What's the coldest/most severe weather you've ever skied in?

[billski]

After reading the reportage in the Boston Globe today, I commented to myself, boy I'll bet this reporter hasn't been uptop on cold windy day.

She writes, "But after the snow tapers off this afternoon, commuters can expect biting temperatures in the 20s and in the teens further inland and winds with gusts to 50 mph."

What's the most severe weather you've ever skied in?


Minus fifteen degrees at Saddleback was memorable...
I don't enjoy clouded in skiing where you can't see ten feet in front of you.
When the winds get to whippin and they slow the chair down to manage it, that's not much fun either. But gee, I would not consider teens and 20s to be "biting temperatures."

 

[Starter Jackets Rule!]

tuckermans at HoJo's -40f 20-40mph winds.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I've skied days at Stowe where's it's colder than 15 below zero plus wind..that's wicked cold for the east due to the humidity in the air. I've skied out west when the temperature was colder than 30 below zero early AM at the base but no wind and sunshine..still freaking cold. When it gets that cold..the sky and sunsets are awesome.

 

[RootDKJ]

I think it was 2003, it was about -40f at K after windchill was factored in Lots of lifts on wind hold, but I remember that Rams Head was running and the lifties were asking us how long it had been since we'd been in the lodge.

 

[lerops]

MLK day weekend last year at Whiteface. It went to about -20F, plus the winds. But it was still beautiful.

 

[Johnskiismore]

For cold January 1995, -20 in Bartlett, NH, colder when we got to Wildcat, and the windchill brought the temperature down to -40F if I am not mistaking. The lifties would not let you go up if you had any skin showing..... which was very very smart!

For extreme I will have to say Cannon in I think January 2005. Temperature was -5F, and Cannon was making snow, and a very strange phenomenon happened. The snow guns helped create a cloud that engulfed the whole mountain, to the point that you could not see more than three feet in front of you... yes, holding out your hand at arms length it was getting tough to see your own hand! Needless to say we didn't break any speed records that day

 

[Clarkl23]

For skiing I'll go with all of January 2003 in the Mt. Washington Valley. I skied every weekend with a mask and more days below 0 than in 35 years up there. I know I raced in one race where I didn't have wax with a cold enough range. Non skiing/to cold to ski... I remember one day of -35F in 1974 in West Ossipee, can't imagine what it could have been in the mountains. We pretty much spent the whole day starting cars at my club by Whittier. I had a Fiat 124 Spyder and when I put the stick in neutral it still tried to go forward the transmission fluid had thickened so much.

Clark

 

[loafer89]

-37F at Sugarloaf in December of 1989. (this was the temperature at the base of the mountain)

We where also at Sugarloaf during the great ice storm of January 1998.

My most recent cold weather experience was January of 2008 with -11F for a high at Saddleback. The Kennebago T-bar was closed that day due to air temperatures of -29F not including the wind chill.

 

[crank]

Here's the most memorable for me.

January in VT...'nuff said right there. Sugarbush North (Mt. Ellen) -25 at the top. I only made it to the top once. Skied Upper FIS it was sweet, but I was freaking freezing. I was the only one up there except for the liftie in the shack. Skied the lower mountain the rest of the day with frequent hot chocolate breaks.

Mammoth Mountain in the middle of a total whiteout storm that dumped 3' in a day. My outer layer was a really good foul weather gear suit I had for sailing. With goggles on I felt like I was in a space suit - totally sealed off from the weather, inside, looking out. But me and a core group of four stayed out open to close. The top of Mammoth is one, well... mammoth ridge. It's massive and there are no trees, just complete whiteness everywhere. Next morning the sun was up and that wasn't a bad day either, but it's the storm that really sticks in my mind.

Park City Mountain Resort back in 1977 - thunder snow! I was at the summit when a lightning bolt hit some sort of tower or power station on a ridge across the town from the mountain. I saw it hit! Power out all over town and the mountain too. My buddy was behind me and was stuck on the gondola, about 5 cars from the top for an hour before they got the auxiliary power going and ran everyone up. It was windy as hell and I was damn glad to be hanging out in the Summit House watching the storm rather than being blown around dangling on a wire. After our 1 run down from the summit we skied the only lift they had open, It was near the bottom somewhere below the ski team lift. The wind was blowing from directly behind the chairs and they were running it slowed down, powered by the diesel auxillary. Thunder Snow!

 

[KevinF]

The coldest I have seen was in January at Cannon a few years ago. The thermometer in the summit tram building was reading -29F. It hurt to breathe.

 

[WoodCore]

Although I don't remember what the outside temp was, I do remember my watch freezing during a race at Whiteface many years ago. The inside temp of the downhill start building was a balmy 18 degrees with the heat on.

 

[skiing is life]

this is going to sound so lame

-10 at bromley including windchill. also snowing. turned out to be a pretty bad day.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

If your dressed properly I think the wind chill is basically a moot factor unless your skiing naked.

Out west I skied in -40F but there was always a severe temp inversion so the upper mountain is usually +20/30F and in bright sun once you get above the clouds and the extreme cold air that has settled in the valley. Your dressed for -40F so you sweat alot which results in a vary strange feeling as all the moisture starts freezing up as your headed down to the base where the extreme cold temps are.

 

[JD]

Colder then a witches tit in a tin bra and blowing like stink. Welcome to New England in February.

 

[2Planker]

Coldest would have been at Chamonix's Aguille De Midi. Air Temp was -45F, wind was 45-50mph that works out to a Wind Chill of -90F - we skied the whole 14km all the way down to the village.

Had a couple -20 (air temp) opening trail check days at SR last year - No wind though.

 

[skibum9995]

-32 with 30-40 mph winds at Jay Peak in 2003.

 

[deadheadskier]

Stowe, -32, -80 Windchill

3 runs even though there was a foot of fresh. I would've stayed out for more had I had better gloves. By half way down the third run my hands were so cold that it was excruciatingly painful. I spent a half hour in the lodge eventually getting them warmed back up and by then I decided I wasn't going through that again.

 

[billski]

Stowe, -32, -80 Windchill

3 runs even though there was a foot of fresh. I would've stayed out for more had I had better gloves. By half way down the third run my hands were so cold that it was excruciatingly painful. I spent a half hour in the lodge eventually getting them warmed back up and by then I decided I wasn't going through that again.

Yeah, that's the classic problem. The snow is wonderful, but you can't stand being outside.... Unfortunate problem to have.

Seems for everyone it's really the cold/wind that does it.

 

[Warp Daddy]

There is a group of us some 30 guys in number that annually travel to Tremblant and rent a private lodge on Lac Superier on the North side for a week of great skiiing -- been doing this for decades

WE skied Mt Tremblant one day n a -75 windchill ----------yep 75 BELOW zero windchill / One of the best damn days i ever skied tho !

Bright sunny and damn few out there . We would ski about 6 runs then would come into the Northtside lodge and drink hot chocolates then go out again for more runs . We skied from opening till about 2:30 Wore several technical layers under a soft and hard shell with full face balaclava under my helmet & goggles

We used heat packs in double Mittens and in our boots . Had two Northface fleece pants under a Gore tex set of bibs

I've skied Tremblant many times in ambient temps of 15-20 Below Zero and have also skied with summit winds that would cause one to barely move -- yep we're insane !!

 

[JD]

I don't think you can ignore wind chill. It sucks heat out of you and is the real temp if you have to take gloves off for any reason. The thing no one thinks about when skiing, what happens if I had to stop, and lay in the snow for 20-30 minutes? Or maybe an hour? Extreme wind chills and cold temps should make us all be a little more conservative because the danger of an injury, esspecially woods or BC becomes catastrophic at say 10 degrees and less w/o extra layers. I always ski with my downy in my pack. An insulating layer can be a life saver. Anyone else carry a dwon or insulated jacket in their pack on cold days skiing woods? Something to think about.