dave_j

I'll guess the answer.

Salt works because when in solution it depresses the freezing point allowing the solution to remain liquid at a temperature lower than the pure solvent's freezing point.

Windchill generates a colder 'feel' for at least two reasons.

The passage of air over a moist surface forces evaporation and evaporation requires energy that it takes from its surroundings, ie skin, and hence it 'feels' as though the actual surroundings are cooler than they actually are because energy is being removed from them.

The second reason is that passing a fluid quickly over a surface increases the heat transfer coefficient associated with convective heat transfer and the faster the fluid flows then the higher the coefficient and the more heat will be lost. Thus you can feel warm on a cold day with no wind.

I'm making a reasoned guess that that the salt will be ineffective below the base temperature of -15 because both the above are effective only when there is energy to be lost, ie where a warm surface is available to supply it. In the case of salt in solution on a cold surface this isn't the case.

caretaker

Yes, moisture in the system freezes the couplers.

MillieF

Thank you

caretaker

Fa la la la la, la la la la. It supposed to go to -22 this afternoon, people will be festive.

BristolUK

That's what I was thinking - tho in a less intellectual way.
Although I remember stuff like that from my Physics classes at school, my reasoning went as far as thinking there's heat loss from our bodies because of the moisture and there's either no or a lot less moisture in grits of salt, so a "feels like" becomes meaningless. Therefore, if -15 was the point at which it became ineffective it would be fine with a -13 that feels like -22.

With little or no moisture in the gritty salt I wouldn't have thought the rest mattered.

None of which explains why the salt (supposedly good to -15 according to the bag) has worked fine on the steps at minus 22, feels like minus 32 but not at the bottom of the steps nor the bit of driveway next to it.

caretaker

This is the summit of the Kootenay Skyway, and from the number of vehicles parked it looks like every single plow operator is at work and there are some people who just don't want to drive down the mountain right now. It's never a certainty that there will be no blizzard up there until June. I saw a caribou within a mile or 2 of there. It is the extreme southern point of the range of the Mountain Caribou, and there is a sign saying Watch for Caribou Next 10 Km or something like that

scrubbedexpat091

I wouldn't want to drive in that either. I don't even attempt to drive BC mountain highways in winter.

dbd33

Thank you but we started from low base points so it's not like George Morris taking an unpromising horse, discard by others, to the Olympics. It's not a competitive thing at all, just about achieving something personally and saving a horse from the meat man. A trained horse has value while an untrained one has only price by the pound. I also like the fitness gained along the way, legs like Harry Kane I tell ya.

Leading riders are called Georgina Bloomberg and Jessica Springsteen. You have to have parents who are very rich indeed, be a stellar talent paid to ride someone else's horse, or be Nick Skelton. Like yacht racing, that's not a game for ordinary affluent people.

Commendable but likely to lead to a life spent with horses. A foolish fixation, today we brought in two dozen other peoples' horses in -20 temperatures just because, well, horses. My hands are still cold.

I did that, years ago in Colorado. We fettered the horses overnight and camped. I wasn't a good rider and didn't need to be as the rented horses, mustangs claimed from the BLM, knew the drill. I think you would be ill advised to pass up such a chance, that really is a "Canadian Dream" opportunity. It's going to be a long time in the saddle though, you might want to try post trotting without stirrups a few times before you go, get used to the pain.

Almost Canadian

The females in my house ride long hours each and every week, more so when there isn't snow on the ground. About a year after we moved out of town, they decided to go on a "tour" with one of the local "ranches" here (Bar U Ranch).

It was advertised as a way to get to know your local community, spend a day travelling like they did before cars were invented and to eat food like they did when herding livestock, back in the day. They even offered a seat on a wagon for those that were not too sure about spending the time on horseback.

Luckily, my wife and my daughter both had English and Western saddles so they elected for the "comfy" Western ones. They had an enjoyable time mixing with all manner of local cowboys/cowgirls and eating bacon and beans in spectacular surroundings, albeit prairies rather than mountains.

They said that learning to jump across small streams and getting their horses to travel up and down ravines, gallop across open plains, etc. was very good. However, 3 months after going on the trip, they were still moaning about how much their arses and legs hurt. These are those that can 2 point for 5 minutes or so straight with no issues at all. I tried it once for about 20 seconds all in vain. I am not too sure I am not setting myself up to fail!

dbd33

We once considered a multi-day ride across some of the more scenic parts of Ontario. The pitch included the advice that "all accommodations include hot tubs, some have massage facilities". That seems slightly ominous in retrospect.

Piff Poff

Our friends used to run a 'dude ranch' in the UK, they brought several of the horses with them when they moved out here. All I can say is you horsey people are nuts to want to be out there in this weather brrr

Teaandtoday5

2 and a half hours to get home from the ROM in the snow. Son had to get emergency cover for his shift in case he didn't make it on time. Saw no working ploughs/grifters in all that time.

bats

There's snow?

Teaandtoday5

Yep. I can't work the interweb well enough to tell if you are being sarcastic because you've had yards more snow than the city but I can tell you that driving in TO in the snow is almost like being back in the UK. Everyone goes beserk, and there isn't a grit lorry in sight. Thank god I'm back in the country, and all roads will be clear by the time I get up in the morning, and no idiots will have parked on the side of the road, let alone on some approximation of somewhere vaguely adjacent to the side of the road. I won't even mention the u-turns, beeping and general complete and utter arsedness.

MarkG

There's a reason I now have a battery heater as well as a block heater. Made starting easy today at 30 below zero.

What did surprise me today is how much the engine rpms drop (and fuel economy improves) when I turn the car heater off while driving. Obviously it's taking heat out of the engine, but I never realized the impact was so severe.

Unfortunately, with the heater off, the windshield ices up on the inside!