January Challenge Discussion...

[Moosez45]

freeze'em off, of blow it off, the choice is yours.

Moose

 

[Nsvens89]

This seems like a fun one. I have some time before school starts back up. Just hope we get enough snow here. It's crazy thinking buffalo ny might not have enough this time a year.

 

[Psyop]

Come on snow it is going to be 60 here next week. UGH

 

[whereismyclock]

Meh. Finally hit the negatives so I've begun freezing my booze on the balcony.
Went for a snow shoe. Brought the Machax along but didn't find the stones to use it on frozen wood first outing.
Got the board waxed so I'm planning a trip to the mountain with my old man as soon as I can get the time off.
Times is good!:thumbup:

 

[NixKustoms]

We're heading up to play in the snow some time soon this month. I"m not saying I'm in yet because I've been doing that too much and haven't been able to get the contest done. So this time I'm gonna do it then be in. I don't want to waist the room on the thread.

This should be fun for the whole family!!

 

[Bladite]

it's 11 degrees F*** outside right now.

not a SINGLE grain of snow. nope. none. compared to last year? when i had 25 foot MOUNDS i could hollow out and stand up in? oh myyyy.

a true igloo is ... tricky. forget making it with a bucket or pail. it's a LOT of work.

a speed quincy is easier.

or you could use a special tool

built well, they don't even actually collapse... they slump. slowly, then hollow out like shells.

even then, this was the last snow on the grounds for WEEKS:

but giant snow sculptures are more fun

 

[Outsoul]

Now this winter is officially killing me! I have new snowshoes and a Becker challenge, which both really need snow! It's cold enough, but the precipitation has yet to come. Maybe next week...

 

[cbwoods67]

Does anyone have any snow on the ground?
We got maybe two inches of snow on the ground a few weeks ago that lasted for a whopping 4 hours. Just long enough to make it a b*tch to drive into town for class.

 

[Moosez45]

Now this winter is officially killing me! I have new snowshoes and a Becker challenge, which both really need snow! It's cold enough, but the precipitation has yet to come. Maybe next week...

Welcome to the Beckerforum, soul, and Bladeforums. Glad you stopped in.

We got all month of one of the coldest, wettest months out there, here's to hopin'.

Moose

 

[Wrayth]

I might have a chance at this My BK2 is destined to be here
3rd week of January and we might have some snow by then.
Who would have thought that there would be no snow on the ground in January

 

[ocnLogan]

We haven't had any accumulation of snow all winter so far (its been cold, and its been pretty warm, but it seems to have made no difference so far). If we can manage to break this warm spell, I'll happily compete in this one, but the semester starts tomorrow, so we'll see how killer my course load is before I commit to anything.

Looks like this should be fun though. Also, I'm assuming its no big deal if I get some people to help out (meaning, my wife, and my little sister and her fiance). I don't have enough beckers to go around, but close. Plus that way I could kill two birds with one stone (hanging out with family, and trying to win a mystery knife ).

 

[Moosez45]

We haven't had any accumulation of snow all winter so far (its been cold, and its been pretty warm, but it seems to have made no difference so far). If we can manage to break this warm spell, I'll happily compete in this one, but the semester starts tomorrow, so we'll see how killer my course load is before I commit to anything.

Looks like this should be fun though. Also, I'm assuming its no big deal if I get some people to help out (meaning, my wife, and my little sister and her fiance). I don't have enough beckers to go around, but close. Plus that way I could kill two birds with one stone (hanging out with family, and trying to win a mystery knife ).

Nope, SOLO mission here. You can have a cameraman, but no others pitchin' in. I mean, did Lewis and Clark have scads of slaves helping them out? No? Well then, it seems we are back to solo here, Lewis did his thing, Clark did his, and the rarely even talked.

I think they were married, now that I pust some thought into it.



Solo mission, brother, solo.

Moose

 

[Bladite]

iirc, L&C travelled with a large group of indians and other people at given times. slaves if you will

they didn't have cameras, but they were hardly alone a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_clark

anywhere from 1 person (Sacagawea and her son - who's the dad? :>) and more than 30 on occasions.

personally, when i get a chance for snow, i have at least one friend that wants to help me make a 10+ foot diameter igloo as an engineering study, and we might get as many as 4-5 people. with that many helps moving snow around, we could finish in as little as 3 hours.

we'll see...

 

[ocnLogan]

Ah, well, in that case the odds of this happening are a bit lower, but we'll see. Thanks for the reply though. And mostly this depends on if we get any snow.

Maybe I can convince them all to build their own or maybe come along for a nice "scenic drive" through the snowfilled countryside to do some photography or something .

And yea, igloos are way to time consuming to build. I've made a couple of quinzee's (one large enough to fit about 10 people comfortably), and thats probably what I'll try to do here if I get the time.

 

[Bladite]

also, a couple observations on snow-shelter making:

if you go so fast as to work up a sweat, and get and stay wet? you're probably going to die, esp if you can't finish in time, and esp if you can't get dry/warm again

making any kind of crawl in dug out snow cave, quincy can be very difficult, hard work, and you'll get wet. plus you need a LOT of snow to hollow...

making igloos in various forms generally requires thick, deep snow, and a snow saw. made my own, as spending $70 for a device i can barely use in my climate except during exceptional Winters seemed stupid:

so, one has to pick other methods

stay dry, stay alive.

 

[ocnLogan]

The giant one I made was in Denver during the blizzard they got in 2006 (roughly 2.5-3 feet). We buried one of those kids plastic playhouses (the ones that kinda click together) and a few other things with a snowblower in the back yard. Once that was done, we dug it out, disassembled the playhouse and took it out one piece at a time. We then expanded from there, and it worked pretty well.

I've never made an igloo work though, must be I don't have enough snow, or skill or something .

And nice homemade saw there bladite, that must work great .

 

[Bladite]

i'm thinking the knife + 1 tool might be a serious limit...

not having helpers will make he project take a long time to do even a mediocre job...

my last igloo of quality took me over 5 hours, and i "knew" what i was doing in reasonable conditions. in particular, it's essential to have snowshoes or something to pack the snow down well.

i would also add that using sticks, twigs, or a tarp is possible with some shelters, esp if you're using the knife to harvest, but is serious cheating on a pure snow hut... but in the woods? with survival at stake? quick and dirty? you can believe i'll be cheating. just be aware of the downsides

trivia: a properly made igloo can keep you warm (32 dF inside) with -80 dF outside with high winds. it'll be quiet too. walls can be 6-8 inches thick even. it's eery.

mmm, a backhoe is a tool

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

No snow here any more. If it snows again, I may try my luck at this and put a day into it.

 

[LECTER]

Usually buried in the stuff but this year, nada!!

 

[Col Defender]

Not lookin good around here either...we shall see.