Winter pictures.... (fairbanks... arcticthaw?) (Ester, North Pole: home, travel, jobs)

[niclh]

Looking to find some good winter time pictures of the North..

Articthaw, I know your out there... Looking into jobs in the Fairbanks area and am having a hard time finding some good pictures of blizzards and the -40 degrees I should see..

Also, in the visitors brochure it said something about the North Star Borough having a population of 80,000 and it being the state of New Jersey..

Can someone elaborate on that for me.?


Thanks in advance!

[niclh]

Tourists Flock to Alaska in the Dead of Winter - New York Times

has a nice little slideshow.. , still not really what i am looking for..

[mal_flisk]

Look up coffee and UAF on youtube, the students throw a cup of hot coffee into the air and it freezes before hitting the ground. Best image of 40 below I can think of. 80,000 live in the North Star Borough, the political entity encompassing all of the other communities around and including Fairbanks in the Interior. At 40 below, hoarfrost covers all of the branches of the trees, outlining them well on a clear day. One breath thru you nostrils and the mucus membranes immediately work overtime. Carry tissue. For guys like me with facial hair, condensation from your breath freezes into the moustache, and creates icicles. Warning: Let this melt on its own. Breaking off the ice braks off frozen hairs, reducing you to a gigolo's pencil line of a moustache. If you are inclined to go without headgear, be prepared for frostbitten ears, nose and cheeks. 20 minutes exposure can do it. Most of the body heat escapes from the head area. Wear gloves - good ones. Cheapies are almost worthless. Boots are sold that are rated to 60 below, but my -20 below boots can cause my feet to sweat. Dress in layers, with a wicking material next to the skin to remove persperation. Wind will make the wet-bulb temp drop even lower (wind-chill). Eye protection becomes important. Shades for daylight hours, because the light on snow can cause problems later in life. Wrap around styles are best after ski goggles. Dress warmly and it is a lot of fun. Other choices are a little hazardous to your health and well-being.

[niclh]

wow... sounds intense...

I've seen the youtube video's.. pretty neat stuff..

[Arcticthaw]

The photos of the moose were in the back yard in Janurary. The truck is late September, and the others are March. Sorry when its -40 I don't run out and take pictures.
There are ways to lessen the number of cold days by living in the hills above the ice fog. This comes with a price of higher property values, costs, and more travel time and fuel. I live right down in the bottom of all that. I am close to where I want to go and I can always take a drive to the hills for some warmer weather and maybe some sunshine

On your question about the borough, just think of it as a REALLY BIG county. In this county we have Fairbanks, North Pole, with a couple of smaller communities or areas, like Ester, Salcha, Goldstream valley, Fox, and some really outlying areas that I wont mention right now. Think of Fairbanks in the center with Ester about 10 miles west, Fox about 12 miles North, North Pole 13 miles south east, Salcha about 35 miles south east, and the Goldstream valley kind of connecting Ester and Fox just north of Fairbanks.

Eventually I will have time to learn how to use photobucket or one of those other services.

[Arcticthaw]

One more bit of info, normally we don't get many blizzards per sae. A couple of snow storms two or three times a year, but not that big of deal. Fairbanks has hills on three sides and is mostly protected from wind except around September and March, when the seasons seem to change. Because of this we tend to be up to 10 degrees warmer than outlying areas like North Pole and Salcha. The Tanana river is to the south of us which is in the third photo in the previous post. The 4th photo is looking east from the hills called Chena Ridge. The sunset if from the Airport looking towards Chena Ridge. The last photo is my drivway that I get to plow when ever it snows.

[dogpiledogs]

The one of your driveway makes me want to cry to be there! That's the way I remember it in Upstate New York - a winter wonderland from Oct/Nov until April - it just kept coming and never melted away. Pine for it again!

[Arcticthaw]

Originally Posted by dogpiledogs

The one of your driveway makes me want to cry to be there! That's the way I remember it in Upstate New York - a winter wonderland from Oct/Nov until April - it just kept coming and never melted away. Pine for it again!

Yea, the trees really used to make a nice arch, but the fuel truck and water truck kept banging the branches with their antennas and top of the truck, so I had to trim them back the last couple of years. I really like coming home down the drive, it insulates me from the rest of the town.

[jessnhow]

Alaska makes me want to cry. Just looking at the immense wonderland around you. Those pictures were gorgeouos. I live in vermont and its beautiful here but nothing in comparison to even one sunrise or sunset in alaska.I hope to return and explore some more.Ii did alot of hiking and soul seaching in the 7 short months we stayed. I have two children now and the possibility of living there, now seems out of reach.Enjoy every moment. I wish I could be there. We even visited a hot spring for a few days while we were up there in september and they were the most amazing things I had ever experienced as went along with many of my experiences up there.

Jess in the green mountains of vermont