Honestly, I don't like to advertise this widely, but Montana winters are MUCH milder that New England, based on my 7 years living here.
Yes, it gets VERY cold for a few weeks in the middle of winter - up near Glacier on the Hi-Line, and in Havre, were the worst for this sub-zero thing. BUT, the snow is infrequent and
very dry, so it is abundantly easy to 'shovel' (push around) and remove from vehicles compared to that wet, heavy stuff back home.
Additionally, we very often in winter get these warm winds the Indians call 'chinook' (means 'snow-eater') during which you can literally watch the snow evaporate into the surrounding air.
Where I am now, about a half hour south of Helena, is in a large valley ringed by several mountain ranges - the same area where the Blackfeet Indians set up their winter camps for hundreds of years, because it's so mild in the valley and the winter snows in the mountains drive the elk, deer and antelope down into the valley where they are easy prey (makes us a big elk hunting mecca nowadays).
In the past two winters here I have not had to wear boots more than a dozen days - my Birk sandals with fleece socks have been cozy enough, and there hasn't been any ice on the roads/sidewalks to worry about, either. In my private practice I'll be traveling to Helena regularly, and I'll have to dust off my snow gear because the higher elevation there means more snow/ice to contend with - but nothing like New England.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
