here we go

Well I suppose it is soon to be the season for the snow lovers to come out of hiding. Seriously wet roads here and seriously low temperatures are appearing. I hate the white stuff.

Not sure myself if I love or hate it.

Hate paying for the extra heating costs and the eternal damp wet depressing conditions.
Sort of love those crisp frosty sunny days and even the odd layer of fresh snow, but not the grey / yellow mush.

I hate winter and hate the cold - though as an open-air motorist I always have the roof open if it isn't raining whatever the season. In fact, it can sometimes be nicer driving open-air in the winter as you don't end up getting roasted in direct sunlight. You do need to dress-up a bit, but that's just a part of open air motoring in the winter!

I hate going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I hate wind and rain together though can just about tolerate one without the other, and I'm certainly with you on paying the extra heating costs, Scimike!

I used to have to work in Norway for three months every year with the RAF (Jan;Feb;Mar -usually in tents and/or snow-holes for the most of it) and I agree that when its clear and cold and crisp snow is ok - in fact it can be quite beautiful.... Until it thaws.

Max Headroom wrote:
I used to have to work in Norway for three months every year with the RAF (Jan;Feb;Mar -usually in tents and/or snow-holes for the most of it) and I agree that when its clear and cold and crisp snow is ok - in fact it can be quite beautiful.... Until it thaws.

Before i discovered the joys of skiing I too hated the winter and the snow.

Now snow brings the promise of some time soon strapping the skis to the back of my Jimny.
I will be overtaking jeeps, bmw's and other expensive cars struggling up the steep and slippy mountain roads and soon i am sliding down the slopes with my skis at a speed way beyond my own capability and control

The most eager ski bums around here have allready climbed to the tops to find skiable snow allready. I am not that crazy.

Anyways, we had icy roads yesterday and this morning. Lots of accidents from idiots still driving around with summer tires.
and by the way Max: Large NATO excersise Trident Juncture now ongoing.
Lots of accidents with them as well, mostly americans driving into the ditch or colliding.

When I was doing the excecise with the RAF it was known as 'Operation Hardfall', and was back in the 1990s. I loved Norway and I learned to ski there (only downhill skiing) but liked seeing the Norwegian families out and about under the floodlit lights going through the woods with their cross-country skis - unfortunately and regretfully I never gave that a go. Although I tried the awful NATO "planks" skis, and was even towed along behind those Hägglunds Bv206 - was it a Bandvagn(?) and stayed upright. (hated travelling in the back cab though - made me feel sick very quickly)
I reckon we were quite well prepared in most respects with studded tyres etc, but it was usually the army lads that came to grief on the roads - mostly through stupidity. We never saw the Americans that much until we moved north inside the arctic circle - I remember seeing a smashed up helicopter on a truck - apparently it flew into some wires across a Fjord.
We started off at Bomoen army camp near Voss (I learned to ski in Voss) where we spent a lot of time in classrooms doing survival theory etc and lived in some "Riggs" old semi-portable accomodation once used by the guys that built the hydro electric installations. We operated Puma Helicopters from the runway at Bomoen which often thawed, flooded and froze - it was like an ice-rink so made for some good practice driving Landrovers on that. and did some days on a local hill in tents and snow-holes before moving north usually on a ferry, in readiness for the main part of the excercise.
The Americans had tents and heaters that were dreadful I know that much!

At the weekend Ermintrude and I were with friends up above the snow line on applecross pass up in the Highlands. That'll do for me for this year.