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Winter in Alaska
By Robert White
Winter in Alaska , is looked forward to by some. With dread by an equal number, or just one of those things by most. I like the change of season and light, granted it is really nice for April to come around and we can get back on our motorcycles.
How people equip themselves and deal with winter depends on where you live. Many that live in "town", and that is somewhat defined as Los Anchor­age*, are pretty casual about decent winter tires and clothing. They do not go outside except by necessity to go to work or some other activity, then home again. You hit the auto start from inside so your vehicle is warm when you get in it. Sometimes you just leave the motor running while going grocery shopping or something of limited time duration, or all night if neces­sary. Fuel injection has been a GREAT help for this.
Cold weather gear can be divided into two main types, durable industrial, and yuppy mountaineer with some qradation between the two. I own some of
ber optic line they installed along the Parks Hwy(roads have numbers, but
residents typically use names for them)towards Fairbanks; the ground was
frozen so they could dig a nice narrow slot without the sides caving in.
Setting back to people looking forward to winter, "why?" you might ask?
The main reason is the swamp froze up and you can get around on it. The flat
places in Alaska tend towards being a swamp...wet lands if you will. Trans­
portation gets easier when it freezes up. Need to get building material
to your remote cabin site? People usually wait for winter and move it across
the ice and snow.
The best thing is for it to get cold enough to freeze the ground and vari­
ous bodies of water before it snows. Once you get the ground solidly frozen,
then you need a good base layer of snow, three feet minimum. Ideally, it will
then get warm enough for a short time, or even rain a bit to consolidate and
settle the base down. Then say at least (-)20F to freeze it in place. With
the ground already frozen, the base is more likely to last well. After the base is in place you need regular "play" layers over the top of the base. A
both; there is really no reason to be cold as there is lots of equipment easily available for purchase. Out in rural towns or the Bush, you will find du­rable industrial type clothing is mostly what is worn. It is heavy and not as stylish, but is less expensive, and is warm if you wear enough of it.
Many residents also opt for the insulation regime used by animals like sea mammals and grow a significant layer of fat protecting core areas. This is helped by sloth and diet, and fits nicely under many styles of industrial clothing. This
foot or so of fresh snow about
once a week is nice.
There are some problems
with the above scenario; on
flat ground or moderate slopes
life is wonderful. However
on steep slopes danger lurks.
The new snow layers do not
bond well to the consolidated
layers and are prone to ava­
lanche. Most reasonable peo­
ple, regardless of their mode
of travel (skis, snow machines,
dog sleds) recognize and try
to avoid avalanche prone ar­
eas. It is pretty obvious where
they are. As mentioned ear­
lier, there are those that seek
may not be unique to the far north.
Los Anchorage is referred to as the "Banana Belt" by those living further north, or away from the moderating effects of the Gulf of Alaska. A tem­perate marine climate where(-)30F is not common, but(-)20F can be. Down to (-)20F , you can be somewhat casual about it all, below that you had best be paying attention.
People do freeze to death, but not all that much. Winter related fatali­ties are frequently casual errors in behavior and judgement. Low tempera­tures make the margin of error less forgiving. Drink that bottle of liquor and pass out in the snow where no body spots you and you are likely dead. Snow machine fatalities can be grouped by ethnicity, anglos tend toward being killed by the avalanche they kicked off "High Marking" on steep un­stable slopes, and many natives are killed going out and running on the river ice instead of the bumpy shore trail and hit an open lead. Sometimes they plane across the open water, and sometimes they end up under the ice. Re­member, this is typically in the dark so it is hard to see. Many villages are isolated by distance and harsh conditions and are along rivers and lakes.
Over flow ice is very odd. How is it possible (you might ask) that there is open water at (-)50F when the entire world should be frozen solid in temperatures 80 degrees Fahrenheit lower than freezing? Or even worse, there is liquid water under a thin layer of ice that you fall through and get WET, soaked through to the skin. The dynamics of over flow ice is pretty simple—the ground is frozen, there is an aquifer of some sort with pres­surized water in it that is going to go somewhere, and that "somewhere" is frequently up. Sometimes you see large mounds of ice built up layer by layer.
Life/work continues regardless of temperature, it is frequently more dif­ficult/time consuming to do some things in the winter, but they get done. Sometimes things are actually easier in the winter. An example is the fi-
them out and (apparently) like the rush of trying to out run death, or to ride the crest down like a surfer on a big wave. Sometimes they die.
But Wait! What about the brief mention of it seriously warming up and raining on the snow?
The weather here is complex and volatile. As I understand it, it has to do with the jet streams moving back and forth; there are web sites devoted to trying to explain it. I have myself seen it (more than once) go from (-)20 F to (+)40F in about an hour. Typically with a heavy rain that lasts forever following the change. That is the classic weather pattern of Southeast (the panhandle); fortunately less prevalent here in South Central, and un-common up north.
Urban moose are considered by some to be a problem, I like them myself. Of course I do not live in an area where they are common, and have not tried to harvest one with my vehicle yet. Hitting a moose at speed in a yuppy rice burner like I drive is death and/or dismemberment. It is much safer to harvest one with a rifle, plus you get to keep it if you harvest one with a rifle legally.
The Lady Moose(s), being no fools, have hit upon the same line of thought that many in rural Alaska have. It is a lot nicer to live in town. There are fewer predator problems. Bears and wolves are unlikely to eat the kids, and there are delicious things to eat. Vegetable gardens, yummy, fruit trees and even ornamental landscaping is apparently delicious. In the fall there are the frozen Halloween pumpkins. Some people like the Lady Moose making their area home, and of course some people do not. In Fairbanks they have an "archery only" urban moose hunting regime in town that most citizens are fine with. Not sure that would fly down here in Los Anchorage.
Tourism is a love/hate thing here in Alaska; we like to travel ourselves, especially in the winter time. The big difference is between independent
 




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