- 30, how does it feel?

COLD !

this has been the forcast for about a week :

you don't see the wind chill here but it was below 40 I promise you. this is no joke!

so no need for me to stay longer to tell you about the winter cold of northern saskatchewan. And for the quality of my test (or maybe because it's fun and paid) I worked outdoor three  whole days.

-30 how does the everyday life go on? here are written the results :

1- don't complain, it's only november. so yes, it's going to be worse. and yes, you europeans, it is possible.

2- dress up warm and loads. forget about fashion or confort, you are trying not to loose any bodyparts here!

it means : long johns (good quality ones) + jeans + insulated coveralls and good socks (1-2pairs) + winterboots (usually neoprene insulated at least 6mm on the sides and 1,5cm on the sole plus ruber). that's for your legs. Then you cross each top layer with a bottom layer (everything really tugged in). So on top : thermo long sleeved t shirt, 2-3 fleeces, a scarf (I personally wear a thin buff tugged in my first fleece and a big cotton scarf on top of everything that I raise up to my nose and ears), a warm toque (forget single knitted one who arent wind proof), mits (gloves are too cold) and a big (remember the layers) insulated jacket (not that thick actually) with a hood, just in case.

So yes forget about shape, everybody looks bulky, remember the color of you friends toque because that's about the only fancy item you can wear. the coveralls are all, in the begining, either either black or light brown and in the end either white (snow) or dark brown (cow shit).

3- go slow and think about your future.

Guess what? try to run with deep fluffy snow or ice on the ground and so many clothes on. Yes it's heavy, both too big and too tight and slippery. So after 5min you pretty much feel like a 90 yo grandma racing with her stroller in the retirement home. 

sweat is the cherry on top. yes, because running cows on usually means that you aren't a Rothshild's relative so no brethable light strechy 300$ clothes for you. Don't complain you'll get to experience something very special! getting cold after putting your jacket on again. When you sweated so hard and took it off to cool down and not getting wet, did you foret that it's 35 below ? yeeeeees. so now you just put on a jacket coming straight out of the deep freeze (even worse, deep freezes usually run at -28). Bravo Einstein. ;-) Unique feeling brrr. But you'll smarten up and next time only take it out for a very short amount of time or just open it or just run even slower. Cows are falling down on the ice at every run anyway.

4- discover that water freeze up instantaneously.

the feeling that your nostrils are sticking inside? don't worry they're just frozen inside. Your eyelashes too? the same, it looks nicer though. oh and your hair or any loose fabric is doing the same too.

It is so quick that they have a heater to rests the seringes and vaccines against when you aren't stinging the animal. overwize...it'll freeze.

4- drink lots and warm

bless your coffe thermos because without it ... it'll freeze in 5min.

It comes to a point that it doesn't matter that you are actually drinking hot water without herbs in anymore (they quitted flavouring the water after the 5th refill) because 1. it's warm 2. you're thirsty.

Actually I only realised how dehydrated I was after 2 days. Maybe for the better because getting to the washroom with that many clothes is like the rest : it takes a loooong time!

Anyway, I drank more coming home yesterday than after the thurst-ride in july.

5- life is a blur.

Because your nose feels so sticky and froze, you breathe hidden behind your scarf with your mouth open. Consequently, your scarf become a rigid shield (not bad) and you have a nice fog just in front of your face everytime you exhale. so basicly all the time because your out of breath because it's god damned hard to run!

6- you're played out three times faster.

and you don't want to get out of bed the next day or rather untill spring, it goes without saying why.

7- free iceskating

with a car, unwanted, uneventfull.

how do you think the roads are after 2feet of unplowed fresh snow? and -30 30 times runover snow? clean, white and very icy. What can the dpt of highway do about it? throw some sand on top to feel not really totally useless? now you have a brownish icerink instead of old plain white.

8- feeling very european

by getting stuck at work with a reluctant car. What? you forgot to bring an extension cord and plugged it in? ha-ha. We'll give you a boost anyway and ask about it tomorrow. (yes EVERYBODY at work (gently, because they're canadian and great people) asked me the day after).

by complaining and really struggling with the cold

because IT'S NO FUCKING HUMAN TEMPERATURE!

9- be proud to have lived such an extreme life. (ok maybe it isn't that adventurous, people do that all the time here but it still feels very out of my confort zone! :p

=> I've earned my new awesome (no nobody is allowed to differ) belt that nobody here will see before april seeing what the weather is like.