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Question: How cold is TOO cold?

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Today.
Beyond my limits, at -33 wind chill (and most lifts not operating anyway :( due to wind).
 

frenchgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I am very cold natured so I would like to say that single digits would be my limit for skiing. On New Years eve this year it was in the lower teens I think but it was snowing and the wind was blowing and it was night skiing. Usually I get cold fingers,but I have just bought some mittens to solve that problem.
 

ride_ski

Angel Diva
New Years Day was about the limit for me as well. It was -8 at the base (before the wind chill). I don't know what the wind chill was, but it was cold. We were able to do 2 runs then had to go in to warm up. In the AM at Killington, they only had chairs open- no gondola. We lasted 5 runs, then called it a day.

I won't be doing that again any time soon.
 

White tara

Certified Ski Diva
Below 0...not fun

Double digit windchills. I usually don't have problems with cold feet but New Year's Day @ K I did. Only did one run in the AM before coming back to the lodge for coffee and had to buy mittens before going back out. Afternoon was only slight more manageable.My understanding is that at the peak windchills went as low as -50-60's F. :eek: NOT GOOD. DH came home with frostbite on his face. After that exprience, skiing at 10's feels like summer!:becky:
 

Appennini gal

Certified Ski Diva
WOW! You all are heros! The coldest I have experienced was 23F...but last week my base camp has registerd the coldest temp here in italy -22F. Not too bad considering is about two hours from Rome.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Appennini Girl - glad to see those C #'s. Canada is metric like Europe. It was -25 on the deck here this morning. Warmed up to -14C. Wood stove feels nice!!
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Yikes, take a look at my local forecast for later in the week. This is from NOAA, the National Weather Service:

Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -2.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -9.

Thursday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 2.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -13.

Friday: Sunny and cold, with a high near -8.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -17.

Saturday: Sunny and cold, with a high near -4.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Next week's forecast for Sugarloaf, Maine:

Wednesday: A chance of snow. Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 0. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -23.

Thursday: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy and cold, with a high near -3. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around -25. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near -4. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -24. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -1.

:eek:
 

playoutside

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Next week's forecast for Sugarloaf, Maine:

Wednesday: A chance of snow. Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 0. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -23.

Thursday: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy and cold, with a high near -3. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around -25. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near -4. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -24. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -1.

:eek:
This is totally depressing. I'm headed to Saddleback next weekend with a group of friends. It looks to be about the same as Sugarloaf. Sure hope the forecast warms a bit as the week moves along.
 

frenchgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was planning on skiing today but tomorow it is supposed to be a high of 8F and Thursday it'll be between 0 and 8F at the base of the mountain. So I am off to do some warm baselayer shopping.
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
New Years Day was about the limit for me as well. It was -8 at the base (before the wind chill). I don't know what the wind chill was, but it was cold. We were able to do 2 runs then had to go in to warm up. In the AM at Killington, they only had chairs open- no gondola. We lasted 5 runs, then called it a day.

I won't be doing that again any time soon.

Hey, I was skiing K that day, too, and MAN, it was cold. My ears got frozen on my first 2 chair rides up Ramshead and hurt for the next 2 days. Little scary -- I *never* have issues like that.

I was talking to a guy on the chair a day or two later who said he was skiing Stowe on New Year's Day and it was -20F at the base BEFORE WINDCHILL. You'd never get me out in those temps.

If it's windy my limit is somewhere around 0F. I've had some GREAT DAYS where it was single digits, sunny, and not windy, though. One fantastic day at Bretton Woods maybe 2 years ago just after that Valentine's Day storm that was hands-down my best tree skiing day on the east coast, and one awesome week in Solitude, UT where the high never got above 5F. So, as everyone's already said, it depends on a lot of things.
 

slipnslide

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
For me low temps aren't so bad. It's the wind that I can't take. I hate wind on my face and have about 10 neck gaiters from thin to thick. I can't wear the neoprene face mask because it pinches my nose and makes me feel like I’m suffocating. I gave the thing another try a couple of weeks ago and had a mini anxiety attack on the lift. Fortunately, I was also wearing a neck gaiter. When the wind gets too strong the visibility usually diminishes, so we seek out calmer conditions or leave. My daughter and I were out a few weeks ago in Breck at -20 and the gusts were so strong that at one point the 2 man chair lift we were riding tipped backward far enough that if the bar wasn't down we would have fallen out. It scared the heck out of us. Needless to say, it was our last run of the day.
 

slipnslide

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
BTW, the coldest that I have EVER felt skiing was in Killington about 4 years ago. Nothing in the West has ever approached the icy feeling that went straight to our bones that day. If I were a less avid skier, I would have sworn it off for life.
 

cosmogirl

Certified Ski Diva
Ditto on the wind tolerance. I have zero. I prefer to ski in the 20's but that's:brr::brr::brr::brr::brr: wishful thinking. Tomorrow I'll be out at night and the high will be -14F (hopefully there will be no wind!). I have to be there so I'll just have to suck it up, but it will be tough
:brr:
 

HotChocolate

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I am starting to keep track of the temps on the days that I ski as well as what I'm wearing to try and avoid over/under dressing. Does anyone else do that? If so could you let me know what you wear when its really cold and why. After reading some of the posts where that info was stated I found it very helpful. Thanks ladies!
 

stef

Certified Ski Diva
We were supposed to ski this evening here in Southern WI, but hubby came home from work and said temp was -12F. Even our son wimped out. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so hopefully we'll get out then. Skiing during the day when it's that cold is tough, but at night with no sun it's brutal.
 

SkiBam

Angel Diva
How cold is too cold? This morning I would have said today was: temp of minus 28C (18 below F). But I HAD to ski as I teach for a group of older people (average age 70) who have been skiing for years and pride themselves on never cancelling.

Fortunately, the winds that had been forecast didn't materialize, the sun was brilliant, crowds were thin (well, other than us there was hardly anyone there) and conditions were excellent after a snowfall yesterday, so it turned out to be a far far better day than I expected.

Three of the seven in my group took a one-run break, but the rest of us were out for two-and-a-half hours. These people are keen and for them, I don't think there's a day that's too cold.
 

skimomma24

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes, today was bloody cold. We didn't get the winds they were calling for either. I am supposed to teach tomorrow evening, (after school youth) and they are calling for - again - temperatures around -25C plus wind. And that is during the day! As long as I know the temp, then I dress for it. So far, my toes have been OK, and my mitts rock and I never have cold hands. Tomorrow willbe a test.

As for little ones, I have two 5yo's myself, and when they get cold, we go in. Period. They are usually pretty good though, and can stand it down to around -20C. But with my classes, I ask them every run if their toes or fingers are cold. And we go in when I get a 'yes' answer.
 

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