Quote:
Originally Posted by homerjay
Pffft. Just sack up and wear a beanie under your helmet. Works like a freakin' charm to keep your neck and ears warm, even if it lacks a bit in the aesthetics department.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homerjay
Pffft. Just sack up and wear a beanie under your helmet. Works like a freakin' charm to keep your neck and ears warm, even if it lacks a bit in the aesthetics department.
Whoa. Paging Hannibal Lecter to the red S&M courtesy phone please....Quote:
Originally Posted by Evmo
When I've skied in sub-zero days I always rock a balaclava under my helmet, with a beanie over the balaclava and then a hood up over the helmet, and a turtle fur around my neck.
There's no point in being macho in temperatures where you got frostbitten after 5-30 minutes of exposure.
edit. linky no worky.
if your balls freeze to your leg it's too cold.
When I was a wee pup, 8, we skied kmart on a -40 wind chill day (raw of -20F). My brother and I just hunk down and dealt w/out too much complaining. It was nasty. I remember having trouble focusing to ski. It was the day I found out that the painful part of frost bite is warming back up.
I’ve heard my dad tell the story of that day and it was clearly too cold to take an 8 and 12 yr old out in, even with all the cold weather gear dad made us wear. After that trip he had a -20F windchill cutoff to take us out.
BTW: It was a weekend day w/ no liftlines or anyone else on the trail at kmart. But price was some damn long and brutal lift rides(think slow 70’s lifts).
Now skiing in the Sierra it does get cold too often. I'm will to go out in a storm if the high is forecasted to be >0F. I always have one new pair of gloves for those days. If skiing alone (I know it’s bad) I make sure to go in every 2-2.5 hours. My main concern is that decision making goes to shit when you start getting cold and the lure of the next pow run is powerful.
on a similar note:
my full face has like a perfect fit...not enough room to wear a hat under...anyone know where the best place is to get a underarmor type thin helmet liner in the boulder area?
i guess i could just cut the sleeve off and old t-shirt....
ill sell you mine, dood. 10 bucks and you're golden.
never too cold..........
I think its never too cold to head out. If you have nothign better to do and won't be spending money on a day ticket, then whats the harm in heading out and trying to take the cold? If i'm allready out though, if it gets cold enough to either inhibit my skiing ability (maybe i'm just a pussy since i can't ski as well with numb feet) then I'll head in to warm up and hit on the ski bunnies. Also, I really am not that interested in getting frostbite, so if i fear that happening I run indoors with my tail between my legs.
I'll call bull shit on all the -40F folks. I spent quite a few years in Prudhoe and that was the cutoff for the equipment. No resort is going to risk staying open at those temps for the few stupid enough to show up. One winter they sent all the construction guys home from the slope because it was too cold too operate and cheaper to send us home than pay and house. Anchorage airport was closed because the pressure was so high altimiters would not function properly. So stuck in AK I skied eveyday. When it's that cold there is usually no wind so the powder stayed around and there wasn't much competition. And AKPM is actually correct ,inversion usually 20* warmer once you got up in the mountains and in the sun. Definitely had your skins on the skis before leaving home and usually drove up to the hill with the skis in the truck to insure they would stick for one run. coldest was -53F on a BC trip eastern AK range.
Skied at Bridger a few years back at -25 or so with wind chill, there was no freshies to be had. I was gone after 5 runs. Snow was squeaky slow.
Its -15 at my house right now. Temps all over the state of Montana at least that and some alot lower.
A tip for keeping your tip o' the nose "warmer" on fridgid days:
1. Take a 6 or 12 pack box.
2. Cut a piece out in a triangle shape
3. Cover with duct tape
4. Insert under goggle to keep nose warm
5. Rippit
Now who's gonna explain why the snow is slower at such cold temps?
I remember one day when it was really cold (maybe -30F or so) and I was in lodge at the base and people were coming in with their feet in extreme pain, but it was so cold that the plastic on their boots had stiffened so that they couldn't get them off. I remember thinking skiing that day, that it was about my limit
My best guess is that since no melting occurs under the ski they can't glide as well. Kinda like how when it is really cold, you can't ice skate outside.Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Gosey
It's never too cold to ski, although severe white out and wind conditions (when most of the mountain is shut down, blizzard, etc.) will keep my away. This rarely happens, but did last January in Mammoth during the 15 feet plus storm cycle.
http://www.tokous.com/PDF/Articles/W...Conditions.pdfQuote:
Originally Posted by Max Gosey
In extremely cold conditions (snow temperatures below 10F), a great disparity in the
gliding performance of skis is often found. Whenever there is a situation where there is
one overriding characteristic of the snow that is slowing the skis down, such as dry
friction, friction from dirt, or suction, a greater difference in performance is generally
found. This is because in such conditions, a person can not expect “universally” prepared
skis to perform. The skis need to be prepared specifically to address the factor that is
dominant in slowing the skis down.
There are two main types of snow found in extreme cold: very aggressive sharp and
strong crystals and fluffy feather- like and dry flakes. Although the first is much more
common than the second, the solutions are similar.
A common scenario is that a snow storm comes and brings with it lots of moisture which
translates into air temperatures between 25 and 35 and big wet snowflakes which stack up
quickly creating a big snowfall in a hurry. Much of the time, such a storm is followed by
a high pressure area and dry cold weather. The water in the newly fallen snow gives the
cold something to work with. As the snow gets colder, the crystals get sharper and
stronger until all moisture has been locked up and the crystals are extremely sharp,
strong, and aggressive to a ski base.
Dry friction caused by sharp strong
crystals dragging along a relatively soft plastic ski base slows the skis down dramatically.
To illustrate the situation, think about gluing sharp shards of glass to your floor and then
dragging a soft rubber mat across it. There will certainly be a lot of resistance and there
will also be much damage to the mat’s previously smooth surface. Then think about how
much easier it would be to drag a large plate of glass across the glass shard-laden floor.
There would be far less resistance and damage. This is because the glass plate is hard
enough to that the shards can not dig into it.
You should definitely take GEOG 4321: Snow Hydrology with Mark Williams.... excellent class!Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Gosey
I don't care how core you think you are. If you ever used to own a pair of Rossignol Course KS boots, especially ones a size to small for comfort, you will not be spending the entire day skiing in temps under -10 without having to periodically retreat to a warm shelter to unthaw your toes.
http://www.outdoorreview.com/Channel...roduct_740.jpg
These babies were by far the coldest boots I have ever owned.
hmm, yea, especially if they were like 5 seasons old since you were too broke to buy new boots. (realized i was such an idiot when i finally got new boots)Quote:
Originally Posted by Steezus Christ
i'm gonna go un unbullshit your bullshit call. I remember two years living in winter park where, for a good week or four in january, that valley bank sign in Fraser always held thirty below if you drove by it early enough... we would go weeks at a time when the old timers would tell my fragile frozen mind that it was too cold to snow. I remember that a cigarette could not even be lit and boot buckles would snap off like brocolli from the stalk but the core locals ( I remember tele Jim and old Bert/Jessie LaRue) would be out there with electic boot warmers and full days on that rock as a hardpack.
Remember they say that valley records the coldest temps for the longest period of time, hence its name "icebox of the nation" (yes they're aware of Gunnison's claim, but that's a town and it has a shorter winter)... go up there Max and yer blood'll thicken right up. By feb you'll be wearing a t shirt in the twenty degree range.
notice very few California people chiming in here.
I'm pretty damn sure that if it dropped to 0 at Kwood, if it's not a powerder day we'd all be inside at Bubs with pitchers. Or maybe that's just me.
No shit, there's a snow science class?Quote:
Originally Posted by funkendrenchman
Any pre-reqs? I'd love to knock out some elective hours with a course like that.
When working at Lake Louise there was a two week cold snap with temperatures never getting warmer than -30C. The mountain had a rule that it would not opperate the lifts if the temperature was any colder than -35C. So, that's the coldest I've gone skiing.
It was fairly miserable, but work was worse. Usually I had access to an ATV with a trailer for hauling stuff around the base lodge, but during those weeks the damn ATV wouldn't start, so I had to haul everything around manually :mad:
Fortunately, my job was also to stoke and keep the fire going in the main base lodge, so I had an excuse to sit at the fire warming my hands and feet :D
I've never really considered the temperature before skiing. Its winter in the mountains, you're going up above 2500m, its going to be cold.
Grab some layers, gore tex jacket, balaclava if its windy and head up the lifts. If you get cold, get better / more kit.
Racing in the U.P. was cold. Sometimes slalom gates and plastic padding would shatter just from being smacked around at 20-30 below. Then we'd have to go and pick up all the little red and blue peices of plastic with our cold hands. Yeesh. This is not to mention the times when somebody was late getting your clothes to the bottom of the hill, or God Forbid, you took a fall in the suit or you had to ride a chair in the suit. We had a special wax that we mixed up and it was fast as shit in really cold snow. Racer mags can PM me for the recipe if they want it.
I found that the warmest gloves I could find were leather mittens from the hardware store, warmer than anything else I found. I have embarrassing photos of me, with expression of misery, in a hot pink GS suit with green leather hardware-store mittens. Priceless.