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What does an Alaskan do when 'regular shovels' won't move enough snow?Here's the biggest scoop of bull to avalanche into my computer this week as one of the snowiest Alaska winters in a long time rolls on: "CORDOVA -- When you're trying to clear nearly 15 feet of snow, a regular shovel just isn't going to cut it." First off, what is a "regular shovel"? Is there some sort of standard for that? Can you go into Home Depot or REI and say, "Hey, give me the regular shovel" and get the same shovel? Both sell shovels. REI, the sporting goods chain, has four or five different models. Home Depot has a whole wall of different shovels. I have never seen one identified as the "regular shovel". But then maybe this is just an Alaska thing. We get lots of snow in lots of different forms. An Alaska shoveler needs a whole quiver of shovels -- little shovels, big shovels, plastic shovels, aluminum shovels, steel shovels, long-handled shovels, short-handled shovels, avalanche shovels. Still, I must admit I don't have a Garant "Yukon ergo sleigh shovel," which is what the Associated Press says you need if you have a lot of snow. I have a lot of snow. It is piled up 6 feet high or higher all around my driveway. I had to chop a 7-foot-tall drift down to get into my workshop Wednesday. How is it I don't have a Yukon sleigh? Well, mainly I guess because the Yukon sleigh isn't worth garbage for "shoveling" snow. The Yukon sleigh is what, as its name suggests, a "sleigh." The title says it all. The sleigh is a nice tool for moving snow when you have a one-car driveway next to a 50-car parking lot in which to store the snow. Then, you can push all the snow around with the sleigh and be done with it. I haven't seen any sleighs in my mountainside neighborhood. People with a steep drop on one side of the driveway use them to push the snow over the edge until the snow gets so deep there is no edge. And then they start shoveling like the rest of us. The sleigh is also good for pushing snow off the roof of your house, if the snow isn't too compacted. The AP reporter who wrote about shoveling snow with a Yukon sleigh obviously hasn't shoveled snow: "The Yukon ergo sleigh shovels, with a 26-inch scoop, have a huge advantage over regular shovels. 'Trying to lift snow all day with those is pretty backbreaking,'" a city official said. The reporter clearly meant the term "backbreaking" there to refer to the "regular shovel" when it really should refer to the Yukon sleigh. I dare someone to fill that puppy with snow and try to "lift it" just a few times, let alone "all day." Here's the thing about snow: it might look all light and fluffy, but the more of it you put in a shovel, the more the shovel weighs. The big scoop on the Yukon sleigh might be great for pushing snow around, but if you're lifting and throwing, it would exhaust you. If you could lift and throw with the sleigh. It has a U-shaped handle that attaches to either side of a big, plastic scoop. Have you ever tried to "lift" a shovel with a U-shaped handle? Obviously, someone hasn't. Not to fault the AP reporter here, though. Most of them spend more time maneuvering around desks and phones than getting outside. And Alaska's winter of the massive snows has now grown to "pack journalism size," meaning every reporter out there now wants a piece of the story, which spawns a feeding frenzy. And in a feeding frenzy, the feeders always go crazy. That's why they call it a "frenzy.'' When that happens, reason gets left behind. Do you know, there are actually places in the world (Valdez and Whittier, Alaska, being two of them) where people every winter deal with far more snow -- far, far more snow -- than is now causing a disaster in Cordova? But, oh, never mind. Let's get back to shovels. I've used them to move a lot of snow over the years to build trails and shelters in the Chugach, Talkeetna and Alaska Range mountains, not to mention to dig out trucks and snowmachines.
Do what I do, hire some one to do it and don't worry about what they use to shovel it with. I grew up shoveling wet snow near the Atlantic Coast and the tool of choice was the aluminum grain shovel. Now I am in the Copper River area and my shovel of choice is the plastic version of the aluminum grain shovel. I am the daughter of a farmer, so maybe that has some play in it, but of all the shovels available from the flat bladed things to the snow scoops I choose the plastic grain shovel. Happy shoveling to all who are still engaged. My shovel has wheels; I'll just say that. Never heard it called a "Yukon Sleigh", but a "snow scoop" by any other name is an awesome snow removal tool. I use it to shovel my 1/4 mile long driveway in Fairbanks, my 2 car driveway in Anchorage, and many years ago shoveled neighbors driveways for $10 a drive with one. It just takes a little bit of planning and care to avoid having to abandon the snow scoop and start shoveling. You need to establish snow ramps up and over whatever berm you have. This takes a bit of care, but is a HUGE labor saver compared to shoveling. Of course, the first time you bring a plow into your driveway, you ruin all your carefully constructed snow ramps. Call Al Gore for advice. This is "global-warming" activity, right? |
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