Coldest temps you've skied?

[Jack skis]

Back when we worked at Big Sky we were used to cold days, but a really cold spell hit and the temps went to -40f and maybe a bit lower. The lifts were shut down for a day or two. The ski school rope tow ran and some parents brought their kids out for lessons. Snow that cold was really sticky and the instructors could barely make their skis go downhill.

At CB a local named Tony lives in town and rides the bus to his job as a ski and rental tech at the area. His every day costume inside is shorts and a tropical shirt. When he goes outside he adds earmuffs, nothing more. I have never seen him go to work wearing anything else.

 

[firebanex]

We close at an average of -20f between the top and bottom of the hill as we can experience some pretty insane inversions to the tune of about 25* temp difference between the top and bottom. So it could be just about 0 at the top and -25 at the bottom and still open for skiing even though it is miserable at the bottom. I'm in Alaska so we are just kinda used to it and everyone has the proper gear for being outside and playing at those temps.

I have skied at about -40 before, we were doing a torch light processional down the hill as part of a wedding between two patrollers, it was freaking sweet but oh so so cold. Skis just don't slide so well and your boots feel like there are about a 500 stiffness

 

[trailtrimmer]

-28º when I lived in Michigan. I remember standing on top of South Peak feeling like pins and needles on my face. That was a short ski day.

Caberfae? Cadillac is in a hell of a cold spot.

 

[Tricia]

Caberfae? Cadillac is in a hell of a cold spot.

Yes and, even though I said it was a short day, it was at night.
I loved that I could get a few hours of skiing in after work. I miss night skiing. I don't miss the negative temps.

 

[Bad Bob]

-40 F +/-. The snow really does change when the temps get that cold, and things get really sticky for some reason. The sounds are perhaps what is most memorable, everything gets really loud.

Called ski school off once due to cold and wind. We had a school program running with about 200 kids in it. The temps dropped down to the -30* range with a wind, there was no way I was sending them out in that. Management got really pissed, but nobody get hurt either; didn't want to have to explain why Little Johnny and his friends got frostbite.

We close at an average of -20f between the top and bottom of the hill as we can experience some pretty insane inversions to the tune of about 25* temp difference between the top and bottom. So it could be just about 0 at the top and -25 at the bottom and still open for skiing even though it is miserable at the bottom. I'm in Alaska so we are just kinda used to it and everyone has the proper gear for being outside and playing at those temps.

The inversion layers in Central Alaska can be just nuts! In Fairbanks by the river it could be -30 but up on Cleary Ridge north of town it could be +15* or 20*. That was a winter I will never forget.

Totally not skiing related, but had a customer who owned a large fuel plant around Glen Allen, AK; he had a photo of himself carrying 2 BUCKETS of propane. It was so cold it would not go back to its gas state.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

My biggest problem of shedding heat goes away and I become very comfortable the colder it gets. Somewhere between -10 and -20 degrees I do need to close my helmet vents as I start to get a brain freeze.

 

[mister moose]

It's a lot to do with acclimatization as well. -10F in December is a lot colder than -10F mid February.

The freezing point of a good VT IPA at 8% ABV is about 26F, FYI.

 

[Goose]

Minus - 460F. Or known as absolute 0 and with the wind chill it was minus502.
I just had to compete with some of you crazies.

My coldest was -10 at Mt Snow VT. Second was about 0 at blue in PA. That was the Windies too and he chill was at minus 10. Honestly though I was covered every ounce of skin and was actually one the better ski days I ever had there. Wasn't boiler plate and no crowd at all. Got a ton of good skiing that day. Of course it wears you down a bit but for a zoo in pa I'll take that day over most others..lol

 

[KingGrump]

Been skiing VT for lots of years. Seen my share of really cold days. Never kept track of any of them. Just not that important to me.

Now I usually spend the winter west of the continental divide. The climate is usually a bit more temperate than the NE.
One cold day that stuck to my mind was new years day 2011. We were skiing at Vail before the road trip to southern CO and NM. It started as an unusually cold day. I remember the skis weren't move well even with our usual CH6 wax. Didn't paid it any mind. We were happy as the temps warmed up quite a bit towards noon when we hit the bottom of Blue Sky Basin. Got on the chair, turned around and look at the thermometer on the wall. The needle was pegged at -25℉.

 

[firebanex]

The inversion layers in Central Alaska can be just nuts! In Fairbanks by the river it could be -30 but up on Cleary Ridge north of town it could be +15* or 20*. That was a winter I will never forget.

Totally not skiing related, but had a customer who owned a large fuel plant around Glen Allen, AK; he had a photo of himself carrying 2 BUCKETS of propane. It was so cold it would not go back to its gas state.

For real, I was born and raised here in Fairbanks and I specifically looked to buy a house in the hills around Fairbanks because I didn't want to deal with living in the absolute cold all the time, I like driving home at night and warming up as I get closer to home. It cuts down on the cold related wear and tear on our cars and things. It also honestly makes the skiing a lot more fun when you can start at the top of the hill significantly warmer than the base.

Also not skiing related, in my day job I sell wood, pellet, and gas stoves and fireplaces.. propane not flowing is a LEGIT concern for my entire customer base.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

propane not flowing is a LEGIT concern for my entire customer base.

Wow, at what temp?

 

[SlapChop]

Last December we had a string of -40 days here. Sent the kids in after every other run to keep warm.

You know when you are breaking out the face tape to protect from frostbite that it's going to be a nippy day!

 

[Wilhelmson]

I've been out when they said it was -30 at the summit. I also use tape on the bridge of my nose between googles and balaclava. I don't like face masks.

 

[cantunamunch]

Wow, at what temp?

I'm tempted to guess it was actually propane hydrates in the buckets.

 

[dbostedo]

I'm tempted to guess it was actually propane hydrates in the buckets.

Well propane boils/condenses at -44F at 1 atm... so it's possible that it was buckets of propane I suppose.

 

[cantunamunch]

Well propane boils/condenses at -44F at 1 atm... so it's possible that it was buckets of propane I suppose.

Yes - and if it was liquid in the buckets, the next post about propane not 'flowing' has to be interpreted in a strictly gas flow way (there is minimal vapor pressure). In that context the liquid hasn't stopped flowing, it's just that the conduit wasn't designed to transport it.

If the bucket context is solid hydrate, both liquid flow and gas flow could be stopped in the second post .

But, yes, it's possible to interpret the second post either way, hence my use of the word 'tempted'. As in "Tempted to think 'zebra' when hearing hoof beats".

 

[Cheizz]

-33 C (- 27 F)... It was a challenge, especially with the wind in my face.

 

[Wilhelmson]

A good rule of thumb is to take the day off from skiing when the propane stops flowing. By the time it freezes at -304 you're probably dead anyways.

 

[firebanex]

It's somewhere around -40 that the rate of evaporation in most LP tanks decreases enough that one of our 30k btu fireplace will stop working properly. I don't know the specifics but that's the commonly accepted temperature that our gas subcontractor has told me. It is less of a problem nowdays compared to even when I was growing up (i'm only 31).. climate change, we get more snow and warmer winters now compared to my childhood memories.

 

[dbostedo]

...we get more snow and warmer winters now compared to my childhood memories.

I think even if there were no climate change, this would be true. I know I've looked back at the yearly snow totals where I grew up, against my memories, and found that my memories are probably faulty.

My theory : I loved playing in the snow and sledding when I was a kid... so those memories stuck and I seemed to recall it always being snowy even if it wasn't. But if I think about it harder, I also remember riding my new bike in short sleeves on Christmas day in the mid-80's. (NOT that there haven't been climate changes - just that they are not as extreme as I seem to think they are based on my very fallible memories.)