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How cold is too too cold to snowboard?

13K views 81 replies 40 participants last post by  surfinsnow 
#1 ·
The forecast for January 1st, this Wed is -23C to -28C, feels like -30 with 10km/h wind

A ski club is organizing a ski trip for that day. but it's so cold...

Will you go on such cold weather? I wanted to go until I saw the forcast:dunno:
 
#48 ·
You're my Bad Assed, Sub Zero Hero!!!!! :laugh:

12º-15º low tomorrow morning. Only 19º-20º for the high. (...if we're lucky) 4-7 inches of snow throughout the day? Parents too hung over to drive their kids to the local probably until the afternoon sometime,...?

....U betcher Ass I'm gonna be layered up & out for first chair! :thumbsup:
 
#53 ·
Today at JayPeak -6 F wind chill -34 F at 8:30 lift time. Two runs googles foged up, after second run tryed to clean inside of my googles :) they where ICE like scrapping off your car.
Ran to my locker got a new pair of google. Now a little warmer after a brisk run to locker there was warm welcome to -2 F. Soon to be +10 by 4PM.
 
#54 ·
Last few days I've been on a board had a HIGH of -25 C (-13 F for the one first world country that hasn't joined the rest of the modern world!!!)

Toes got cold after about 1.5 hrs, face was cold but kept flipping between goggles down, mask up, and mask below nose, goggles on. My face is peeling in one spot. Methinks I may have had a bit of frost nip on my cheek! :blink:

If you keep moving, and you're on high speed lifts, your core will stay warm. It's the extremities I worry about..
 
#57 ·
Yeah you might not be cold, but your nose is guaranteed to take a beating from breathing in the cold air.

Up here it's fairly common for it to drop under 20 (C of course). -25 is a cold day but very snowboardable, -30 is pushing it, and -35 is the coldest I've ever done and my nose was NOT happy.
 
#59 ·
today is full on blizzard, 0* F with 30-50 mph winds, i was thinking maybe? but apparently it's too much for everyone! Chair 1 closed for the day, maybe for the weekend

for those with icy cheeks and noses, get some Dermatone...slathered on there you can increase your resistance by 20*
 
#67 ·
After re-reading my latest entry here, I started to think,..

The wind on Thursday was officially reported as steady at 25-35 mph, with gusts up to 40-50 mph! That was on top of regular temps in the low single digits. So at times the windchill had to be below -35-40˚.

I rode all day in that!! (...with lots of warming breaks.) It was absolutely brutal,.. and the snow conditions sucked even! ...lots of fine, windblown "velcro snow" everywhere! Honestly, it tended to seem more like pure survival than enjoyment. But, you have to take into consideration that where I live in SE. MI. We don't have a lot of good options for quality riding. So often we will tend to lean towards quantity over quality. For me, riding in that weather and those conditions was all about, "I paid good money to be here! God Dammit!! I'm gonna ride!!!! :dunno: :eusa_clap:

So my personal, official answer to "how cold is too cold?" After a heinous day of cold weather survival? I'd say if it's blowing hard enough to put the windchill below 20-25˚? It's Tooooo fucking cold!!! :giggle:

However, Yesterday? When the temp reached -2˚ with no wind to speak of and a clear blue, sunshiney sky, and a deserted hill? Now that was a Great day of riding!!! :bowdown:
 
#75 ·
The first trip's of the year, I really don't care about the wheater or temperature. I just want to get out and ride! :eusa_clap:

But after the first 10 days, I step it down a bit. I stil ride with fog and even rain, but after it passes -15 celsius I just pass. At least for hitting the casual slopes and the park. If I can get some delicious POW, I might consider it.

Just do whatever you feel comfortable with! :)

- P
 
#78 ·
Wuss! I don't stop to warm up until my "Prince Albert" gets frost on it! ;) :D :giggle:
 
#79 ·
I have yet to have the cold stop me from riding. Ridden in -20F in Jackson Hole and -15F in VT. I take a few coffe breaks throughout the day to keep my toes from freezing etc. But, I have never packed it up.
I don't get to ride as much as some people here (~20 days a season) so I can't be as picky.
 
#80 ·
I recently moved from MD where 20°F was FRIGID, to Vermont where 20°F is a warm day. It's actually the coldest winter in a decade according to a local on the lift.

I've had two days now where the windchill was down to something ridiculous like -30°F, but I sure as shit wasn't going to take my glove off and check it out on my phone. My water bottle has frozen in my backpack after an hour or so of riding, and my phone's battery drains super fast on cold days.

As everyone has already said, it's the lifts that get me. At the top of the quad at Stowe my face was literally in pain around the little bits of skin that were exposed. I wear two base layers and a mid-warmth jacket and it's otherwise manageable.
 
#82 ·
All that being said, I've never actually had to do triple layers or anything this year. Yeah, it's been cold in Vermont. But I've had some great days.

No bad weather, only bad clothes.

Yes, I've been chilly on the lifts, but heat up on the runs. It's been a weird season. Rarely a "perfect" day. It's either too cold or too windy or too full of New Yorkers...yet, I've had some great times once the season got started.
 
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