If you go to school in Ithaca, you know the struggle of enduring the harsh weather. It makes us all want to remain cocooned in our blankets avoiding our million and one responsibilities. Ithaca gets a good amount of snow (though not nearly as much as Buffalo, thank God), but the worst part about the winter up here on our little hill is the cold. It's just too much to take. Then, of course, there are those hormonal changes in temperature, those spouts of strangely "decent" weather where it doesn't feel like the next ice age. And it really is beautiful when winter doesn't want to destroy our car engines, pellet us with ice, and make mornings seem even worse than they already are. When it's calm, we can actually stop and enjoy the snow, and our little hill feels like a winter wonderland. But when mother nature wants to, she's brutal and it's disastrous.
There's something about winter specific to Ithaca that makes the winds stronger, the frost thicker, the air more frigid.
So without further adieu, here are some tips for surviving that bitter Ithaca winter:
1. Invest in a shovel and ice scraper.
The parking lots are hell. Even if some of the roads are plowed, chances are the parking lots won't be. Once it took me half an hour to dig my car out of the snow.
2. Use the tunnel that connects (almost) all the buildings to get to class.
One thing that Ithaca College did right was designing the long hallway running through the main part of campus. Befriend it. Even if it takes you a little extra long to get to class, why not take a detour inside where you can avoid the cold?
3. Don't trust the weather apps.
It will snow when you don't expect it to.
4. Accept the fact that there will never be a snow day.
Ever. There's just no such thing here in Ithaca.
5. Wear layers.
It may be freezing outside, but be prepared; you won't know what to expect in your classrooms. Some will be heated beyond belief, and you'll feel like you're sitting in a sauna. Other rooms won't be heated at all, and you'll want to keep your warm winter jacket on.
6. If you're living in upper quads, lower quads, or Emerson, still trek to Terrace Dining Hall for dinner.
Campus Center food will suck even more when it's cold out. It's not worth the shorter walk.
7. Don't be fooled by the sweltering heat in the dorms. It's still cold out.
8. Don't try to pretend you can grin and bear it when you go out with your friends on the weekends. Actually wear clothes.
9. Avoid black ice.
It's deadly.
10. Load up on soup. Lots and lots of soup.
11. For those living off campus, leave a good half hour before class.
Driving up that hill in the snow can lead to disaster.
