Surviving Winter

Alright, this is my third winter in Utah. I kind of consider myself a pro. I know some of the tricks of the trade of surviving the cold. That doesn't mean that I necessarily love it though. True, I don't absolutely hate it. I enjoy wearing cute sweaters and scarves and being able to see my breath once in a while, but each year I am getting closer and closer toward almost using that hate word. Like on a day like today where I walked to school when it was 3°F outside. I thought that my face was really going to fall off. I don't even know what the windchill was, but it had to have been below zero. Brrr. Anyways, over the past three years I have kind of picked up some things that makes life a bit easier, so I thought I'd share.

• Wear a scarf. Nobody will make fun of you for wearing a scarf because it's about one of the smartest things you can do. For some reason keeping your neck and chin warm helps incredibly in not shivering to death while walking through the cold.
• Two words: Under Armour. Wear it. I've found that walking to class my legs go numb in the extreme cold. Not fun. Wearing the Under Armour type leggings though have helped tremendously. If you don't have any of the more fancy stuff like that, regular leggings or tights work too, or heck, even old fashioned thermals. Adding that extra insulating layer is fantastic though.
  
• Always keep gloves in all your coat pockets. Even if they're just the cheap-o ones that you can get for a couple bucks at Walmart or whatever. Your hands can get very cold so these help immensely, especially with cold steering wheels. I would, however, suggest something of a bit nicer quality if you choose to play in the snow.
• If you are going to go out in the snow, wear something waterproof. There is nothing worse than having your clothes soaked by the snow and then freezing. Super, super cold. Bundle up with lots of layers. It's better to be hot and have to shed some layers than to be cold.
• If you do happen to not use gloves and your hands go completely numb, be prepared for extreme pain as your blood vessels expand again as they thaw out. Ugh, gross I know. The best thing you can do about that is run your hands under some luke warm water. Not hot. Luke warm first. Too hot of water can make your blood vessels explode. Ew. and Ouch.
• Pay VERY close attention to what shoes you wear. If it hasn't snowed for a while and the sidewalks are pretty clear than you're good to wear pretty much whatever you want. Good shoes with good traction are very important otherwise though. Especially when there's a slight dusting of snow falling on the sidewalk. That is when it's very scary. Make sure that you are extremely conscious of where you are stepping. Try to avoid walking on the icy parts of the sidewalks. If there are patches where it's still more snow than ice, I suggesting walking out of the way to step on that. There's much more traction on the snow than on the ice. And if you can try to only have to put one foot on the ice than that's very desirable. The thing that's going to make you fall on the ice is putting that second foot on the ice and losing any friction you had while you were on not-icy ground. Please be careful! I can't guarantee that I won't laugh if I see you fall. And it's not because I don't realize how much it hurts...I have a scar on my elbow from when I fell last year.
• Along with that ridiculously long last bullet point, avoid walking places where there is ice if there are alternate routes. Even if it means walking the long way around to the other side of the apartment complex to where there is no ice in order to avoid the deathtrap that is on the side that never sees the sun, do it. Better safe than sorry and embarrassed.
  
• Park your car in a place where it's not going to have any ice or snow dripping on it where it will then freeze. Try to park in the sun.
  
• Waterproof your shoes. Having to walk through the slushy, dirty crosswalks is disgusting and will soak your feet if you have not planned appropriately.
• Cut through buildings. If you're walking through campus or something, don't feel any shame in staying in a building for as long as possible or walking through buildings instead of around. It's acceptable in the cold.
• Roll the hems of your pants up so they don't drag through the ice and snow. There's nothing worse that getting to school to find that the bottom of your pants are literally frozen.
• Hats and thick headbands are not a bad idea either.
• Hot chocolate.