Good Morning!

-30 on the morning of 18th March has got to be a record! I've gotten tired of tracking records for this winter, though, and there are so many ways you can quantify butt-cold. Let's see there is:

Number of days below freezing (although I think this one is least meaningful of all. I mean it can be a balmy, sweaty 20F for weeks and weeks but that doesn't mean it's cold.

Number of days below -40 (ok that is a real one)

Number of days below some other number (0, -20, or -30)

Lowest average temperature over some period of time.

Among those metrics, the two that most meaningfully impacted our lives was (1) The extended average temperature periods. We hit record territory here. December–February period is Fairbanks' coldest in over 50 years, and the airport (down there in that cold little slough) recorded its coldest winter since 1970–71. 1975 was the last time it was this cold in Fairbanks over this long of a period.

Then there is (2) The number of days below -40°F. That was genuinely butt-cold. That 33-day deep freeze included 17 days when temperatures dropped below -40°F, 11 of which were consecutive, from December 26, 2025 through January 5, 2026. This morning marked the 31st day of -40 this whole season. Overall, this winter has been the coldest that many people alive today had ever experienced. Garbage collection trucks quit working and garbage accumulated in the city dumpsters. Snow plows even quit working and the streets went unplowed. It was bone-wearying. Even Cricket, who gamely took walks in the cold all through December and January, threw in the towel in March and decided she would not go outside (except to pee) until the afternoon.

Walking around looking this this started to get old.

And think I am turning pink!

In Fairbanks-kind of deep cold, conventional lotions don't work. Anything humectant (like aloe or glycerin) is unpleasant and actually drying. I use pure plant oils--argan on the face, coconut on the body, and/or almond on both. Before butt-cold walks, I also layer on hand or paw salve on exposed skin, like my cheekbones and nose. Here are my two favorites:

The paw balm was made by a small shop in Eagle River near Anchorage. The human salve was made by a perfumery in France. It's funny how these two different comnpanies converged on making products that are great for human faces.