I would never have thought about this except that one of our new apartment residents is from Louisiana. She’s terrified about driving in the snow and ice and just as frightened by walking. But I found her response to Minnesota winter just hilarious. Her brother recently flew in from Louisiana, landing on one of the coldest days thus far—minus 25 degrees—told her that she needed to come home. “Minnesota is uninhabitable. Why would anyone want to live in this country?” I gave her a few suggestions about how to walk in the winter--and especially how to deal with driving when you're sliding around.
For those of you, like me, who enjoy winter and snow and like to take an occasional outdoor walk, here are a few tips for safe walking.
--Dress in layers. At 20 below I’m comfortable in a t-shirt, regular shirt, hoodie and my lightweight Patagonia winter coat with hood. Some of my friends wear longies underneath their pants along with warmly lined boots, but I’ve never found them necessary.
--Cover your extremities. If it’s below zero, you may want a warm mask or big scarf to cover your face..
--Practice slip prevention. Icy paths can be no fun. So, check the tracks on your shoes for adequate traction. Rubber or neoprene soles work best. Some of my athletic shoes which I might still wear in an inch or two of snow are very slippery—even on wet pavement. I avoid them when it’s liable to be slippery.
--The slipperiest times of the day are usually between 8am and 12 noon, so, if possible, avoid walking then. If you happen to have fresh snow (we have about 6” right now—coming down fast), it’s usually very safe any time of the day and you can work up a sweat walking in that much snow very quickly.
--If you’re parking near a building, try not to park on the north side or go in on a door on that side. I just learned to park on the south side of our shopping center and go in on the most southerly doors. I’ve found that’s unusually helpful. It’s like the driving rule for the elders: do your best to make right turns, not left turns across the street. I’ll go a couple blocks out of the way to follow that rule. I’ve been surprised to learn that some of my friends in their twenties and thirties follow that rule during the busy times of the day. Smart!
--In sum, I love winter and snow and am okay in the ice, too. But I always take a few precautions. One of the great things my wife and I found out about Minnesota winters is that they kill our allergies. That’s always a plus.
--Don’t waste your time on trips to Florida and Mexico in the winter. I despise Florida. It’s boring and a lot more negative stuff, but I’ll watch my comments about such trips. I consulted there for six or seven years on a monthly basis. Good money, but definitely a slower universe—in a lot of ways. Besides, there are a lot of fascinating things to do in Minnesota in the winter in addition to the outdoors—the arts, drama, music, etc. and etc. But we always enjoyed our 10 days skiing in the Rockies. That’s permissible—and great fun!