Alberta's Source of $$$$$

I have no facts to back this up, I don't have science to substantiate my claims. I merely have a picture of what I saw. From 100 km away I could see this cloud, I wondered why such a big cloud in such and open and clear sky, it seemed weird at the time. When we got closer and closer we realised the source. Now I am not going to tell you that it is pollution, because I don't know. But I do know the smell of it. If you have ever driven behind a roofing tar truck, or you lived in the McGill Ghetto and were around when someone was tarring there roof, then you know the smell too. We had to endure that smell for the better part of an hour. I can't believe they get away with it personnaly, but then I am not a policy maker, and I also ride sleds that aren't too environmentaly friendly, read on...

Old Frosty

This is right after a sweaty shovel session, -38 if I remember correctly. Quite the feeling having a face protected by ice, with it pulling your hair at all times. And yes thank you I am going bald, bastardo.

Me Getting Wet for a Photo Op

So here we go a picture of me actually doing something. Neat thing about the water and how cold it was, you never had to worry about your clothes getting wet, they just got frozen. Sorta like when you pee and it freezes before it hits the ground (more for the guys). This picture is actually from job number 3, same idea as job 2 on the same river just 300 km south or Embarras or 100 km north of Fort McMurray. First time staying in an oil camp, what an experience, glad to have done it, hope never to have to go back.

Athabasca River

Just a quick picture of what we saw from camp, it really is quite a beautiful place, the northern lights were great, but it was really too cold to enjoy watching them.

Drilling Holes in the Athabasca

So all I did for the time I was up in Embarras was drill 8 inch diameter holes through the ice, measure how thick the ice was, how deep the water was, and how fast the water was flowing. I didn't catch any fish, I didn't see any wildlife, but I did gain first hand experience regarding what it is like to use an outhouse at -40, how much fun it is not to shower for 2 weeks, what frostbite feels like, what waking up every 1.5 hours to restoke the fire is like, what snowmobiling 100 km in a blizzard at -36 is like, and how much fun it is to start a snowmobile when it is - 40. My beard was so helpful, and at temperatures above -25 I needed no face mask, but below that, I needed more. Once I put the face mask on after a sweaty shoveling session and had the bloody face mask freeze to my beard, which sucked when lunch time came.

Deflections on an Ice Bridge

So when you want to get across a river and there isn't a bridge (and it's winter), and you know how, you build an Ice Bridge. To figure out how much heavy a vehicle you can take across you do a deflection test. Basically you take a heavy thing, put it on the ice and you measure how much the ice deflects under the weight and how quickly. Things that sucked about this are as follows, it was damned cold (-36), there was a wind (making it colder), you had to measure ice deflections every 15 minutes, for 6 hours. It is hard to stay warm when looking through a level made of metal that you freaking eyelid sticks to when looking through the eyepiece. Thing that was good about this was the Alberta Grade AAA steak afterwards and seeing Vicky David for dinner.

Agata and I

Well, since Agata had a really hard time looking into the sun, this is actually the 4th picture my bro took before we got it right. But Brunch at Nellies, and hanging out with her and Oli was a tonne of fun. Apparently her company was also going to be in the same area doing the same thing except 50 km upstream that I was heading up north for, there was a chance I would meet some of the people that she works with. Well I never met them, despite one 100 km snowmobile trip up the river and one 200 km snowmobile trip down the river.

Me, My Brother and my Beard

When I looked at myself in the mirror and saw more of a resemblance to the unibomber than anyone else I would think, Oh Crap, what am I getting into with this crazy trip up north. I thought Oh My God, I pray that all of the irritations of a beard pays off when I get up there. It was interesting having the beard and seeing peoples reactions that hadn't seen me before, like Agata's for instance, her face told me more words than any words.

Straddling Trees in Golden BC

So, my first week after leaving Vancouver I was in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Calgary, and Golden BC. I pretty much saw all of Alberta in the course of a few days.
I got two speeding tickets, a warning for being a smartass to the cop when I told her her radar was out, I wasn't going 122 as she said but rather 121 as my speedometer was much more accurate. She didn't see the humour. I drove through whiteout and sheer ice conditions to get to Fort McMurray, a trip that usually takes 4.5 hrs took me 9. We should have stopped and found a hotel, but those that know the trip know there are no hotels.
Anyway, I went down to visit my brother in Calgary, he had rented a couple of mountain sleds in Golden, and as such after dinner at my uncles restaurant and seeing cousin Jenn we set out for some serious snowmobiling. You would be suprised how hard it is to dig a sled out of powder, how cold you can be at 130 km/hr at -35 deg C, how hot and sweaty you get pulling a sled back up a 45 degree incline, especially when the sled is straddling two trees.
You would also be suprised how easily it is to flip a sled, how quickly you head back down a hill after highmarking (trying to get as high up the steepest slope you can find) especially since the brakes don't hold you back much at all. You might also be suprised at how much fun it is.
The adrenaline, the smell of burnt mixed 2 stroke gas, hanging with your brother, being as un-environmentally friendly as you possibly can be is. Perhaps this isn't a sport I will spend the rest of my life doing, but it sure was a hoop load of fun, and I recommend it to some, but definately not all.