Friends and family often ask me, ‘What do you do all winter when it’s so dark and cold up there?” Now, I wish I could honestly answer; mush a dog team, run a trapline, ice fish daily, ski six miles a day, snowshoe to the grocery store, and rope a moose to pull my sled, but, unfortunately, none of that is true. Maybe somebody does all of that. I know some people do some of those things, but I rarely do any of it, and some of those activities I don’t do at all (aka the moose pulling a sled activity). In Interior Alaska, we have six months of winter. From around the second week of October often through April there is snow on the ground and it’s below freezing. So, hey, seems like I have time to do all kinds of those outdoor winter things, I mean what else is there to do?
First of all, let me explain. I don’t want to own a dog team, the dogs are expensive to feed, I don’t like to clean up dog poo, and they can be noisy when they’re chained up and bored. I thought about getting some dogs when I first moved up here, seemed like a good idea since ‘everyone’ else has some but, my husband firmly put his foot down about it and I’m glad he did. Instead, I got one dog, an Alaska husky named Dasha. I picked her up from the pound at four months and she was a prime example of why I didn’t want a dog team. She liked to fight with other dogs, especially female dogs, and absolutely looked for any opportunity to do so. She killed anything she could get ahold of that is smaller than a moose, with the exception of cats. She was a bit scared of cats with good reason since my cat trounced her more than once. Anyway, she was naughty. Her saving grace was that she did not run off, she tolerated my kids and did not try and bite them, although she never really liked them, and of course, she did not eat cats. Oh, and my husband chimed in that she was very quiet and rarely barked. She was my walking buddy, encouraging me to get out at -40F, and always watched my back so I didn’t run into a bear or moose. She was my best friend, and I miss her dearly every day. You can read more about Dasha here.
As for those other activities…All I have to say about trapping is I don’t want to. Now if somebody else is into it, ok great, it’s just not for me. I can’t even trap the squirrel in my yard that is chewing through my garbage can and attacking my birds at the feeder, let alone something bigger. As for skiing and snowshoeing, sure I do some of that. Unfortunately, for me, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest of Oregon though, which means it rained all winter and rarely snowed. I did not grow up doing traditional winter sports and consequently don’t have a deep love of snow sports. In fact, I’m a horrible skier, cross-country or downhill. I try to like it, I do, but I often think I could walk just as fast as I could ski, and without falling down as much. I do occasionally snowshoe near the end of winter. I stomp a trail around my property when I’m bored and cross over to the next ridgeline coming out a few miles down my road. Ice fishing, we do about twice a winter with a friend who has all the proper gear; ice auger, small weird fishing poles, fishing tent, bait, etc. We bring the food, beer, and propane heater, and have a great time. And about twice a year we take a snow machine (aka snowmobile) out to a cabin and go camping.
I think the main reason I did not take up all these activities routinely, is the problem with any hobby anywhere, it takes a lot of gear and as much as you try and avoid it, that gear is costly and adds up quickly. You try and get away with cheaper equipment but as you get into the sport you quickly get frustrated with broken items and/or you realize if you just buy one more thing or something better it would really make things more enjoyable. Let me give you an example. I went and bought my kids the cheapest used skis and boots I could find. I mean the first couple of years you’re really just encouraging (a.ka. brain-washing) them into liking the sport and they spend the whole time falling down and getting back up again and learning to go up and down small hills; for this, they do not need nice gear. So, for three kids and used equipment, it cost me $300. Just for cross-country skiing! That’s one sport. Not to mention you’re already spending a small fortune on winter clothing to keep your kids’ fingers from freezing. That said, I do own skis, ice skates, and snowshoes, and so does my husband. I suppose at some point my kids will too.
Despite my protests at the price of equipment, I do spend a fair amount of time in the winter trying to install in my three kids, aged 7, 7, and 9, a love of winter sports, because Alaskans are very outdoorsy. Alaskans were already at the same level of outdoorsy that people became after two years of a pandemic. Any excuse to be outside is a valid one. It doesn’t matter if it’s -40 F or prime mosquito season, people just take it in stride and go outside anyway. And I think for that reason the population by and large is very healthy compared to people from outside. For example, my husband took up skate-skiing last year. Skate-skiing is similar to downhill skiing, except the ground is mostly flat, but there are edges on the skis and you push out to go forward, similar to roller skates. You really need a flat wide path for skate skiing, so my husband was on the University trails which are groomed and very wide. He was feeling pretty confident about himself, trucking along when he happened to glance over his shoulder to see somebody skiing behind him catching up. Joel stepped to the side and a lady in her 80’s passed him simply flying down the path. He said she was so old that she was practically bent in two and looked like a strong breeze would blow her over. Another prime example of Alaska tough, and just overall vigor of people up here, is when I was leaving a friends’ house one summer day. There was a lady in her 70’s standing on a ladder using a sledgehammer to pound a post in the ground. She maybe weighed 130 pounds and topped 5’ 4”. It was simply amazing to see.
People in this town especially love their winter and being outside in it; they ice skate, cross-country ski, skate ski, play hockey, run, fat bike (which is where you ride your bike with these really wide tires so you don’t sink into the snow), ice fish, downhill ski, and snowshoe. Oh, and of course some mush dogs and winter camp. I know people that get excited when it snows a foot in mid-April. While I’m wishing the snow would melt so I can plant my garden earlier, they’re excited they get to ski another couple of weeks. I find it a bit strange really. So anyway, that’s why I spend a fair amount of time during the winter trying to install that crazy love of winter in my kids. I mean if they’re growing up here they’ll have to know at a minimum how to cross-country ski and ice skate, or they are not going to be able to do anything with their friends come to high school.
So aside from occasional skiing, sledding with my kids, ice skating, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snow machining out to cabins for the weekend, taking care of my animals, convincing my kids that winter is the best season, and going for walks, what else do I do all winter? Well nothing too exciting I’m afraid, I’m sure it is very similar to what everyone does. I run errands in town, I make sure my kids get to school on time, I spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning, I write both for this blog and on some scientific papers since I am a biologist. Although I’m poor at it, I do some sewing in the winter, mostly on down jackets that my kids rip, but still, it counts. I also take up knitting in the winter, mostly simple things that I can give away as presents. I spend a good amount of time reading, I love to read and try to read every day. Cookbooks, travel logs, memoirs, fantasy, how-to books, I don’t care, I just love to read. I also try new recipes for both baking and cooking. I plan my garden for the following summer.
My husband and I also work on construction projects during the winter. One winter we built a bedroom, another winter, it was wood sheds. As long as we get the foundation done by the time the ground freezes we can build quite a lot in the winter. Right now, my husband and I are converting a pole barn, or some would say a carport, into an outdoor living space. It’s three-sided and has a wood stove, an old couch, a chair, and a table in it. We’ve sided the inside with raw lumber that we’ve cut on our friend’s sawmill. We leave the open side of the barn towards the Northern Lights and the view of the hills. On the weekends and sometimes in the evenings we stoke up the fire and the whole family goes outside. We read or sled, throw frisbees, and when we’re cold, we warm our hands by the fire. We’ve also been eating dinner out there on Friday evenings and I hope this winter to expand my repertoire of wood stove cooked recipes.
Sometimes in the middle of winter when it’s been well below freezing for a couple of months and the sun never really gets very bright, I’ll also start making up reasons to be outside. So, I’ll go outside and split kindling when we don’t need it or shovel more snow. I don’t even like shoveling snow but it is an excuse to be outside and be active. And lucky for me there is almost always snow that needs to be shoveled, whether it’s a deck, to clear a gate to the chickens, or a path to the outhouse. It helps that I have animals too. Not dogs of course, but rabbits, chickens, ducks, sometimes turkeys that I overwinter. Those animals force you to go outside twice a day to take care of them even if it’s 40 F below.
So that’s what I ‘do’ in the winter. A little bit of everything and nothing, probably just like you. As my husband and I finish up our current outdoor project I’m looking ahead to the next one. I’m thinking we should work on a sauna. What do you think? Throw out some ideas. Happy Winter and Happy Holidays.
I love this, April!! Let us know when you have that carport done and we might just come up to see the Norhtern Lights while sitting around the fire. You are amazing.
You’re always welcome to come to visit. The Northern Lights are supposed to be wonderful all winter.
I agree with the hobby thing. Fun and all but expensive! Reading is much cheaper 🙂
Sauna is a great idea!
I think I should build a sauna as well. Then you guys can come up and use it.