JIM WELLER (1:123/140) wrote to STEVEN HORN at 22:32 on 10 Jan 2003:

 JW> No. Today has been the first really cold day all winter (-32 C).
 JW> Until now it has been anywhere from -1 to -24. The ferry is still
 JW> running on the Mackenzie River so we have access to the south.

My recollection was that the ferry shut down in November at the latest
which is when the ice bridge went in.  As for -32, that's a bit cold for my
taste.  Our winter has been a bit milder than yours and I think our coldest
day this winter has been -20 which I like a great deal more than -32.  But
our winter's mildness and the associated freezes and thaws has placed the
likelihood of the running of the Yukon Quest in jeopardy.  There may simply
not be enough snow for this 1000 mile dog race. 

 JW> Those two big diamond mines need an ice road every winter for heavy
 JW> freight. There is no all weather road and air freight is just two
 JW> expensive. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take
 JW> years to build a gravel road across 250 miles of muskeg so winter
 JW> ice roads are critical. There's a 2 billion dollar investment and
 JW> 1100 jobs at stake. Also a medium sized gold mine and four Native
 JW> villages enroute rely on the river ice for moving freight. Global
 JW> warming could wreck our economy here; we have developed a system
 JW> that works with and depends on the cold weather.

Global warming would have an impact here but we don't need ice roads as all
Yukon settlements are connected by all-weather roads.  We do need ice
bridges but I gather they are all in place.
                                       
Take care,

Steven Horn (steven_a_horn{at}yahoo.ca)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT 
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+