How cold is too cold?

[BenedictGomez]

This thread was very timely as highs at Jay Peak on Sat was in the low single digits with -37 windchill. I was cold, but fine. My wife on the other hand was not in high spirits.

I'd have been miserable. Single digits doesnt bother me in the least, but the wind chill being at -37 kills me (mostly in the face, and during the lift ride).

Curious if Jay was pretty empty even though it was MLK Saturday (re: cold)?

 

[SIKSKIER]

Cannon was up to a toasty minus 8 on Sunday when I left at noon.As usual,the skiing is always real good with temps like this.Never saw any waiting at any lifts and just a few people on the trails.Give me the cold anyday!

Now the snowmaking fog was another story and horror show in areas in the line of fire like the middle mt and some upper areas.

 

[xwhaler]

Magic was fine on Saturday, prob upper teens with virtually no wind. No face mask needed but did need to take a couple breaks to warm up the toes.
Waking up yesterday AM in VT it was -5 at the house with a breeze. Figured the mtn was going to be a lot wiorse so we packed up and headed home.
I do enough skiing where I can be selective sometimes!

 

[Ridgeman]

This thread was very timely as highs at Jay Peak on Sat was in the low single digits with -37 windchill. Bretton Woods today was -9 but the windchill was a much more comfortable -26.

I was cold, but fine. My wife on the other hand was not in high spirits.

The wind is the key to "too cold to ski". We skied Bretton woods last year at -15 with little to no wind. Summit lift not funtioning do to cold. We found the limit to be our toes on the lifts. Layers and total skin cover worked but toes froze on the lift rides. Five lift rides then warmup followed by five lift rides was the pattern. Same thing at Killington two years ago -10 with 30 mph winds meant instant lift ride freeze.

 

[kingslug]

well I guess now that I'm a little older -10 to -20...sux..I survived it all day by riding the Gondi's..chairs where out..by the time you got off you could barely move...

 

[KevinF]

I was at Stowe this weekend. Saturday the top-of-the-quad was showing -10 first thing, although it warmed up to about zero. The quad had a good line and the gondi had an insane line, so I was riding the Lookout double for a bit. Didn't feel too cold.

Sunday the top-of-quad thermometer was reading 20 below at 8:00AM. I don't even want to think what the wind chill was. Quad was ski-on all day. Gondi had a decent line though. I could take about two runs and then had to go in, but I once toughed-it-out and made it three runs.

Stowe staff was checking people at the bottom of all the lifts for frostbite on Sunday.

I've skied on colder days, but any colder than yesterday and it's one-run-and-go-inside-to-warm-up. Repeat.

 

[neil]

Loon was really cold yesterday. Not too much wind which was vital, but as that sun went down it got really cold really fast.

 

[Smellytele]

Too cold is when the lifts stop working because of the cold as what happened with Kton today

 

[ScottySkis]

I agree negative and wind of Twenty makes skiing to cold if not for wind i can pretty much ski cold temperature

 

[snoseek]

One thing you can do that will help is go to the health food store and pick up cinnammon capsule supplements. They are often used for diabetics and people with circulatory issues but definately have made a positive effect on hands/feet. take these in the winter if you get frostbite/nip a lot. Apparently not agood thing to take if you already take some sort of blood thinner.

 

[BenedictGomez]

^ Do you toss them over your left shoulder or your right shoulder?

 

[snoseek]

^ Do you toss them over your left shoulder or your right shoulder?

Just eat a couple pounds of applecrisp for breakfast and call it good:smile:

 

[billski]

0 Kelvin or "absolute zero" - The point at which all atomic motion ceases.
It would be a little hard to make turns.

 

[Cannonball]

Cannon was up to a toasty minus 8 on Sunday when I left at noon.As usual,the skiing is always real good with temps like this.Never saw any waiting at any lifts and just a few people on the trails.Give me the cold anyday!

Now the snowmaking fog was another story and horror show in areas in the line of fire like the middle mt and some upper areas.

"Horror show" is a good description. They racked up enough complaints that they finally shut it down by noon-ish. The afternoon skied MUCH better as a result.

 

[Glenn]

-7 air temp in SoVT Sunday AM. I threw a few more logs on the fire.

 

[Abubob]

0 Kelvin or "absolute zero" - The point at which all atomic motion ceases.
It would be a little hard to make turns.

In that case the coldest temps I would want to ski in would be 250 and 247K.

263 to 270K is just about perfect.

 

[kingslug]

I found it "amusing" that they had the guns blasting the chair next to the k1 Gondi..almost all the way...WTF...

 

[ski stef]

Well its 10 here and still heading to beaver creek which claimed 10 inches. Have a feeling it might be a little chilly...