What Temperature is Dangerous?

Off to St Anton next week and was horrified to see weather forecasts suggesting temperatures as low as -45c with wind chill :evil:

I presume at some temperature, the risk of frostbite or frostnip becomes much more real. Can anybody shed some light on the temperature that we should watch out for and take extra precautions?

Any other tips regarding extremely low temperatures also welcome?

I've skied in low temps over the last two winters. Ends of fingers can split, so good gloves and some Nutrogena Hand Cream are essential for me. A balaclava is a must, with goggles.

Before Christmas met a guy from Zurich who had frostbite on his face. He was skiing in shades in still air temps of -25 ish, add on wind chill and skier speed to that. His pals thought it was quite funny.

Tried a face mask in Zermatt, could not get on with it at all :roll: Made my goggles steam up!

Watch each other's faces closely, any white bloodless patches, go inside immediately.

Make sure that you take a break in the warm every couple of hours or so. Beware bright conditions, as the sun can make your exterior feel warm even as your core temperature steadily declines. Be careful about long excursions where there's group pressure to press on without a break. Let the others press on and don't hesitate to take a break just because others in your group want to get somewhere.

We've skied when it's pretty cold. I suggest you stay lower down, on the tree-lined runs, in the sun if possible. And avoid going on chair lifts exposed to the wind. I'm sure the resort will take a few precautions at these sort of temperatures as well, to protect their customers. And if you ask around, in the tourist office for example, I'm sure they'll tell you which runs to avoid, depending on the wind direction, altitude, and aspect.

A few years ago we were ski-ing in Val Thorens and they shut one of the chair lifts because it was too cold up there (-18 I think). You really don't want to be stuck on a chair lift at very low temperatures. Drag lifts, or gondolas, are better.

Another tip is to put your goggles on as soon as you get outside. I've had mine freeze up on the inside when they were round my neck. And my instructor said the only thing I could do about that was to put them inside my jacket until they thawed out.

And as for hand cream, I use the hemp hand protector from the Body Shop, which smells awful, but does a great job on extremely dry skin.

Ally

It was -20 at Le Corbier last week. 3 hrs was enough for me ....really cold fingers and toes. Returned to the hotel for a couple of hours to thaw out and then went back for the last 1.5 hours to finish the day. My advice is check what temps are expected and as soon as you begin to feel cold take a break and warm up....after all you are on holiday and meant to be having fun!! :lol:

I skied in -25c in Val Thorens and yes it was cold!
I think that temp in St Anton would be top of mountain overnight, it was -37c when we were there but never anywhere near that cold in the day, averaging around -8c most days.

IMHO Wanderer will have no problems with the cold - whatever it goes down to.
For the simple reason there is already awareness and questionning. And hence caution, reason and taking precautions will happen.
It is those who think that skiing high in cold weather is safe and friendly and .......... who have the problems.
I got frost nip on my cheek once, as it thawed it was the most excruciating pain I think I have ever experienced! My error was to ski a long vertical drop without stopping just to get to where I had to go as quickly as possible and get in the warm.

Grow a beard ...... it's good enough for those polar explorers :D