I often get asked how we deal with the long winters in Alaska. A very legitimate question, as most people have not experienced snow hitting the ground in October and not leaving until the end of April (if you’re lucky). Combine that with long hours of darkness and things can get interesting! I liken it to a rollercoaster ride - one of those classic wooden coasters we experienced in childhood. You board in October, and the ride takes you thru the next summer, delivering you back at the end of August so you have a month to catch your breath.
The first few months of snow and darkness are easy to get through. You‘re loaded up and settled in your car, excited to get going. You slide out of the covered area headed toward the twists and turns which take you through November and December. Fun events, holiday prepartions, the first big snow of the season, and other things keep your focus off the fast fading daylight and cold weather.
Winter Solstice in December is a big deal to many in town, as it marks the slow return of daylight. Only a few seconds per day, but it adds up fast. Make it thru Solstice night and almost instantly spring is on the horizon! You start planning spring planting, summer vacations, new landscaping in the yard, what the fishing season will be like. Except….you still have about 4 months to go. Welcome to January - the start of the big hill you have to climb. That slow clink, clink, clink uphill before the weather roller coaster drops you down to the short curve of spring, and coasts you in to summer. Many residents head out on vacation or retreat to outdoor winter sports to escape the monotony. The busy holidays are over, spring is months away, there is really nothing to distract you from cold weather and what are still pretty long hours of darkness.
February and March bring true spring fever. You're still slowly climbing that hill, but local events such as Fur Rondy and the Iditarod Ceremonial Start signal you’re almost there. Daylight begins returning at an even quicker pace, and the weather climbs back up in to more reasonable temperatures. Spring basketball tournaments, spring snow for skiing, the opening of campground sites for summer reservations, locking in plans to fish in July...the activities pick up at a feverish pace.
Next thing you know it’s April and you’ve crested that hill, holding on tight for the ride that is break up (when snow starts melting), followed by a 2 week splash of spring blooms and trees leafing out, and FINALLY summer with all the fanfare and frenetic pace being Alaska brings to those months. Annnd…suddenly it’s the end of August, you are coasting back in to the loading area ready to climb off the ride.
That sigh of relief as your feet touch the platform? It's called September.
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