Thursday, December 2, 2010

My Love-Hate Relationship With Snow

I used to love snow. I associated it with Christmas, sledding, hot chocolate, and all sorts of happy memories. Now I have a whole different set of associations: a stinging face and close calls with frostbite, puddles in my house that get my socks wet, and walking to and from school in the dark.

I could enjoy snow for about two weeks. Unfortunately, it arrives in October and stays through May.


Mendenhall Glacier

Snow does, on occasion, make for some beautiful scenery. (Disclaimer: this is not a local photo. It was taken in Juneau. And since you were wondering, it's Mendenhall Glacier.)




Ice Crystals

There is even beautiful local scenery.



Winter's Bounty

And yummy local scenery.




My Skiers

Then there was coaching cross country skiing. That was fun. And snow is a relatively imperative aspect of the sport...



Skiing at the Edge of the World

Wandering around Purposefully conditioning with the ski team allowed access to some pretty striking views.



Kisimi

And when ski practice takes place during sunset. Boy howdy, that's beautiful!



Uiviilaq

Cold weather brings out the most adorable cold weather gear. Seriously, could this little guy BE any cuter?



Cutie Pie

And there's something about Eskimo cheeks that look even more compelling when bundled in fleece...



Alappaa!!!

Of course, there are also less than cute cold-weather outfits.

But my main beef against snow is the accompanying slipperiness. Packed snow that has been repeatedly trod upon is very slippery. So is ice. One Inupiaq word that I've become very familiar with over the last five and a half years is "kataq." It means to slip or fall.




Tipsigigaa

This picture was taken after one of my early kataqs. I was on skis. I fell flat on my back. I was surrounded by laughing children. It wasn't one of my proudest moments.

In addition to leaving me sprawled across the ground, my kataqs have caused: trips to the clinic, prescriptions for heavy-duty pain medication, and physical therapy. For reals.



DSC_0681_2

This winter, I’m trying to take a stand against the slipperiness by religiously wearing YakTrax. I haven’t had a single fall since I started wearing them (although there was one close call involving a metal grate that I don't really want to talk about.)

(By the way, do you love my boots? I inherited them from the teacher before me. Hey Sandy! Thanks for leaving your boots in Brevig!)

Who knows, maybe the YakTrax will change how I feel about snow. Maybe.

8 comments:

Daphne said...

Good to see something new in your blog!
Also, most of them are from Shishmaref!

Katherine said...

Those picture are beautiful!! Those kids are seriously adorable!! I was excited when I opened my reader and saw a new post on your blog! Hope you guys are well.

Breezi@ Not Your Average Fairytale said...

Good to see you again, Angie!
Hope you guys are doing well. :)

Great photography, btw.

etreiersen said...

Nice to get an update from you guys.

I saw your mom at the Families Forever Bookstore down in Lewiston a couple of weeks ago. She gave me an update on you. I agree with you I don't like the snow. The pictures of those kids bundled up are adorable.

Take Care!

Missy said...

First of all, beeeeeautiful pictures. Seriously.
Secondly, I feel your pain. I can't say enough how grateful I am to have a normal December to March winter. People who haven't experienced it just don't understand.

Stewart and Carrie Hughes Family said...

I also found the yak tracks don't get along well with metal grates. If you can find the ones with spikes instead of springs, they do better on grates, but nothing beats yak tracks on packed snow and ice.

Melody said...

You make me smile! Who was it that was notorious for falling on the ice?

What great photos!

Missy! said...

Sorry about the falls...hopefully those trax will work out for you