Where's the snow !!

[MNUser]

Where at in AK are you? The mountains near by must be really deep.

 

[AKrider]

I'm in South Central Alaska right next to the ocean. The mountains cause the storms to dump snow. In the Pass the records was over 900" I believe and that is at less than 3000' where it would have been measured.

It's not all peaches and cream. Our heating fuel is $4.22 gal, 87 octane gas is 4.18 gal, diesel is $4.68 gal and electricity is 18.6 cents a KWH. Our groceries are really expensive, milk is $6 gal if you don't get it on sale. A regualar size box of cheerios is $8. The costs of day to day items is making it difficult to live here and we are connected by road. Go out to the villages and the costs sky rocket. I don't understand why people even live out there?

 

[MNUser]

900 inches is a lot snow. Do they keep that pass open all winter? Can you ride up there?

Winter is by far my most enjoyable season. I enjoy the cold. I can't stand heat and humidity. Sweatshirt weather is the best.

What is the name of the pass? I want to look it up.

Enjoy your season and put on some miles for me.

 

[09Nytro_XTX]

I'm in South Central Alaska right next to the ocean. The mountains cause the storms to dump snow. In the Pass the records was over 900" I believe and that is at less than 3000' where it would have been measured.

It's not all peaches and cream. Our heating fuel is $4.22 gal, 87 octane gas is 4.18 gal, diesel is $4.68 gal and electricity is 18.6 cents a KWH. Our groceries are really expensive, milk is $6 gal if you don't get it on sale. A regualar size box of cheerios is $8. The costs of day to day items is making it difficult to live here and we are connected by road. Go out to the villages and the costs sky rocket. I don't understand why people even live out there?

WOW ! how do people afford that??

 

[AKrider]

The pass is Thompson Pass and it is pretty famous with skiers, snowboarders and snowmachiners. It has been featured in quite a few videos. It is kept open all winter but there are times it gets shut down for avalanches or high winds.

Valdez is definitely not a cheap place to live and it can be really hard, especially during the winter. I've gone through $100 in diesel for my skid-steer over the past 2-3 weeks and that's only around 20 fricking gallons! Energy costs are causing people to move because they can't afford to live here. Housing is super expensive... basically everything is super expensive compared to the lower 48. There are only so many good paying jobs with the oil companies. People that work for small businesses or work low paying jobs struggle to survive. The cost of fuel, heating oil, propane and electricity is completely out of hand. The majority of the Alaskan population lives in Anchorage or the Mat-Su Valley where the cost of living is more reasonable.

People that live in places like Nome or Bethel, communities off the road system would love to pay the prices we do in Valdez. Everything out there gets flown in or sent by barge in the summer. Bag of Doritos is like $11, gallon of milk is like $9, it is stupid expensive. I don't know why people choose to live out there? Watch Alaska State Troopers on National Geographic channel and those remote towns look so run down and ghetto. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Naturally there are good things that offset it , like the snow. My riding season starts usually starts in mid October or November and ends in late April or first two weeks in May. That is at sea level. If you haul to the Pass you can start earlier and ride into June. Up there, they are only free from snow from July to September. Our club website has some good photos of the area. I think this is one of the best places in the world to ride a snowmachine!
www.valdezsnow.com

 

[real-ripper]

this is supposed to be my 1st season and my sled is ready to go and there is no snow. all my buddies are pros and i still need to learn everything about snow mobling, but there is nowhere to ride except grass

 

[yamahahaapex]

I'm in South Central Alaska right next to the ocean. The mountains cause the storms to dump snow. In the Pass the records was over 900" I believe and that is at less than 3000' where it would have been measured.

It's not all peaches and cream. Our heating fuel is $4.22 gal, 87 octane gas is 4.18 gal, diesel is $4.68 gal and electricity is 18.6 cents a KWH. Our groceries are really expensive, milk is $6 gal if you don't get it on sale. A regualar size box of cheerios is $8. The costs of day to day items is making it difficult to live here and we are connected by road. Go out to the villages and the costs sky rocket. I don't understand why people even live out there?

We live in central saskatchewan....aside from your travel problems we pay the same if not more here for groceries and even more for fuel. Id say your better off than we are! At least you get snow! $6 gal for milk is on sale for us lol!!

 

[sleddingfarmer]

Geez, I only get paid $18 per 100 pounds for our milk!

 

[Confused?]

At least our sleds don't run on milk like I do... I can go through a gallon plus in 2 days by myself

 

[AKrider]

We live in central saskatchewan....aside from your travel problems we pay the same if not more here for groceries and even more for fuel. Id say your better off than we are! At least you get snow! $6 gal for milk is on sale for us lol!!

I'd have never guessed. Why are prices so high in your area?

 

[canoehead]

$4.00 for 4 Litres of milk, $1.26 litre diesel, 1 16oz T-bone $14-$15.00 and $1.04 litre for regular. They pull the stuff right out from under us and we still pay through the nose...groceries are expensive but nothing like I heard mentioned here. We have oil and gas but we ain't got snow, shizza!!!

 

[Smelter]

$4.00 for 4 Litres of milk, $1.26 litre diesel, 1 16oz T-bone $14-$15.00 and $1.04 litre for regular. They pull the stuff right out from under us and we still pay through the nose...groceries are expensive but nothing like I heard mentioned here. We have oil and gas but we ain't got snow, shizza!!!

you pay alot less than I do in Northern Manitoba City... I have not seen those prices in along time

 

[yamahahaapex]

We live in central saskatchewan....aside from your travel problems we pay the same if not more here for groceries and even more for fuel. Id say your better off than we are! At least you get snow! $6 gal for milk is on sale for us lol!!

I'd have never guessed. Why are prices so high in your area?

Had alot to do with refieneries that were shut down in alberta and sask. Not enough fuel to supply everyone (diesel) which put the cost per litre at almost 1.359. Its starting to come down now but alot of the prices around here for groceries i think is related to the price of fuel. The fuel surcharges that companies have decided to charge for a couple years back are insane. One 18-wheeler with 6 drops in the city charging close to 75 dollars per drop. The companies are located all with 3kms and the product came from 180kms away. It seems like a fee on top of a fee on top of a fee.

 

[upei93]

Be happy...at least you guys out west have work, I live in Northern NB and things are pretty bad due to the problems in the pulp and paper industry. I moved back east 11 years ago and have watched my home town die a slow death. In the last 4 years the newsprint mill and a chemical plant have closed with about 600 jobs gone. The power plant is next to go with another 150 or so jobs lost. On the bright side you can buy a nice house for way less then $100,000 and we have snow.

 

[canoehead]

upei93 Perhaps I should sell here and move there and live on my military pension. How's the moose and deer hunting, still pretty good?