Signal Failures: Bush Internet Service In The Winter

     I've mentioned before that sometimes I can't post on my blog due to signal failures. I thought I'd go into more detail, plus a couple pictures can say more than words. Especially since, for the last week, I've been having signal outages and haven't been able to post on here. And may not be able to for the next week, either.
     My internet signal comes from a tower on a mountain on Prince of Wales Island, which is across a major waterway from where I live, called Clarence Strait. When it snows on the mountain the tower and support structures are covered in snow and ice and our signal disappears. The phone company has to helicopter a crew up to the mountain to carve the snow and ice away in order for those of out in the bush to receive a signal again.
     When it storms, as it frequently does at this time of the year--as I write this we're having hurricane force winds--the helicopter can't get to the tower. They have to wait until the winds moderate before they can get to chipping that ice off and freeing up our signal.
     I hope the pictures give some idea of the frankly astounding fact that we get an Internet signal at all during the winter!