HUDSON BAY or BUST Road Trip II 2/18-2/23

[DUCTTAPE]

a) that's not summer, it was last weekend!

b) I think the JEEP is WAY cool! And the camping is the only way to go. I'm convinced. Snow on the ground? No need for a roof over my head.

Ross, can I get a weather report so I know whether to secure a hotel troom?

[DUCTTAPE]

This link is from Dave, who drove his Miata to Hudson Bay this month.

http://www.nunalogistics.com/projects/winter_road/

It is about an Ice Road from Yellow Knife to the Arctic Circle, open only Feb and March. It is 87% over frozen lakes!

[DUCTTAPE]

Here is an image from the site. Look at how WIDE this road is!

[jwardell]

I saw a Discovery special about that, hour long, very interesting. Might have been an Extreme engineering or something, maybe they'll re-air it.

[harveyjoseph]

Quote: Originally Posted by DUCTTAPE

Here is an image from the site. Look at how WIDE this road is!

You cal that a road!!!

[NHRef]

Quote: Originally Posted by DUCTTAPE

This link is from Dave, who drove his Miata to Hudson Bay this month.

http://www.nunalogistics.com/projects/winter_road/

It is about an Ice Road from Yellow Knife to the Arctic Circle, open only Feb and March. It is 87% over frozen lakes!

I love this part: ". . . heavy and wide loads are dispatched from Yellowknife between mid-night to 6:00 am to avoid daily commuter traffic" - commuter traffic!

[squid]

The heavy loads have a slow speed limit because they generate
shock waves and can break up the ice as the approach the shore.

Patching the road is quick and easy:

* drill hole thru ice
* drop intake pipe thru hole
* turn on pump
* spray firehose volume of water in air above road area to be patched
* droplets and mist land on road, freeze, and smooth it out.
* ???
* profit !!!

[lokiducky]

Concerning my documentary on the Hudson Bay or Bust Mini Arctic Run, I need a shorter title!!!!! I've mentionned that to Ductape, and he said he had some ideas. If anyone wants to suggest something, now's the time!

thanks all,

Noah

[NHRef]

Leaving home this morning in a snowstorm while it was still dark reminded me of the (interminable) ride down from Radisson in the snow . . .

And I can't wait!

Newfoundland is only 2 months away!

[NHRef]

Great article in the August/September issue of the BMW CCA White Mtn. Chapter "Profile" magazine, if I may say so (especially since I wrote it . . . )

Cover copy reads: Mini's on ice! 2500 miles of frostbite, French lessons and some very serious driving

Color photos include the 11 at the beginnning of the James Bay Road (Route isolee sur 375 km), the midpoint of the James Bay Road and the giant teepee frame at the Chisasibi center.

[squid]

To consider for 2007: Kapuskasing, Ontario, about 650 miles north of Detroit.

Quote:

"Most places at G.M. have safety glasses as protective equipment," said John
A. Komar, manager of the company's Kapuskasing Cold Weather Development
Center, as he pulled on a heavy pair of company-issue gloves. "Here, it's moose
mittens."

Quote:

While Kapuskasing and Timmins are not the coldest places in Canada, they are
more accessible to Detroit than towns farther north and offer a better selection of
necessities like motels, restaurants — and roads. David Phillips, a climatologist at
Environment Canada, a government department that provides weather forecasts, said
the region's winters were an ideal combination of temperature and precipitation. "It's not
the coldest place, but it has a sure cold," he said. "And unlike the coldest places, it
also has a sure snow cover."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/au...es/06CARS.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/au...37ff18&ei=5070

[jacobsen1]

Holy bump from the past batman... ::

Anyway, my wife an I are planing a trip up to goose bay this summer.
I know they're different roads, but I'd assume similar issues....
You guys have been "there" before, so hopefully you can answer my question

What octanes do the gas stations have along the way? Our 2 car (the MINI and my WRX) both "need premium"... Is it available the whole way? If not, what additives did you guys use?

Thanks,
Ben

[Oldpaint]

The Shell Gas Bar in Labrador City (102 Airport Road) had premium, 1.08 cn/litre on Feb 19 2007, every other pump after Baie-Comeau that we visited (and we visited many) had regular only. We filled up anyway and didn't worry about it. Didn't use any octane boost.

This is the thread you want to read:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/new-york-...15-2007-a.html

[squid]

Big towns like Baie-Comeau, Labrador City and Goose Bay have premium.
Truck stops in between have regular and diesel.

See
ArcticMINI.com
fr detailed listing of gasings.

I have an STi with factory tuning and in 0 F to 26 F, it ran fine on regular gas.

I usually use premium though.

[jacobsen1]

OK, thanks a ton for the info. I'd been to arctic mini before, but couldn't find the info on the gas there (but great info on most of my other questions).

Now here's the other question for you guys... MINI or WRX???

And I need to check out the threads here more often. I'm on NASIOC all the damn time, but I never come here as the MINI is the "wife's car" and we all know how people are with sharing their MINI's... We would have gone with you guys on the winter trip too had we know...

Thanks again for the info.
Ben