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

[wa-loaf]

-30, Squaw Peak in 1987 with a nice stiff breeze coming off of Moosehead lake.

 

[ski220]

At jackson one year it was -40's in the mornings. we would call the snow phone and the message was "Lifts cannot be started until it warms up to -25" . We road tripped up to Big Sky. One of the best moves we've done.

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.

What year was that? I remember back in like '72 or so being up there at Glen Ellen and it was like -25. And that when we skied in cotton long johns and blue jeans. A bandana for a face mask and a stop at the mid lodge after every run off the top.


[/QUOTE]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, ![/QUOTE]

I was at Mad river skiing by myself in the early eighty's when that happened. It was snowing harder then I had ever seen when all of a sudden it started to thunder and lightning. Then they stopped the lift! After they started the lift again the skiing was fab.

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.

I carry extra layers, gloves, heat packs, down sweater and space blanket bivie shelter at all times in my small pack. As well as the standard avie gear and skins.

 

[Justin10]

Cool thread!

When out at The Canyons in Utah was riding up one of the lifts when it was snowing ridiculously hard and saw a flash...yep, thundersnow. They obviously stoppedl oading after that. We skied down to the top of the gondola there and waited out the storm for 45 minutes or so. A pretty sweet 6" of snow around the whole mountain after that though. It was just really weird...

As far as cold temperatures, I've been in some frigid temps at Cannon, but can't really remember any specific numbers or dates.

 

[Puck it]

-20 at Mt. Ste. Marie Quebec in 1979.

-52 (no wind chill) in Parishville, NY Dec. 25th 1980. I was out cross country skiing on the reservoir.

 

[4aprice]

Stowe, -32, -80 Windchill .

I was in a race in college at Mad River Glen where the wind chill was (I was told) -80. It was 4 runs:
1. check the course - go inside
2. run the course - go inside
3. check the course - go inside
4. run the course - go inside.

Can't remember much about the race itself only that it was cold.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[darent]

the Loaf, february 1998, wind and sub zero temps,making a right off of the quad you went backwards,a left and you were flying, you would ski down and go warm up and do it all over again!!

 

[andrec10]

January 1993. Stowe, woke up in the morning and it was -35 below without any wind. Most cars would not start. Took a few runs, go warmup. It did hurt to breathe though!

 

[frozencorn]

Back in college, there were days at Stowe that were mind-numbing....I can't recall numbers, but jesus they were eye-opening days.

I WAS going to head there one day after an 8 am class, until I realized why it seemed so cold walking across the quad.... -25 before wind chill. I went back to bed.

 

[hrstrat57]

-23 at Sugarbush during a PSIA clinic in the 90's......

No problem.....good day. Kept the goggles on, turtle fur up, warm wool ski hat( this was pre helmet days) and my sweet Descent shortie buttoned all the way up. Shake heater packts in gloves only......

As I recall we only quit an hour early.....

 

[bigbog]

...ever skied in...

Let me put Loon at the top of the temp range that I/we had the chance to ski in, but balked...reported -60F at the top one morning early Feb of 2000. Partners and I looked at each other in the parking lot..(had to be ~-20F and RAW!!..just in the lot), packed back up, and went over to Woodstock for breakfast...must have been close to 100 people in there.. It was just too much @ground level...

*Think it was -20F one New Years' morning at Loon...circa mid-1980s. The cold had to have seemed a lot worse then...hardly had a clue what to do on skis. ...curling the toes...etc. The days of ~3-4 breaths/minute :lol:
Yeah, the Loaf sure catches the wind..and can be really chilly :lol:....fwiw...I'd like to do a few early runs with the new liners..and newly-found vitamins....bet I can take a lot more now than I could in the past...but am I crazy enough to..

STeveD

 

[evantrentful]

The worst I had was at Whiteface 2 years ago, it was -15F at the base, thankfully the wind wasnt hollowing but still bit. I remember reading the chalkboard at the summit lift and they had a -22 reading up top.
Thankgod for the Gondola, that easily made the day bearable, but still didnt stop me from getting a mild frost bite on my nose

 

[Greg]

About -18*F air temp with roaring winds at Sugarbush. Paid $25 for a face mask in the ski shop. Told the guy I would've paid $50. That's about as cold as I'd bother with.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

-30 air temp and 60mph winds at the top of sugarloaf...damned miserable cold! -10 with some wind is bearable, but much colder than that gets a little whacky and unreasonable.

 

[Eski]

sometime in the mid 70's, spent a week at Sugarbush North (ski in/out) with temps well below zero the whole stay ... one day wind chill was -60, coldest I've ever experienced but I remember the most beautifully clearest views ... at weeks end when it was time to go, everyone's car batteries were frozen solid

 

[campgottagopee]

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

I think your brain is frozen :smash:

 

[mattchuck2]

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

Yeah, I don't think this is true even now with all the advances in layering material . . . . It's STILL cold when that wind rips through.

My coldest day was probably -34 (actual temp) at Whiteface sometime in the early nineties . . . It was even colder with the wind. I was also at Tremblant about 7 or 8 years ago when it was -20 or so . . . No wind though, so it actually felt okay . . .

 

[Marc]

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.

I always have an 800 fill power down vest on tours, or if I know it's going to be cold or exposed (washington) I have an expedition weight Lowe Alpine down parka I take. It's bulky, about 1.5x a nalgene compressed, but as warm as you could ever want.

 

[mlctvt]

I skied a day at Killington where it was -36 degrees at the peak and -10 at the base. Also a day at Stowe back in the early 80s when it was -32 degrees. These are actual temps not "wind chill" . I think they said it was -60 degrees wind chill at Killington. Absolutely brutal.
At Stowe they had large woolen poncos they were making everyone use on the lifts.

 

[woody]

The coldest I've been was one day at Jay doing laps on the Flyer.I don't remember what the temp was,below zero anyways,not many people were out.It's cold and then you crest the first peak into alligator alley,instantly the wind hits you and the temp just plumets.That would be a scary place to be stuck on the lift,I felt very vunerable.

 

[davidhowland14]

-10 at Ragged a couple years ago, -20 w/ windchill @ loon last winter. Windiest was at okemo. I'm not sure what the speeds were. Yesterday was pretty frickin cold at the top of WV on the slow diesel lift. I forgot my face mask and have mild frostbite on my lips and nose today.