The climate .... January edition

One of the biggest adventures, and challenges, in coming to Montreal was the climate. Becauseit is going to affect our daily lives in extreme ways, I am going to revisit this top regularly: hence the title!

I do enjoy the snow and associated activities (skiing, enjoying red wine ....); I wouldn't say I like the cold weather! But at the same time, for this adventure, we wanted to experience a different way of life - so a mild, temperate environment wasn't what we wanted. I remember in the early months of 2013, when this adventure was becoming a reality, we watched the Montreal weather rather closely. It got to temps around -15 & -20 degrees. I really couldn't absorb what that meant. But as 2013 progressed, I talked myself out of those numbers: I thought I must have misread and there was no way a place could get that cold.
 
Well, the numbers were accurate. It can and does get that cold! This photo was taken today in the middle of the day.

Yep, that says -17! We have still walked to school and home again each day with the children and they are actually just getting used to it! The mornings are generally about -22 to -20 degrees - and that is just before 9am, when we leave for school.

So, coping with temps that far below zero.  It involves many, many layers of clothes. To walk to school with the children, I wear:

• a long sleeve thermal;
• a long sleeve polar fleece top for skiing;
• a vest;
• my ski jacket;
• a pair of thick tights;
• my ski pants;
• a pair of thin running gloves;
• a pair of mittens;
• a neck warmer;
• a beanie that covers the ears;
• my new hiking boots that are very thick and made for walking in snow.

By the time the day ends (3.30pm) it is already cool and the light is fading, so we wear exactly the same layers again.

It takes a good 5 minutes to dress before you leave the house! The children have become very competent with this procedure. They don't wear as many layers as us but it still takes several minutes to dress. Snow shoes are not worn inside, so you have to be organised - no dashing back for anything. I feel for parents of toddlers - imagine doing this to a wriggling toddler every time you go outside! To attempt to explain how cold it is out there, here is a quick ancedote: I asked Tony to take a bag out to the bin one evening and he said no, too cold - even to just dash. In the cars, we still wear all these layers - and have the heating on. You really don't go anywhere without many layers. Our car has heated seats - one of my new loves!

While this isn't a very flattering photo of me, it does show how "padded"

we look. I truly have't put on weight - it is just the two pairs of pants and about 4 layers on top! I was cross country skiing with Tony and had the same amount of clothes on as I listed earlier. I did't take any layers off, despite skiing and moving for well over an hour.

The sense of fashion is completely compromised as all that really matters is your boots and your coat! Most people walk around in hiking/snow boots and leave shoes at their work places. This also happens at school - the children leave a pair of shoes at school to wear during the day. More about the children and their clothing at school in a post about school.

The cold just bites at your face or any exposed skin. I've never experienced anything like this before!