Here comes the Cold!

The last week of November has brought (with much anticipation) the true Northern 'cool air' which this part of the world is best known for. Last weekend and the beginning of last week brought temperatures of 35 - 40 below without the wind. I thought it would be nothing, as I had already dealt with temperatures which were close to that, living in Montreal. The temperatures were pretty extreme, not to mention the wind and the blowing snow. It's business as usual here, regardless if it is 30C or -50C outside. The same duties must be completed both inside and outside regardless.

45 below at 5:30 AM on Monday Morning

My crew partner, Tom and I are pretty sure that in the past week, the two of have been spending more time outside than inside all day, and more so than usual. Maybe the other guys are smarter to get to the inside jobs first or what? ...regardless, the jobs must be completed.

As long as you have several layers, the cold doesn't reach the body so much, its more the outer extremities, like the fingers and toes. Even with a few pairs of fingered gloves on, they become almost useless up here, especially when fueling and holding the metallic nozzle: The cold finds its way through pretty quickly, which is why Mittens are essential. I bought the Rabbit Fur hat for fun on a field trip to Quebec City on a trip in Grade 8, but never thought I would really need. I have never appreciated a hat so much before; the fur does an amazing job at keeping everything warm.

Fueling well before the sun rises

By Thursday, the temperatures were in the high teens (-16ish) and it felt almost like spring. Comfortable (almost) sweater weather. This made a big difference for my truck: the beginning -of-the-week cold weather was so cold, it cracked my fuel filter, as I think some moisture may have froze in the lines. I was able to get some heaters in the engine, change the fuel filter and finally get it running by Friday! Hopefully I my car doesn't continuously give me little pain-in-the-ass problems like this anymore this winter!

I may have mentioned that the sun is sitting lower and lower in the sky a few weeks ago. Below is a fairly accurate representation at 12pm, noon right before lunch. It's directly south, however sitting just over the treeline. Days are getting much shorter and doesn't come up until about 9AM and it is now 3:45 and the sun has set already. On the bright side, less than a month until days start getting longer and longer!!


Below is a picture of me marshaling our Fort Smith - Edmonton Scheduled Daily flight. Communicating with the Captain that it is safe to start each engine, making sure there is nobody directly behind them, that there are no abnormal occurrences in the starting sequence and they they are cleared to move.

Dressing as warm as I can, in the blowing snow