Spring skiing in December in Minnesota?

As I walk around Duluth and our cabin in Brimson, I'm amazed at the wet snow on the ground.  Hey, this is December; we're supposed to have white fluffy stuff at least six inches deep.  This snow is like March snow.

This is bad for the tourism industry because fewer people will come to Duluth to ski.  In fact, Spirit Mt. will not be open for a full daily schedule until Dec. 8.  It used to be that ski hills in Minnesota began full-time operation at Thanksgiving, even south of Minneapolis.  Forget "over the hill and through the woods to Grandmother's house…"

It's also bad for all the snowplow operators, public and private.  They will be called out less often.

Almost any change has winners and losers.  The big winners are those who get to spew lots of CO2 and other pollution in the air.  The losers are all those who depend on seasonal shifts, but they're little folk and I guess they don't count.

Am I getting to the age where the disappointment of fewer opportunities to ski are offset by the joy of shoveling less?

Finding gloves that work as claimed

I have many pairs of gloves, work gloves, dress gloves, and ski gloves and mittens. I sometimes where them in layers, either glove liners or bigger gloves over smaller gloves. Some of the gloves are cheap and some are moderately priced. None of them keep my hands warm in all conditions, even with hand warmers. Do I have to get mountain climber gloves to keep my hands warm.

When I try on a pair of gloves in a store, they seem so soft and cozy. When I start to use them, they sometimes feel almost useless.

I did see an online site for battery heated gloves, $249 for the four-ounce battery pack version and $349 for the lithium-ion version. I would like to find a store that has these. Why pay these prices and find out your hands are still cold?

When I ski, I find that my right thumb get colder before any other finger. This may because I whacked it with a hammer many years ago while in an awkward position. I call the cold thumb my early warning system.

Interestingly, if I'm outside walking or snowshoeing, my hands don't seem to get cold as often. I was using a $9.97 remainder table pair to blow snow yesterday and I had to go in before I was finished; I had done the same on previous occasions with "better" gloves.

I blew snow at the cabin today and started getting cold fingers. The temperature was about 20 degrees F.!! After lunch, we went snowshoeing and my hands stayed relatively warm for the 30-40 minute trek. Later I split wood and didn't get cold hands like I did last week. I wore the cheap gloves for all these activities.

I figured out why the gloves don't always keep my hands warm when I'm active. I'm gripping snowblower handles or ski poles or ax handles. The gloves are being compressed and lose some of their insulation properties, no matter how super-duper the seller claims they are. (I almost said manufacturer, but no matter what the brand, they all are labeled "Made in China".)

Maybe the next time I shop for gloves, I should ask for a warranted rating and not accept gloves with something like "Keeps you hands warm in all conditions" or "Our special liner gives more warmth." I should ask for gloves with a rating such as keeps your hands at 60 degrees F. for an hour or more when the temperature is -10 degrees.

A blizzard in the internet age

A blizzard started in Duluth last night. All during the night the wind howled, the house creaked, and wet snow smacked against the windows. Every so often a snow plow would go by; its yellow light flashing through the blinds. I just snuggled under the covers more.

My wife was scheduled to be at a conference in Omaha today and planned to drive down with two others. They had originally planned to drive to the Twin Cities late in the afternoon and continue on to Omaha today.

Given the prediction of a blizzard in Duluth and a storm warning in Omaha, they weren't sure if they should leave earlier on Thursday or even go at all. We checked the National Weather Service for both cities and determined that Omaha would have rain but not snow yesterday. They opted to leave at 11 yesterday and arrived in Omaha about 9 or so. They did encounter a lot of wind and rain, but otherwise made good time.

However, just about everything has been canceled in Duluth, including the buses.

When I finally roused myself this morning, I couldn't see out a single window. See the photo "What blizzard?". I couldn't open either the front or back door very far; I had to push against 2-4 inches of wet snow. Before it got worse, I retrieved a snow shovel from the back porch. Without stepping outside, I could just barely reach the blade and bring it inside. I put it in the laundry tub where it will probably get too warm and ice up when I take it outside again. At least I'll be able to push a small path outside the front door and step outside to continue shoveling.

But not today! As of 11:10 this morning, the Duluth News Tribune reported the blizzard warning is in effect until Saturday morning. There is no point in even shoveling until tomorrow, not even to make the mail carrier's job easier or to get the newspapers at the corner.

Again, here's where the internet is such a help. I got my local news online plus I got a later update than I would with the paper addition. I know, I know, I could turn on the radio or TV, but on the internet, I can get the news when I want to, not when the stations broadcast it.

Of course, with a blizzard one can lose power or phone service. Several neighborhoods in Duluth have lost power. As soon as crews restore one area, another is knocked out.

So, with all this time on my hands because I can't go anywhere, I should be getting a lot done, right? Ha! What do I start first? Nah, I don't want to work on taxes just now. I'll practice singing later. Filing all those loose papers on the desk seems like such a chore. I could read a book, but it seems so much easier to play su do ku online then anything else, especially since I couldn't do the newspaper puzzles today. Just one more game. Oh, my time wasn't so good, I'll do another to see if I can do better. Oh, I almost got to my record time, I'll do another now that I'm on a roll. You don't believe me about the addiction, see http://www.jigsawdoku.com.

It is amazing that I even wrote this blog. Maybe now I can file some papers, but first...

Jeff Foxworthy is "wrong" about winter wherever

I was sent a long list of things you might do if you live in Minnesota by a graduate of my high school. You can find this same litany on several places if you search for "if you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice".

It is cute but the variations can be way off the mark.

I've lived in Minnesota for a total of 35 years, almost nine in Duluth. The variant that I received had many factual errors.

I know ice fishing is popular, but I think it is a lot of effort to get food.

Mille Lacs is not the coldest place in the country. Embarrass, Minnesota often is. The rest of Minnesota can be ten degrees warmer.

Some Dairy Queen's are open year around. They sell quick lunches as well as frozen custard.

Twice in 130 years has Duluth gotten over 131 inches of snow in a season (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh/climate/top10snow/topten_all_wntr.php). Lots of snow might be 25 inches in a week. The Twin Cities had about 25 inches on Halloween 1991 and Duluth had 36. But on another Halloween the Twin Cities temperature was above 70.

I have seen many people underdressed in cold weather. We saw a college student walking bareheaded with the temperature just above zero. I saw a young woman walk into a coffee shop with heavy mittens, a light jacket, and a shirt unbuttoned down three buttons.

Vacation to me means going north an hour to our cabin to cut wood. It also means going to Japan or Ontario.

I measure distance both in miles and hours. Hours make sense when talking about driving time. Doesn't everybody give hours for plane, train, and bus trips?

I know few people who have hit deer more than once. I'm one of them, both times at night.

My wife does use A/C in winter to clear fog on her windshield.

Two feet of snow just about closes everything down. I've known events to be canceled when there is four inches of new snow! And we recently saw a flipped pickup truck with just a bit of glaze on the road.

Don't I wish the potholes were filled with snow.

There are only two seasons in Minnesota: winter and road construction. Actually, we do have all four seasons; spring and fall can be strikingly beautiful. See my photos on Flickr. See the Brimson and Duluth sets.

Can't we all identify many accents other than our own? I recently knew that a priest officiating at a memorial service was Irish. Sure enough, the program gave his name as O'Shea.

I don't figure I'm Down South until I get to Missouri.

Gosh, when was the last time I went to a fish fry. I am overdue for fish and chips at my favorite brew pub.

Frost on the Fourth of July? Never heard of it. But it reportedly has snowed in every month except July some year or other.

I'd have to use my snow blower in the whole precinct to put more miles on it than my car. Of course, if more people cleared their sidewalks I'd drive less.

Ten degrees is good skiing weather. Twenty degrees is good outdoor working weather. I wear a sweater indoors in our 62 degree house. However, see above about bare-skinned people.