What is a Yooper Scooper

We frequently are asked how we contend with the snow up here in Houghton where we average around 250 inches per year. Many are surprised to find out we don't have a snowblower, nor a plow truck, not even a garage. Well the answer is we have the Yooper Scooper - a snow removal device made of a galvanized metal pan and an EMT conduit handle which is used to push the snow instead of shoveling.

Interesting enough - you can move alot of snow with one of these things. They come in various widths. It really provides a great aerobic (as opposed to the anaerobic and heart attack inducing snow shoveling). So why don't we have them down south? The reason is that the Yooper Scooper works best when it has a bed of snow to travel on - the galvenized steel scrapes off rather quickly when it is pushed across dry pavement. This makes the Yooper Scooper practical for more serious snow falls.

So why not use a snowblower instead? Well, the main reason is that snowblowers can only be used for certain types of snow - those that are not heavy and wet. Also, there is the issue of keeping the snowblower running and operational.

I guess as long as I am way ahead of schedule in terms of calorie consumption versus calorie expenditure - I should do things that use up some of those stored calories - so no motorized toys up here.