John and Petra's Alaskan Diary
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9th March, 2002
Grocery shopping at -40 C, Fairbanks, winter 2002.
People sometimes ask us "What's it like going shopping at -40 C?". The short answer: "It's very cold!".
We tend to shop only on the weekends, as we bicycle to work most days during the week. (That's another story...) Planning a shopping trip in the coldest weather can involve some interesting logistics, along the form of 'we have to go to such and such a shop last, otherwise the eggs/milk/juice will freeze when we park the car to go for the other items". So we make a shopping list, then we make a (mental) route map.
The next step, after dressing appropriately, is to de-ice and warm up the car. The cars are 'plugged in' to electric heaters, to keep the engine block, battery, and 'oil pan' (sump) warm. This certainly helps when starting the car at reasonably cold temperatures, and is vital in the coldest weather. The other advantage is environmental, strange as it may seem. A cold car does not efficiently combust the petrol, meaning you need more petrol to get anywhere, and also means that carbon monoxide (CO) is produced in large amounts. CO is a toxic, odourless gas. In the past, Fairbanks in winter has failed US federal clean air tests due to the amount of CO, mostly produced by motor vehicles. So, 'plugging in' helps keep the air in Fairbanks clean. It means the power plants need to burn more fuel to produce the electricity, but using energy is a fact of life up here - we do question the amount of energy needed for life here, which is one reason we ride our bikes to work, small contribution as it is, and drive a small car. There is certainly scope for a good energy conservation program here, as in most parts of the US, and without a doubt in other countries, including Australia.
Back to the story...
We usually start the car, and spend a few minutes letting it warm up. We use this time to de-ice (with a plastic scraper) or to clear the snow (by brush) from the windows. If we have had clear weather, the windows grow ice crystals. If we have have had snow, the snow keeps the ice from forming. The worst is clear, 'humid' weather followed by a recent snow fall under warm conditions - then we have to brush the snow away, and then scrape! It is easy to get very cold hands doing these tasks.
Having got the car ready, we then head off. At this time, the car interior is usually still cold. In fact, in the coldest weather, it never really warms up. We drive along bundled up in several layers of clothing, big boots, mittens, hats, and scarves etc. (We find thermal underwear to be compulsory!) From looking in the other cars as we drive, and seeing people wear similar clothing, we realise we are not alone in having a cold car.
John dressed for the cold. Note his frozen eyebrows!
Our iced-up car
Icy roadAt least, when it is very cold, the snow and ice tends to clear from the road (from sublimation), and reduces the chances of sliding off. However, at intersections (where cars stand at red lights, producing water vapour from the exhausts, and heating the road underneath), there is usually a patch of very treacherous ice. The state Deparment of Transport puts down gravel, and tries to de-ice the trouble spots, but you still have to take great care.
Similarly, at the supermarket car parks, some people leave their car engines running while they are shopping, despite the numerous signs asking you to turn off your engine. While leaving the engine running makes it nice for those people getting back into a warm car, it means the snow under the car melts, and then freezes into slick ice, and also makes for clouds of water vapour in the car parks, reducing visibility. It is in many ways very antisocial, but 'antisocial' does not appear to be a word that is either in use, or is understood!
There are almost no 'small corner stores' as we would understand in Australia, except for a few convenience stores attached to petrol stations. There are three big supermarkets here, Safeway, Fred Meyers (a deparment store that also sells groceries), and K-Mart (ditto). K-mart only recently opened the grocery section, and within a few weeks the news broke that K-Mart were almost bankrupt. They have continued trading however.
The supermarkets are located in the ubiquitous 'strip mall' developments, surrounded by huge car parks (to handle the huge cars, obviously). Driving along the main roads you get the feeling that you are surrounded by car parks, with concrete block warehouses (the shops) off in the distance. It can be hard to walk between 'neighboring' stores. There is usually no pedestrian-specific path, and you have to negotiate two car parks, and often a busy road, to do so. (We joke that as we walk between the shops, the locals point and say 'there go those crazy foreigners', or words to that effect!)
Supermarket car park
Main road street-scapeSo, having negotiated the icy roads, and the icy, vapour-filled carparks, we do our shopping. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a tad on the expensive side - they all have to be brought in from elsewhere in the winter. Apples, for example, are typically a couple of (US) dollars a pound, say $8 Australian per kilo. Fortunately we are earning in US dollars.
Fairbanks is in a wide, flat valley. When the weather gets cold, large amounts of cold air drain from the surrounding hills, and settle in the valley. A temperature inversion results, with the layer of very cold air at ground level, and warmer air a little way above. The inversion is like a blanket over the city, keeping the air there trapped, which is one reason why the pollution can be bad. If you look at the vapour plumes from the power station smokestacks on a cold day, you can see the warm vapour plumes rising vertically through the cold, trapped air, then suddenly reaching a warmer air layer. As the vapour is not so much warmer than the warmer air, it stops rising, and just rolls along horizontally with the light breeze. It can be quite effective when seen against the low winter sun.
Sun Dog
Despite all the above, living in Fairbanks in winter has some good points! A clear crisp day when we have time to walk the paths and tracks in the woods behind where we live is really invigorating. At night we can have dazzling auroras, and by day some wonderful optical (refraction) effects, such as 'sun dogs' and halos, due to ice crystals in the sky. Experiencing the cold once in your life (or more, as we seem to have done) is also worth doing. We still marvel at the differences between Fairbanks, near the Arctic circle, and the parts of Antarctica we have seen. Here in Fairbanks we have trees, and (in summer) running streams, open lakes, growing plants, and mosquitoes and other insects!
Antarctica is very different.We also enjoy the work we are doing, and enjoy very much the people we have met, and the places we have seen. However, the call of more temperate climes can be very strong, particularly when you are struggling with a load of groceries over an ice-filled car park at -40 C!
