Ever had your ass frozen to a wall?
I haven't written a blog in a long time and I am currently killing time before I have to brave outside to go to a medical
appointment. I say brave as it is currently -43C (that's -45.4F for our friends to the south, even too cold for our polar bears and fur seals!) outside with windchill and it's only going to get colder as the sun comes up as our winds will grow from the current 40+km/h.
This has been the coldest stretch we have had in 100 years with cold weather warnings now 8 days in a row. My window is pure ice and I can't even see out. So when was the last time I can remember being this cold? One story comes to mind which I have to head back to my childhood back home.
I grew up on a Tayana 37 sailboat that my parents had custom built in Taiwan. Most sailboats in Canada have what's called a cord haul. This is a fiberglass haul with an insulator between two layers of fiberglass. It helps keep the inside of the boat warm in colder waters but generally is a much weaker haul then traditional straight fiberglass hauls. Since we were sailing all over the world, my parents had the traditional fiberglass haul in our boat to withstand pounding seas, foreign floating objects like logs or even submerged shipping containers that get lost overboard in bad weather.
This was our second boat and we took delivery in October of 1987 which proved to be a fairly cold winter in Canada. All winter long the boat was kept in the water as it's warmer then being up on dry dock. A bubbler system stops the ice from closing in on the haul and crushing the boat. All winter long equipment was installed on to the boat from fresh water makers, radar, other navigational equipment, safety equipment, diesel heaters, hot water tanks, even a washer and dryer for some of the comforts of living on a boat.
That winter we had a lot of problems with the diesel heater as it would keep getting fuel vapor locks and shutting off. It got really bad and inside the boat the haul would begin to sweat with condensation. It got so bad I nearly got electrocuted once plugging in a kettle. It even fried our TV too! As you can tell, my upbringing was a little different by now. At the time my parents were working just quick part time jobs to make ends meet while being back in Canada. They both were working shift work and I was enrolled into a public school.
This one night was severely cold out much like last night. We all went to bed wearing sweatshirts and flannel pajamas
with jogging pants over top. My parents left early for work and I was to get myself to school as I always did. Now the heater was working when my parents left for work and the boat had really cooled down inside and the haul began to sweat again. Now you have to picture my room was literally the size of a coffin that you crawled in from the top. My walls were made from teak and my ceiling which was only about two and a half feet from my face was straight fiberglass.
As I remained sleeping and the temperature dropped more inside the boat, all the condensation began to freeze against all it touched. I woke up as my alarm clock always had done. As I came to consciousness, I realized I was being restrained and couldn't move. Most people would panic with this feeling but I was more confused, then I realized I could see my breath so I stopped breathing and listened. I couldn't hear the diesel furnace firing and then I realized how bloody cold I was. Then I could see all the frost on the walls and then I realized the inevitable, My ass and back were frozen to the wall. I couldn't get out of my coffin sized bed and I was definitely was going to miss my bus to school. Then I realized the worst thing of all....I had to pee.
That was the coldest memory I have and today is a close second as the radiator in my room is pumping full blast and it's still freezing in my room and I have not even gotten outside yet. If I didn't need these medications I would skip my appointment all together it's so cold outside. I guess things could be worse, I could have my ass frozen to a wall and having to go pee. If you live somewhere cold, stay warm and bundle up, if you live somewhere warm....I hate you.
Have a great day my fellow affiliates and remember...life can always be worse...it could be something else than your ass that's frozen to the wall.
Recent Comments
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Wow! I once took my two boys when they were toddlers to Beech Mountain North Carolina in dead winter...we normally went there in summer..had a vacation home there...it was -17 degrees with wind chill ..you couldn't breath..I ended up taking my youngest to ER with severe asthma attack..he was turning purple!
Get to warmer climate is all I can say...For me I'm about as good one place as another...if I can be warm...Im there! unless I get paid lots of money not to be!
BTW...I have had my tongue stuck to the Ice tray in freezer! A close second to having ones ass frozen to the wall! ;-)
Wow! Amazing story. I grew up in Alberta and experienced some -40F to -60F winter days. Luckily we never had the power fail!
I understand somewhat. I grew up in the interior of Alaska. The coldest I ever saw was -60 F. That is without windchill, that is straight temp. When that cold spell hit Mom and Dad were not there due to a medical emergency! We lived hundreds of miles from the nearest city and over 70 miles from the nearest paved road. We didn't live where there was any road access at all, it was fly-in only.
-30 was normal and -40 would hit a couple times per winter too. I never saw -60 again though. We also got hurricane force winds occasionally...
It got up to +100 F in the summer one year. +80 is common.
You would hate us here lately. While the rest of the continent is cold, Alaska has been warm. It is only about 19 F today but was 50 F a few days ago and in the mid 40's last month too! That is how it always goes though. When we are warm, you are cold.
My cat keeps licking the window frame and I am just waiting for her tongue to get stuck. I try and stop her and then zoom she is back there lick, lick, licking away.
It's warmed up here now as it sits about -22C with a mild wind chill. It will cool down again once the sun comes up. The coldest I have seen is -61C at the Summit of Mt. Tremblant when I was snowboarding in 2001 I believe, I never could understand how our grandparents remembered years for stories, I can't remember two weeks ago lol.
Anyways, I was there for demo days (purchasing stock) as I worked at a skiis and board shop. We had been partying the night before, I woke up late to get to Demo days so I rushed up the mountain, didn't tuck my shirt in or attached my snow guard from my coat to snow pants, rode down into town, I got frostbite all down my back and ended up spending my whole weekend laying on my stomach at the chalet we had rented after getting out of the hospital. At least I got the attention from all the ladies as they were not going riding in that weather. LOL felt like some high up Roman official being fed grapes haha.
Good grief! You must be crazy!!! I grew up here and I wouldn't do anything like that!
I'm glad you survived! When you say you "rode" you mean a board right? Crazy.
I don't miss the extreme cold like that! I hope you get through it ok this time. Clothes are good...really, really warm clothes...tucked in...no gaps!
Good to have you back! I hope your kitty's tongue doesn't get stuck!
Yes it was a snowboard I was riding.You don't make the best decisions when you wake up drunk especially after a 10 hour shift, an 8 hr drive and then a compressed time of alcohol and partying before a business meeting especially when you have to cross over a mountain to get into town, but it is these events that make us who we are right? Would I ever do it again....heck no! Frostbite really sucks! At least I got no real damage to myself other than a great story lol.
That is really cold! And I'm sorry I did laugh that your arse was frozen to a wall :)
In our part of the world (Melbourne, Australia), we have the opposite situation today. We are all inside with the doors closed and curtains drawn in front of our air conditioner eating ice cubes to stay cool. It's 42C (which is 108F). Thankfully it doesn't get much hotter than that because it seems our house isn't very insulated so keeping it cool is nearly impossible. Other parts of Australia are at about 45C today (113F) and that is too much!! So I'm grateful we don't have it any more extreme than 42! I am hoping that there are no bushfires today.
I hope you get your medications and then get warm again at your home :)
They really aren't the most attractive things but they truly work amazing. Have you seen the pop bottle air conditioners? They have become a really big thing in South Africa as they have no operating cost and cost next to nothing to make. You can even by kits not. They will lower the temperature in a room by almost 5C. I will send you a pm with a link to a video. We used them on our boat and I have even used them in a couple of beach bars when I worked in the Carribean. They do obviously work better in the faster-moving air or sunny windows.
I have got a few really good stories in my travels while sailing on the boat from uncivilized tribes to hurricanes, to the craziest thing I have ever experienced. I figure I am going to use my WA blog to share my life that has been anything but normal, plus it would be an escape from the norm of what you would usually read on here. Glad you enjoyed it, Trevor.
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Gidday,
Haven't heard from you awhile, nice to see you're giving the chat room a good work out.
What an interesting and amazing story you just told. What did you have to do to free yourself? pee on the ice?
You should really move to warmer climes. Hope you endured the travel out of door to the doctors.
In Oz it is really too warm. I got an AC for Xmas so it has relieved
the humidity.
Keep well,
Cheers Jae