I went mountain biking today...

But I didn't stay out there very long! (see linked picture)

tanstaafl.

But I didn't stay out there very long!

And somebody please tell me: *Why* am I going to Alaska? Whose bright idea was this?

fuck that dude.

You mad git!

-40 degrees fahrenheit is -40 degrees celsius. Man thats cold. You can't even pee your name in the snow at that temperature.

\\Kaare

I thought it was a bit chilly in the office this morning (10C/50F outside). I will shut the hell up now!!

edit: Anyway, what happens when the thermometer gets to the bottom?

Gareth

What an odd thermometer. I thought it was dual scale for a moment, but it's not...

"Huh, that's odd, what temperature scale is 0 at the same time as Farenheit?"
"Ah, right...Farenheit!"

-brendan

Anyway, what happens when the thermometer gets to the bottom?

Possibly it starts again at the top? Or, in the photo it isn't legible, but there is small print at the bottom which says 'Continued on next thermometer'.

pca

"This thermometer intentionally left blank"?

Peter

"Further readings of the temperature left as an exercise for the reader"?

"NAT error: Not A Temperature."

pca

Hey, at least the sun is shining! What is the closest city to you? That doesn't look like an Anchorage temperature... How much sun are you getting right now?

Jim

What is the closest city to you? That doesn't look like an Anchorage temperature... How much sun are you getting right now?


My house is about 10 miles outside of Fairbanks (second largest city in the state.) We are up to 5 hours 42 minutes of daylight today, a gain of six minutes over yesterday.

At the time my thermometer said 40 below zero, it was 20 degrees colder than that down in the flats by the river -- the chief engineer at the radio station where I work showed 64 below zero this morning. I have been out in temperatures colder than minus 70.

Don't believe for a minute the people who tell you that once you get colder than 40 below zero it's all the same, just cold. The difference between -40 and -50 is quite noticeable, and at -60 it's like living in a different world -- everything is so quiet and intense at the same time. It's truly amazing.

tanstaafl.

As these discussions are happening, I'm thinking of "To Build A Fire". Doug had to correct me that it was Jack London rather than Ernest Hemingway. Of course HE would know.

Compared to where I grew up Alaska is pretty darn cold, but I've got most of the lower 48 beat. Caribou, Maine regularly records nationwide low temps, and usually the average temp during the wintertime is 0 F. We have to use block heaters in all our cars and once in a while we'd have to whip out the Silent-Glo to heat up the engines enough to start. My cousin moved to Alaska from Maine for a year once, and she came back with stories about how much colder it got there.

Greetings!

My deepest apologies. I am a huge Jack London fan, but I just could not resist this...

Out of curiosity, what does one wear outside when it's colder than minus 70 degrees?

Joke answers are welcome.

Well, it's forty below, and I don't give a fsck, got a heater in the truck and I'm off to the rodeo!! ...

It's an allemande left, and allemande right, c'mon you fsckin' dummy, get your right step right, get off stage you god damn goof, y'know... you piss me off, you fscking jerk... get on my nerves... WELL here comes Johnny with his pecker in his hand, he's a one-ball man and he's off to the rodeo...

Makes me wonder I was just in the area last summer on vacation- has anyone ever climbed Mt. Denali/Mckinley in the winter (must be -100 up there)? Seems sucidial but someone may have done it...

Awesome! I went mountain biking last week, and felt overdressed wearing a short-sleeved bike jersey.

My last (real) winter bike ride was down the Rideau Canal in Ottawa one February about 12 years ago. Not quite as cold as that thermometer reads, though.

Apparently so, although not often.

We have to use block heaters in all our cars and once in a while we'd have to whip out the Silent-Glo to heat up the engines enough to start

That's better than the pan under the engine that you filled with petrol and lighted up in the russian army trucks I came across...

I would love to relocate to AK, but I think Fairbanks is too cold for me (and I'm from Minneapolis!). The coldest I've ever been in was -46F and I just can't imagine a winter where it routinely gets that cold.

That's great that you guys have almost 6 hours of light already! I was there for July and the first part of August and the 24hr daylight was awesome! I loved Alaska, but I think Anchorage is more of a climate I could handle. It seems that Anchorage is the same or slightly warmer than Minneapolis in the winter.

Jim