Dear Resident Snow Experts,

[Grits]

Dear Resident Snow Experts,

Late this afternoon, I found out how people in their 50s, who aren't overweight and thought they were in pretty good shape, have heart attacks
shoveling their walkways, decks, etc, etc.

My back storm door couldn't be opened because the snow piled up in front of it last night and today. I went out the side screened porch door, trudged around and shoveled the snow off in front of the back door (it had drifted to about a foot deep.) I kept shoveling across to the end of the deck and down the steps. A swath only about 4 ft wide, 8 ft long. The snow was heavy as sin because it has sleeted a lot, too. I was so cold, my hands were numb and hurting like hell through my gloves . . . . I felt like I was dying, the more snow I pitched down to the drive. (Maybe my snow shovel's too big.) I came in winded and sweating, sat down in front of the fireplace, took off my jacket, hat, boots, gloves, and waited for my damn hands to thaw.

When I was married, I didn't do this shit!!! (This being the first problem of this kind since 2001.) :faint:

R.S.E.'s, I thought I was doing the right thing last night when I filled all the bird feeders (the birds were grateful today) and then put rock salt down, making a path across the deck and down the steps. It didn't do any good. Still, I put more salt down, again, after I finished shoveling. It probably won't do any good this time either.

I thought we were only going down to 13 tonight, but with the windchill, its already down to 7. DAMN, its so cold, you'd think I was in freaking North Dakota!

Please, any advice, short of "build a garage," (forget that, I want to downsize, not add more) would be helpful.

(Excuse my swearing, this is an extreme case. I don't care.)

Signed:

No More Shoveling In Carolina. It sucks.

[andymays]

Dear Resident Snow Experts,

Late this afternoon, I found out how people in their 50s, who aren't overweight and thought they were in pretty good shape, have heart attacks
shoveling their walkways, decks, etc, etc.

My back storm door couldn't be opened because the snow piled up in front of it last night and today. I went out the side screened porch door, trudged around and shoveled the snow off in front of the back door (it had drifted to about a foot deep.) I kept shoveling across to the end of the deck and down the steps. A swath only about 4 ft wide, 8 ft long. The snow was heavy as sin because it has sleeted a lot, too. I was so cold, my hands were numb and hurting like hell through my gloves . . . . I felt like I was dying, the more snow I pitched down to the drive. (Maybe my snow shovel's too big.) I came in winded and sweating, sat down in front of the fireplace, took off my jacket, hat, boots, gloves, and waited for my damn hands to thaw.

When I was married, I didn't do this shit!!! (This being the first problem of this kind since 2001.) :faint:

R.S.E.'s, I thought I was doing the right thing last night when I filled all the bird feeders (the birds were grateful today) and then put rock salt down, making a path across the deck and down the steps. It didn't do any good. Still, I put more salt down, again, after I finished shoveling. It probably won't do any good this time either.

I thought we were only going down to 13 tonight, but with the windchill, its already down to 7. DAMN, its so cold, you'd think I was in freaking North Dakota!

Please, any advice, short of "build a garage," (forget that, I want to downsize, not add more) would be helpful.

(Excuse my swearing, this is an extreme case. I don't care.)

Signed:

No More Shoveling In Carolina. It sucks.


You're killing me Grits! :D

I got two words for you. San Diego! :ThmbUp:

[Greyfox]

Don't do too much at a time. Take breaks.

Other tips are at:

http://fitness.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_safely_shovel_snow

[illinoisbred]

Rock salt won't do much good at that temperature. Be careful with that stuff it can wreck your wood floors and leave white marks on rugs/carpeting. The bigger the shovel the better. Also keep its edge clean and sharp. When shoveling,flex/bend your knees,makes the cumbersome task easier plus saves your back.

[chrisl]

That is why I moved from Alaska to California. Now I spend just as much time in the garden, a lot more fun. Chris

[johnhannibalsmith]

Boy you make me glad that I moved out of upstate New York... your poetic descriptions were quite the reminder of why I hated that shit.

I always had two shovels - one of those flat, sharp edged suckers that is good for that heavily packed stuff that you literally need to take out in layers. The other type, one of those larger, curved types that looks like the front end of a snowplow was great for fresher snowfall or lighter accumulation - you could literally just start on one end and "plow" the snow into a big ball to the other end.

But yeah - shoveling pretty much sucks and I'm not entirely sure that having a heart attack isn't preferable to actually finishing the job.

[ArlJim78]

several ideas;

- don't go out the backdoor

- Its a job for teenagers, farm the work out. there must me someone around that would be up for a few extra bucks.

- get yourself a snowblower/thrower.

- just wait for it to melt. it shouldn't stick around that long in NC

[Tom]

A foot of snow?
You know we call a foot of snow around here?

A chance of flurries! :p

[BillW]

A foot of snow?
You know we call a foot of snow around here?

A chance of flurries! :p

Just before Christmas we had some air leak down from the frozen North and actually had some snow. The weather service reported a new record snowfall for the date for College Station --- "a trace" :lol: :lol:

I don't miss the "good ole days" of living along the lakes. :p

[Grits]

several ideas;

- don't go out the backdoor

- Its a job for teenagers, farm the work out. there must me someone around that would be up for a few extra bucks.

- get yourself a snowblower/thrower.

- just wait for it to melt. it shouldn't stick around that long in NC

You guys have stated some good ones, but can't go to SoCal, too far from family.

Thought about the salt being tracked in. True, its not good for Oriental rugs and oak floors. I don't have any carpet. I did take my boots off just inside the door. And will keep doing so, until this stuff goes away, which may be several days with the low temps forcast. Granted, its true, here in Carolina we ain't used to foot deep drifts on the deck.

AJim, around here we don't even see snowblowers very often. Unlike, that nightmare region of Siberia, New York, Tom calls home. LOLOL

My "mow and blow guys" do the lawn stuff, year around. But, I couldn't have gotten 'em here today, if I'd called them up, begging.

JHS, my shovel is a wide, curved one like you're speaking of. Still, I had to take the stuff out in layers. And it surely wasn't light.

I let my brother come over and get my truck last night as I knew I didn't have more errands to run, nor would I be out in the snow today. If its bad again tomorrow, I'm calling HIM to bring my truck back, and to SHOVEL.

On a side note, my fine, luxury Toyota automobile is PARKED until they come up with a new accelerator for the damn thing since I received that recall letter a couple of days ago. Don't know which would be worse, dying from shoveling. Or dying because the damn Avalon's accelerator got stuck.:faint: Either would be a bitch. LOLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[Greyfox]

Don't know which would be worse, dying from shoveling. Or dying because the damn Avalon's accelerator got stuck.:faint: Either would be a bitch. LOLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

You will die. Bet on that tip.

[johnhannibalsmith]

JHS, my shovel is a wide, curved one like you're speaking of. Still, I had to take the stuff out in layers. And it surely wasn't light.


You will kill yourself trying to shovel heavy, packed snow with one of those 'push plow' style shovels. You need a sharp edged flatter style one (why don't they have better terms for shovels that I know) for that heavy stuff and literally tackle it like you are chopping wood... dig, toss, dig, toss, dig, toss - you can't do it well with one of those "pushy" style ones - you end up scooping, and bending, killing your back while you try to lob the snow out of the face of the shovel - git ya a better shovel for the heavy stuff and it will exhaust you as much, but it won't break your back and arms nearly as much.

[Grits]

Grey and JHS, I don't know which is more assuring--one of you betting I'll die, or the other telling me I'll break my back and my arms. Maybe, if my brother's not available, I'll get my other shovel the deeper, flat, but less wide one out of the utility house. Thanks, still, for the good tips. (I think, sorta.)

[Rookies]

Funny, I came back from a week in Key West to some bone chillling temps. :ThmbDown:

BUT, we haven't had a TOTAL of two inches in Toronto since the winter began. Aside from next Saturday, when the temps go up to freezing and a little snow is in the forecast, nada else until at least mid February.

One of the best winters ever...:)

[miesque]

Shoveling snow is definitely more taxing then it would appear on the surface. Every time there is a decent snow I get a reminder that sometimes there is a cost of being independent :D I have delayed digging out until tomorrow as I saw it wasn't quite as bad as the snow we had in December (and after two days of shoveling after that one I felt like someone had punched me point blank a few times in my clavicles). Its very cold this evening for here so I have the wood stove humming. Everyone stay warm and be careful out there.

[Dave Schwartz]

... we were heading to South Florida for a week. That is the perfect antidote for snow.

What made it even better was that it began snowing in Reno on the way to the airport and snowed until about two hours before our return flight came home. Perfect. ;)


Grits, permit me to introduce you to the perfect solution for you:

http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/Toro.jpg

Just $579 and you are never going to fear snow again. In fact, if you purchase one you will actually pray for snow so as to justify your purchase.

Plan B: Get 4 of your neighbors to chip in and you're down to $120 apiece.


http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/Toro2.jpg
(This is a newer version of the one I have. I see it as an insurance policy against snow.)


Dave

PS: Plan C: If you think it will never happen again, budget for the larger one - about $800 - then book it to the Keys until it all melts.

[JustRalph]

Driving into Charlotte last night at 10p looked like a ghost town

Same this morning coming back at 7a

The Carolina's are in serious shut down mode and I have a furnace out.........9 mths old......didn't even make one winter. Blower motor lost a bearing..... :bang:

luckily there are two more and a faux gas fireplace keeping the 2nd and 3rd floor warm enough.........This town is shut down............I feel for you Grits.....you must be north of 85 huh?

[Grits]

Ralph, I haven't been out of the house all day. With the sun out, we may have had a little melting, but that's only on surfaces like car windshields and such. At only 30 today, and down to 10 tonight, doubt we'll get much melting, huh?

Its true, here in Carolina, we're not equipped as far as the the road maintenance thing goes are we? We're not equipped for more than 4 inches of snow, at best. Its hilarious.

Like you, I have upstairs and downstairs split heat/air systems, (knock on wood) both are fine. And the gas logs do well, too. The good thing about the gas logs is if power goes out, the gas logs will still heat. And in a 2002 winter ice storm, those were really put to work when power was out for a couple of days.

Stay warm in Charlotte, Ralph. And to everyone elsewhere that may have extreme cold this coming week. (Another reason I wouldn't be a jockey!)

Dave, I AIN'T investing in any more equipment that has anything to do with my yard.:D Those are Toro's. And good stuff. I've got a shop full of equipment--a Toro self propelled push mower, a Cub Cadet riding mower, a Toro weedeater, a Cub Cadet weedeater, edger, seed spreader, electric hedge trimmers, and more. When I became "unmarried", :D for years I did all of the yard myself. Good exercise and I loved it; its been a joy. Once in a while now, I still do the grass myself, but most of the time, I let "my Spanish speaking friends" do it. When I downsize, I'm gonna sell all of it; so, I ain't in the market for a snowblower at all. Just think about it, Dave--if I sell all this crap, I'll take those hundreds to the track. Or take a break from the cold and head to Florida like you two. (I haven't done that since about 2004.) In the meantime, though, I can get the backdoor open now, I've got some chicken and white bean chili on, and there's liquor in the cabinet, so I'm good to go. For a few more days anyway. LOLOL;)

[GaryG]

Grits - If it's any consolation things are no better in the East TN mountains. The four lanes are all ok but the back roads are slick and slicker. When my wife had her first hip replacement we took out the front steps and built a ramp. Even with lots of ice melt it is slick. At least we didn't lose any power with this storm. In the storm a week before Christmas we had 3 different power outages totaling about 48 hours. We are all TVA electric...yipee. It was worse in the VA mtn counties though. Rock on.

[Tom]

How the government handles snow.

[Dave Schwartz]

When I downsize, I'm gonna sell all of it; so, I ain't in the market for a snowblower at all. Just think about it, Dave--if I sell all this crap, I'll take those hundreds to the track. Or take a break from the cold and head to Florida like you two. (I haven't done that since about 2004.) In the meantime, though, I can get the backdoor open now, I've got some chicken and white bean chili on, and there's liquor in the cabinet, so I'm good to go. For a few more days anyway. LOLOL

Grits,

I'd say it is Plan C for you.

<G>


Plow on, plow on.

Dave

[miesque]

How the government handles snow.

It think this is a great illustration of how government handles a lot of things, not just snow. :D

[Greyfox]

Tom - brilliant.......:lol: :lol:


Grits - If you have a sidewalk, shovel it. When finished, take a regular corn broom from your house and sweep it. You'll have the best walk on the street.
I do that every time it snows.

[miesque]

On a more somber note that one should proceed with snow shoveling, I received word late last night that someone who is on a local non-profit committee for which I was scheduled to do a presentation today died unexpectedly yesterday. I just found out that he shoveled his drive, came back inside and did not feel well and the next thing you know. :( He was in his late 50s.

[Grits]

Greyfox, Miesque just put a screeching halt to my shoveling that was planned for today. If I do any, it'll be a minimal path the width of the shovel itself. That's it.

Miesque, I'm so sorry for the loss of your colleague. What a horrible tragedy and loss for his family and friends.

We can think, as I do, because our weight is in line, that consequently, we're able to do whatever we want, regardless whether its something we do often, or seldom. Obviously, I'm wrong. Again, I'm so sorry for this gentleman.

You be careful, yourself, out there today.

[DJofSD]

You're killing me Grits! :D

I got two words for you. San Diego! :ThmbUp:

Andy, if the Farmers Insurance Open didn't help motivate folks to look westward, perhaps the snow will.

OBTW: San Diego has nice weather but it does not have a reasonable cost of living. And, we're still in the middle of a drought.

[cj's dad]

I have a type of snowblower also; his name is Henry, lives across the street, is 17 and rents out for $20 - $30 depending on how much work is involved.

[jballscalls]

Chuch Potter who was the Emerald Downs simulcast director died shoveling snow at his mom's house, same thing, in his 50's.

i read an article once that said heart attacks are far more likely to occur during cold weather, something about arteries and vessels being more constricted. and the morning is also more of a danger zone, again arteries are more narrow when you first wake up.

recipe for disaster!

[dartman51]

When I shovel snow, which I had to do Saturday, I wear the warmest gloves and boots that I have, but only wear a LIGHT jacket. If you bundle up too much, you just add to the exertion, and create a lot of sweating. Plus, I'm 61, so depending on how much I have to do, I do it in shifts. So far, so good.

[Greyfox]

Plan B - Do nothing. A few days of warm sun will melt it anyways.

[skate]

SNOW?


What da?

13* degrees, my frgi doesn't get that low.