A Winter in the Pit: Washing Dishes in the Alaskan Arctic
On a weekend holiday to Fairbanks, I stepped into Big Ray’s shop, where walls and racks were festooned with down jackets, wool hats, gloves, boots and face masks of every style and function imaginable. I have read that one measure of the dominance of winter is the number of words available to describe snow in the native languages of that region. I now knew that another indicator was the abundance and variety of long underwear available at local retailers. Each pair was categorized by the level of cold it was designed to withstand, one labeled “Very Cold” and the other “Extreme Cold.”
As I approached the man at the front counter, I explained to him that I was new to Alaska but I didn’t want to overdo it by getting the really heavy-duty stuff when regular heavy-duty would suffice.
“I’m from Chicago,” I added helpfully, to let him know I wasn’t a total wuss when it came to cold.
“I don’t think there’s anything you can do that’s…
Categories: The Expeditioner