jeff,
Sorry man, it might be me, or yesterdays beers, but I don't really get the relevance of your post. Ok, you might have had some bad days where you were on your own in the past, does that mean you know how to fly a big shiny jet? Do people who never flew HS in the artic have less experience? I have stories I could tell you about flying jets in Europe, although again, I can't really see the point in doing so.
That brings me to some other observations I have to make about your post, without offence:
Most pilots I encounter who brag about how great they did in the past, flying in typhoons or artic winters, snow or sand, ... are presently quite poor operators, trying to make things up with stories: ''once I was a great pilot''.
Perception of events is a very personal thing. While you might think you did some great stuff on a day flying in the Artic, someone with more experience at the time, or less fear, might come home from the same day telling he had another !!!!ty day freezing his ass of because of some maintenance problems or poor planning, but basicly it was another day in the office.
If you were such a great operator, why did you spend 13 consecutive winters in the artic? Not good enough to get out sooner?
Again jeff, this is not a personal attack. I just can't see the point of stories from the past to justify how good of an operator you might be today. In the end, people will judge you on the day they fly with you, and if you have an off-day (we ALL have those), you might just make a fool of yourself because you set expectations high, and what's worse, people migt just not believe you anymore, even though you have something valuable to add to a conversation.
Happy flying,
MR8