52 years in the real North, ...you get acclimated soon!
A story I wrote a few years back,
"It was February, 1967, somewhere between Schefferville and Lac Bienvelle, QC. We were doing a Government run topo survey(which eventually led to the Quebec power project in the 70s), 9 men trying to survive in tents. Moving camp every second day as we progressed. I was mechanic and team leader so, when we awoke to high winds and severe cold (normal was minus 35-40), it was decided that the day would be a no work, no travel day.
This meant that the 5 stoves would need extra wood if everyone was staying in camp. First item was to get a chainsaw thawed out and running. Second was to get a Snowbug(made in Sudbury, similar to a ski-doo with one ski) up and going. This involved a blowtorch to heat the engine to a point it would start, warm up, and remain running. We had some old burn not far away, maybe a quarter mile from camp, so the trees were available to cut and haul.
Eventually both the saw and Snowbug were running, so 2 of us donned a second balaclava and second parka and off we went. It was cumbersome with all the clothes and snowshoes, but we would manage to get maybe a dozen slim trees down at a time and get them back to camp. There two others would cut them up into stove-size pieces. Meanwhile wed thaw out a bit and go back for more trees to be cut up. It was bitter work, but we needed the heat to survive. We continued throughout the day in order to have night-time wood.
By the next morning, the wind had died, so we decided to move camp. This meant thawing out 5 Snowbugs and getting them all running continuously, no mean feat as every time two were running, another would stop. But eventually all were running and on their way with the gear, plowing through six foot banks of solid, windpacked snow, and crashing down over the sharp sides. Skis and steering gear broke off, and in order to make camp and get it set up, some toboggans were abandoned until later.
We had a huge thermometer, about 18 long, government issued. It showed a low temperature of minus 84 degrees! With the wind factored in, the wind chill was well over minus 100!
We thought we had a new official record for Canadian cold, but the folks in Ottawa said we required the next bigger thermometer to establish the record!!! .typical of government then and now!!!
Living in the NWT for 43 years Ive seen some severe cold days to work in, but that was my coldest day to work!!!!!!!!!!!"
