>
> When snow falls warm (especially wet snow) and then things get cold
> (especially with a wind) you often get a crust on top of the snow.
> Often this is thick enough for kids to walk on, sometimes lighter
> women, seldom (at least around here) for adult men. Depending on how
> wet the original snow was, this can have the texture of a dry
> biscuit, or be more ice like. The difference between being able to
> walk on the crust (like walking on a floor) and punching through it,
> possibly sinking hip deep in the soft snow underneath, can be
> dramatic, and most amusing for kids.
There's a word for it in the Finnnish language, and propably and Old Norse one (for proper Heortling feel).
The finnish term is 'hanki', and it means the crust when it's strong enough to bear a man (or at least a skier).
> When it gets reasonably cold, your breath often forms clouds of
> steam. I imagine in certain weather, this makes ambushes difficult
> to pull off! When it is really cold, this can freeze your eyelashes
> together (it happened to me frequently when delivering the morning
> paper in my youth). You'll also get steam off of running water
> frequently, and areas around a rapids may get coated thinly with ice
> from it.
One of the character in my game is from the 'Winter Rock' clan. The clan is a splinter from the famous "Shadow Cat Clan" of Harmast Barefoot. The clan lives high in the foothills of the Stormwalk mountains near the northern edge of Heortland.
There's a hot spring that forms a big pool or pond with a iceflow-shaped* dark rock in the center.
The clan has taken the Daimon of the rock as their Wyter. The water of the pond is warm all around the river. Not really good to drink but good for bathing. Even the local shadowcats like to swim in it all year long, and then launge on the flattish warm (sacred) rock in the center.
The protection function of the wyter, of course, works best in cool weather and in the winter. It can blanket the tula in thick (in the winter, freezing-) fog to confound their enemies.
> When it is really cold, wood tends to get quite noisy, making
> cracking noises when under any stress (I'm not quite sure what causes
> that). Wood also seems to split a little easier when cold, which is
> a good way excuse to get out of the long house.
In my experience, a _lot_ easier. Fresh, sappy, fir and the like can be really nasty to chop up when warm, but when it's really-really cold -25 C or even colder, you hardly need to do more than tap it with the axe.
-Adept
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