Trying to identify story

[Yammerhant]

The story I'm trying to find took place on a world which IIRC was a failed colony world. The world's seasons were so extreme that the population had to take shelter in caves at the north pole during midsummer when everything else on the world would get burned to ashes. Oh, and they sailed there since they'd lost all their advanced technology.

 

[Bill Ward]

One of Le Guin's early Hainish novels (Planet of Exiles?) has a migratory group of low tech human types, that sounds sort of close.

 

[Yammerhant]

One of Le Guin's early Hainish novels (Planet of Exiles?) has a migratory group of low tech human types, that sounds sort of close.

Thanks for the suggestion, which certainly made me think. But after looking for info on her stories it doesn't seem to be one of hers.

As far as I can recall the story had a Joe Haldeman feel to it, though it doesn't seem to be one of his either

 

[Omphalos]

Sounds like another Chad Oliver story.

 

[Nada]

I have read a similar novel, it's "the survivors" from Tom Godwin. Here during an interstellar war a group of refugees is marooned on a planet with a very eccentric and precessing orbit so that it can have extreme seasons (great winter, great summer).
It was quite a nice piece of work. Not giving any spoilers but i enjoed it very much. If it's not at my parent place i may even re-read it this evening, since you re-awakened my memory!

 

[clovis-man]

Could be Brian Aldiss' Helliconia series. But that would involve three novels to get through it all. IIRC, the basic premise is laid out fairly early in the first book, however.