCKING REASON WHY people seem to FORGET EVERY FUCKING YEAR how to DRIVE IN IT -OR- why the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts (except western MA in the mountains) seem to hold off plowing or sanding until it's too fucking late. I'm 87% sure this is the major catalyst as to why I hate snow. The rest has to do with the fact that Providencians have an aversion to de-icing or shoveling of any kind, and I'm a pedestrian, and that it's cold and wet. Shit sucks, I say.
I couldn't even imagine living in a city where they don't get regular amounts of snowfall and having to deal with it and the chaos it causes. :eek: Portland is pretty hilly too, isn't it?
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 07, 2013, 01:45:22 AM
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on December 07, 2013, 12:36:01 AM
See, I like driving in snow. Not because I am a good driver, I'm a shitty driver. But there's something almost therapeutic about taking a several ton vehicle out into the icy wastes and just spinning in circles in an intersection until you puke from the vertigo. It's the perfect metaphor for life. There's no control, no traction, and even if you did pick a direction, it doesn't matter because you probably can't get there the way you planned on anyway so you might as well just roll with it.
We don't have the luxury of doing that here because the streets are narrow, old-fashioned-style, and there's no off-street parking so they're lined with cars on both sides.
My first winter up here, I spun out on a small bridge. It was my own fucking fault because I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and I took a corner at 40. I handled it though, seeing NASCAR races too many times to know how to counter steer. I have to say I didn't find it all that fun. :/
You guys actually get real snow, though, at colder temperatures, don't you? Like twenties? You probably also get a lot of wet sleety crap because of your proximity to water, and that shit is a bitch. The deal here is that the average winter temperature in our coldest month is around 40 degrees, so we almost never get the prolonged cold dry snow. It is very rare that you see this:
(http://www.evrimgallery.com/Portland-Photographer/portland-car-in-snow.jpg)
That was 2008. Hasn't happened since. Portlanders ACTUALLY refer to it as "The Snowpocalypse". But you know the thing? I drove in that, it was real snow. It wasn't hard to drive in. Not like the fluffy white lube that fell on Friday. It's fine to drive in snow as long as it agrees to be snow; it's usually just too warm here to do that. Plus, Pandora's Box of "Oh sweet fuck I don't know what happens next... does it all melt off? Or does it change to freezing rain?" at temperatures where it's so slick that if you push on a parked car you can send it sliding down the street like a sled on a hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4qO9GUH-wM So most people play it safe and go the fuck home. But the typical perception from outsiders is that we're just idiots who don't know how to drive in snow... despite the fact that we do it every time we visit the mountains and it's no big deal. Of course, it's always the cocky newcomers who think that THEY can drive in snow who go out and promptly total their cars. It is quite hilly here. There are a few roads up in the West Hills (properly named the Tualitin Mountains but nobody calls them that) which are heated because otherwise they would be impassable when it freezes.
We're having some lows right now though, starting on Friday. All the snow has evaporated now, and it's too cold for more. It got to like 12 last night or something crazy like that. It's around 25-ish now, which is brutal for us tender temperate rainforest people.
The average winter temperature of Providence is actually like 42 degrees. We have this awful flip-flop effect where it will go from 50 to 25, to 32 and heavy snow, to 60, melt, freeze overnight...ad nauseam. The line of OMGFWTFSNOW is actually interstate 495. Once you're north of that, you're out of the protective bubble of RI/Southshore MA and you're fucked forever. This is how Providence can get freezing rain (which is just as painful as it sounds for those that haven't experienced it) and Worcester can get 2 feet of snow and no power for a week with the same storm within 30 miles. The weather here is fucked, but it still gives them no excuse not to sand and plow when it matters. Like tonight, when it's dipping below freezing after the rain starts, which means tomorrow walking to school is going to be death, and I will need crampons. :evilmad:
But like I said, we SHOULD know wtf to do. Portland at least has the excuse of being legit not used to it.
Yeah, the thing to do is stay the fuck home. In my opinion, anyway.
As long as this thread is now about Providence, I looked up the average winter lows there. Looks like it's around 21 degrees, so it does tend to be quite a bit colder there.
I always do find the weather differences between the NE and NW interesting. Considering by latitude, I think Providence and Portland are about a degree apart, yet the climate because the ocean temps are so vastly different. You would think that the PNW would be typically snowier than it is even further north. I've never been out there, but it seems that there's just generally more moisture out there in the winter than we have.
It is very damp largely because it so rarely dips below freezing. That is also the reason we have such a bad black mold problem.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 12:44:44 AM
It is very damp largely because it so rarely dips below freezing. That is also the reason we have such a bad black mold problem.
Ugh. That shit's vile.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 08, 2013, 09:44:37 PM
As long as this thread is now about Providence, I looked up the average winter lows there. Looks like it's around 21 degrees, so it does tend to be quite a bit colder there.
Thread is always about Providence. Even when it's about Tucson or Portland or whatever.
One-upmanship is, after all, how we win the internet.
Does Portland rain slush?
Sometimes. A few years ago, I went for a walk to get out of the house and it was lightly sprinkling. By the time I got to the park it was hailing Ping-Pong ball sized chunks, so I hid under a pine tree.
20 minutes later it was raining again....
It's Goddamn 43F here.
This is BULLSHIT.
Yeah, sometimes it's just that slushy snow crap, which usually melts off pretty quick. Every once in a while it's freezing rain, where it makes everything it touches into an ice sculpture. I don't think we've had a serious amount of that since 2004 though.
THINKING ABOUT DRIVING?
LOLNOPE, CANNOT OPEN CAR.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqTcdiWT_Iq5DwFBGUZ7dZ7gMp6QNnhZTxHtoNJqm7BWwHm33S)
Quote from: Telarus on December 09, 2013, 05:25:27 PM
Sometimes. A few years ago, I went for a walk to get out of the house and it was lightly sprinkling. By the time I got to the park it was hailing Ping-Pong ball sized chunks, so I hid under a pine tree.
20 minutes later it was raining again....
For reasons that I don't really understand, it usually only hails in the summer. What gives with that? I need a meteorologist.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 06:37:17 PM
It's Goddamn 43F here.
This is BULLSHIT.
It's 23 degrees here right now.
I don't like it at all.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:40:25 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 06:37:17 PM
It's Goddamn 43F here.
This is BULLSHIT.
It's 23 degrees here right now.
I don't like it at all.
Our low so far this year was last Friday night, at 32F.
I expect we'll see worse next month.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:38:46 PM
Yeah, sometimes it's just that slushy snow crap, which usually melts off pretty quick. Every once in a while it's freezing rain, where it makes everything it touches into an ice sculpture. I don't think we've had a serious amount of that since 2004 though.
THINKING ABOUT DRIVING?
LOLNOPE, CANNOT OPEN CAR.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqTcdiWT_Iq5DwFBGUZ7dZ7gMp6QNnhZTxHtoNJqm7BWwHm33S)
FUCK THAT SHIT. This is EXACTLY why I moved to the desert.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:42:41 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 06:41:30 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:40:25 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 06:37:17 PM
It's Goddamn 43F here.
This is BULLSHIT.
It's 23 degrees here right now.
I don't like it at all.
Our low so far this year was last Friday night, at 32F.
I expect we'll see worse next month.
That shit ain't right.
There are only two good things about living in Tucson. The second one is that it's SUPPOSED to be warm.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 06:41:56 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:38:46 PM
Yeah, sometimes it's just that slushy snow crap, which usually melts off pretty quick. Every once in a while it's freezing rain, where it makes everything it touches into an ice sculpture. I don't think we've had a serious amount of that since 2004 though.
THINKING ABOUT DRIVING?
LOLNOPE, CANNOT OPEN CAR.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqTcdiWT_Iq5DwFBGUZ7dZ7gMp6QNnhZTxHtoNJqm7BWwHm33S)
FUCK THAT SHIT. This is EXACTLY why I moved to the desert.
My favorite is when it fluctuates between 31 and 33 degrees throughout the day, so you can't even get out of the house without spiked shoes because you risk falling and splitting your head open on the ice. At least when it stays below freezing you can WALK places. One year I was trapped in the house for three days because my front steps solidified into an ice ramp. I could have gone out with a pickaxe and broken it up, but I didn't want to risk damaging the concrete and I had enough food to stay in.
Like I said, though, that kind of thing is a rarity and it only happens once every ten years or so.
Here when it gets cold, it gets DRY. And all the moisture is pulled out of your body like Goddamn Magneto was hauling the iron out of that one dude's blood in that shitty fucking movie. So you shrivel up like a mummy, and then everyone dies. Again.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 09, 2013, 09:51:24 PM
Here when it gets cold, it gets DRY. And all the moisture is pulled out of your body like Goddamn Magneto was hauling the iron out of that one dude's blood in that shitty fucking movie. So you shrivel up like a mummy, and then everyone dies. Again.
Yet another reason I hate cold.
Freezing rain is the ABSOLUTE GODDAMN WORST. I was out shoveling in that crap once when I was a kid and ended up with a layer of ice on my shoulders.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:38:46 PM
Yeah, sometimes it's just that slushy snow crap, which usually melts off pretty quick. Every once in a while it's freezing rain, where it makes everything it touches into an ice sculpture. I don't think we've had a serious amount of that since 2004 though.
THINKING ABOUT DRIVING?
LOLNOPE, CANNOT OPEN CAR.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqTcdiWT_Iq5DwFBGUZ7dZ7gMp6QNnhZTxHtoNJqm7BWwHm33S)
That's...impressive. :eek:
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 09, 2013, 09:56:08 PM
Freezing rain is the ABSOLUTE GODDAMN WORST. I was out shoveling in that crap once when I was a kid and ended up with a layer of ice on my shoulders.
THAT SHIT IS EVIL, I TELL YOU, EVIL. :crankey:
-Suu
Slid down her driveway this morning getting pelted in the face with that fucking shit.
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 10, 2013, 01:14:40 AM
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
I think the moral here is we should live in Portland in the summer and Tuscon in the winter.
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 01:15:42 AM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 10, 2013, 01:14:40 AM
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
I think the moral here is we should live in Portland in the summer and Tuscon in the winter.
Yes. Be a snowbird. We welcome snowbirds. Oh, yes.
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 01:15:42 AM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 10, 2013, 01:14:40 AM
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
I think the moral here is we should live in Portland in the summer and Tuscon in the winter.
I think there's a problem with your plan.
(http://i.imgur.com/hSa0CUS.png)
Quote from: Pæs on December 10, 2013, 01:28:46 AM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 01:15:42 AM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 10, 2013, 01:14:40 AM
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
I think the moral here is we should live in Portland in the summer and Tuscon in the winter.
I think there's a problem with your plan.
(http://i.imgur.com/hSa0CUS.png)
"leave Tucson".
:lulz:
Curses, foiled by Tuscon again :argh!:
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 01:09:09 AM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 09, 2013, 06:38:46 PM
Yeah, sometimes it's just that slushy snow crap, which usually melts off pretty quick. Every once in a while it's freezing rain, where it makes everything it touches into an ice sculpture. I don't think we've had a serious amount of that since 2004 though.
THINKING ABOUT DRIVING?
LOLNOPE, CANNOT OPEN CAR.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqTcdiWT_Iq5DwFBGUZ7dZ7gMp6QNnhZTxHtoNJqm7BWwHm33S)
That's...impressive. :eek:
That is what freezing rain looks like here. It's why we fear it.
(http://www.philip-lutzak.com/weather/meteo361/project_1_files/photo%20pdxmarinedrive.jpg)
NOPE.
PORTLAND:
WE DON'T ALWAYS GET FREEZING RAIN, BUT WHEN WE DO, IT'S THE FUCKING ICEPOCALYPSE.
DO NOT WANT.
It isn't as fun as it looks. Unfortunately, the last time it happened was about ten years ago, and it's a particularly cold winter. Maybe tomorrow I'll stock up on meat.
Ice is never fun. Ever. Do you have crampons/ice walkers? Probably a dumb question considering this doesn't happen frequently for you guys, but if your winter is going to be like this, they aren't a bad investment. I have a pair of Yaktrax (they look like springs on rubber you pull over your shoes) that I got from Big Lots or something on the cheap. If you can't find them out there, let me know and I can go grab you a few pairs.
We had this happen in 08:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3029/3106280616_1428ac0ed2_b.jpg)
And you can still see the tree damage from that. I can't even imagine how bad Portland's must have been in comparison.
That was the big ice storm that knocked out power for two weeks, right? It didn't hit us (thankfully) but you didn't have to drive very far north from here to see the effects. Pretty much just right over the border in MA and it was a war zone. :(
That was a particularly nasty year. I saw people walking across the Charles River.
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/theonlyang/Image013-4.jpg)
Yeah, that's the one. My folks were without power for almost the full two weeks, but the ex is on the same part of the grid as the emergency shelter in his town, so they got to be best friends for a bit.
From the looks of it, the other one is probably about two more inches of ice. :shudder:
That shit looks AWESOME! Our suppliers refuse to stock this freezing rain. Bastards :argh!:
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 04:10:21 PM
Ice is never fun. Ever. Do you have crampons/ice walkers? Probably a dumb question considering this doesn't happen frequently for you guys, but if your winter is going to be like this, they aren't a bad investment. I have a pair of Yaktrax (they look like springs on rubber you pull over your shoes) that I got from Big Lots or something on the cheap. If you can't find them out there, let me know and I can go grab you a few pairs.
Nope. We have them at REI (for those mountainy people who like to mountain shit) but I don't really need more junk in my closet just in case of the once-every-ten-years ice storm.
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 04:24:03 PM
We had this happen in 08:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3029/3106280616_1428ac0ed2_b.jpg)
And you can still see the tree damage from that. I can't even imagine how bad Portland's must have been in comparison.
That looks pretty fucking extreme.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:39:35 PM
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 04:10:21 PM
Ice is never fun. Ever. Do you have crampons/ice walkers? Probably a dumb question considering this doesn't happen frequently for you guys, but if your winter is going to be like this, they aren't a bad investment. I have a pair of Yaktrax (they look like springs on rubber you pull over your shoes) that I got from Big Lots or something on the cheap. If you can't find them out there, let me know and I can go grab you a few pairs.
Nope. We have them at REI (for those mountainy people who like to mountain shit) but I don't really need more junk in my closet just in case of the once-every-ten-years ice storm.
For now on, my friends in northern New Hampshire are forever known as, "Mountainy people who like to mountain shit."
They're *those* people. The ones that like snow, and ice, and take 3000 pictures of Mt. Washington a day captioned, "ISN'T THIS WICKED GORGEOUS? I BET YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE!" Fuck those guys.
You live in one of those cold-ass-weather places too, don't you QG?
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 05:47:21 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:39:35 PM
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 04:10:21 PM
Ice is never fun. Ever. Do you have crampons/ice walkers? Probably a dumb question considering this doesn't happen frequently for you guys, but if your winter is going to be like this, they aren't a bad investment. I have a pair of Yaktrax (they look like springs on rubber you pull over your shoes) that I got from Big Lots or something on the cheap. If you can't find them out there, let me know and I can go grab you a few pairs.
Nope. We have them at REI (for those mountainy people who like to mountain shit) but I don't really need more junk in my closet just in case of the once-every-ten-years ice storm.
For now on, my friends in northern New Hampshire are forever known as, "Mountainy people who like to mountain shit."
They're *those* people. The ones that like snow, and ice, and take 3000 pictures of Mt. Washington a day captioned, "ISN'T THIS WICKED GORGEOUS? I BET YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE!" Fuck those guys.
Yes. Those people. The ones who wear jackets that have their lift passes attached, and who, while us shivering lowlanders are gazing hopefully through the drizzle at the glimmers of sun in May, are lamenting that the snow season up on Mt. Hood is nearly over.
They go fuck around in snow ON PURPOSE, not because ill circumstance forced them into it. Those fuckers are crazy.
It is funny how much colder everyone here thinks it is.
In comparison to.summer, yes it is cold.
But moreso, in comparison with CONSTANT STASIS,it is inhuman.
You stay in your warm house, add enough layers to withstand the grushing gales in between leaving your portch and entering your car, the same as you exit the car and enter (school, work, food place), and back again.
Of course it seems like you are going to die.
I have people who come to me and the first thing they say EVER SINGLE TIME is how shitty the weather is.
JUST STFU!
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:56:04 PM
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 05:47:21 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:39:35 PM
Quote from: Suu on December 10, 2013, 04:10:21 PM
Ice is never fun. Ever. Do you have crampons/ice walkers? Probably a dumb question considering this doesn't happen frequently for you guys, but if your winter is going to be like this, they aren't a bad investment. I have a pair of Yaktrax (they look like springs on rubber you pull over your shoes) that I got from Big Lots or something on the cheap. If you can't find them out there, let me know and I can go grab you a few pairs.
Nope. We have them at REI (for those mountainy people who like to mountain shit) but I don't really need more junk in my closet just in case of the once-every-ten-years ice storm.
For now on, my friends in northern New Hampshire are forever known as, "Mountainy people who like to mountain shit."
They're *those* people. The ones that like snow, and ice, and take 3000 pictures of Mt. Washington a day captioned, "ISN'T THIS WICKED GORGEOUS? I BET YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE!" Fuck those guys.
Yes. Those people. The ones who wear jackets that have their lift passes attached, and who, while us shivering lowlanders are gazing hopefully through the drizzle at the glimmers of sun in May, are lamenting that the snow season up on Mt. Hood is nearly over.
They go fuck around in snow ON PURPOSE, not because ill circumstance forced them into it. Those fuckers are crazy.
WTF is up with those lift passes? Honestly, they wear them like a goddamn status symbol. "I went skiing 2 weeks ago at Killington, see?"
Yes, I've seen it for the past 2 weeks. It's starting to look like you wiped your ass with it. Take it off.
Quote from: Alty on December 10, 2013, 06:09:49 PM
It is funny how much colder everyone here thinks it is.
In comparison to.summer, yes it is cold.
But moreso, in comparison with CONSTANT STASIS,it is inhuman.
You stay in your warm house, add enough layers to withstand the grushing gales in between leaving your portch and entering your car, the same as you exit the car and enter (school, work, food place), and back again.
Of course it seems like you are going to die.
I have people who come to me and the first thing they say EVER SINGLE TIME is how shitty the weather is.
JUST STFU!
I'd like to see Alaska someday, but you folks are a whole different breed of crazy than even the most snow-obsessed New Englanders.
I miss being a skier.
I was almost as good at that as I was being a cowboy.
My daily walkin' garb:
-Two (2) pairs of pants.
-One (1) pair of Carhartt overalls, at medium thickness.
-Two (2) pairs of gloves, thin layer on inside w/snartphone tips, thick gloves.
-Two (2) hats. One beanie and one knit fancy hat.
-Anywhere from 2-5 hoodies, a tshirt, and a down jacket.
-One (1) scarf.
-One (1) pair goggles, for bad wind.
-One (1) pair good boots with StaberIcers, finally.
I AM IMPERMEABLE.
Quote from: Alty on December 10, 2013, 06:09:49 PM
It is funny how much colder everyone here thinks it is.
In comparison to.summer, yes it is cold.
But moreso, in comparison with CONSTANT STASIS,it is inhuman.
You stay in your warm house, add enough layers to withstand the grushing gales in between leaving your portch and entering your car, the same as you exit the car and enter (school, work, food place), and back again.
Of course it seems like you are going to die.
I have people who come to me and the first thing they say EVER SINGLE TIME is how shitty the weather is.
JUST STFU!
That's how you know you're getting your money's worth.
I mean, people don't go to Alaska thinking it's going to be balmy, right?
And this is why we don't talk about Connecticut.
http://www.wfsb.com/story/24182015/vehicle-slams-into-milford-home
Quote from: Pæs on December 10, 2013, 01:28:46 AM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 01:15:42 AM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 10, 2013, 01:14:40 AM
I had to wear a windbreaker ALL DAY today. :sad:
I think the moral here is we should live in Portland in the summer and Tuscon in the winter.
I think there's a problem with your plan.
(http://i.imgur.com/hSa0CUS.png)
I keep coming back and chuckling at this.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:52:21 PM
You live in one of those cold-ass-weather places too, don't you QG?
In Massachusetts. Grew up in the western half of the state, where snow makes sense and we have our "r"s, and now I'm near Bawston.
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 07:00:11 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:52:21 PM
You live in one of those cold-ass-weather places too, don't you QG?
In Massachusetts. Grew up in the western half of the state, where snow makes sense and we have our "r"s, and now I'm near Bawston.
The Icy Northlands!
I've been to Boston, once. It was hot as hell out, the streets are narrow, people drive like they have nothing to lose, and there's a subway. That's what I recall about it.
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 07:08:01 PM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on December 10, 2013, 07:00:11 PM
Quote from: Radagast's Red Velvet Pancake Puppies on December 10, 2013, 05:52:21 PM
You live in one of those cold-ass-weather places too, don't you QG?
In Massachusetts. Grew up in the western half of the state, where snow makes sense and we have our "r"s, and now I'm near Bawston.
The Icy Northlands!
I've been to Boston, once. It was hot as hell out, the streets are narrow, people drive like they have nothing to lose, and there's a subway. That's what I recall about it.
All of that is correct.
And the only place I have seen Massachusetts prep for snowfall was in the Berkshires.
Nailed it.