 Poster: A snowHead
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Due to temperatures as low as -37 Celsius, Sunshine is closed for at least a day!!! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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This happens quite often in January and early February so I’ve noticed.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not uncommon. I've been in Banff on a similar day. All hills closed for safety and browsing the shops meant less than 30 secs outside at a time.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My friend took a group of British travel agents there some years ago. As it was a tourist industry trip they were treated to corporate hospitality while the temperature lifted from -38 to a balmy -30° at which point they were let out to ski.
This was at Sunshine.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Last season Big White stayed open at minus 38, but most people stayed home. It happens. Pretty good news really as the earlier weather pattern was much too warm.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Had -35 C at Sunshine. So cold the wax failed and we were having to pole downhill.
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I avoid Banff in Jan for this reason
Late Feb/March for me! Even then it can be minus 20C and that’s enough for me.
Great powder at those temps but it’s bloomin’ cold.
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I'm in Kicking horse at the moment, and it is shut today too. Chairlifts here shut at -25 and the gondola at -30C. Pretty sensible as it is dangerously cold.
It was just above that yesterday and was ok for a few runs, but definitely quite sticky - on a traverse could sort of skin up without skins! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I’m sure I remember skiing Banff at -20 or 25 when I was young and eager. But it was also when I dressed in thick salopettes with fleece trousers underneath and 1 or even 2 thermal leggings. Now I just have my thin Rossignol trousers and one pair leggings (and a couple of layers less on top too). No wonder I was damn cold there last time when it dropped to perhaps -12. We had to come into a cafe for at least an hour to warm up again.
I spent 3 years in living in Moscow and Mongolian winters. People ask what does it feel like, the difference between -15 and -30. I say apart from sticky blinking, you don’t feel the difference immediately, “oh feels about -20” it’s only a question about how quickly your body loses heat and you have to go somewhere and warm up.
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Currently -40degC at Calgary Springbank airport, 2 miles from my little bruvs.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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'Remembers when I first ever arrived in Calgary and the dry cold (it was about -15 I think) went straight through me, my perception of cold has never been the same since!'
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Sounds a bit snowflakery.
Warmup with some starjumps and you're good to go 
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Seems like the closures are all weekend and all nearby ski areas - Jasper closed yesterday and had temps down to -51 this morning.
Never go Jan for this reason, always late Feb / March trips
Other news - SSV is getting a covered 6 man chair next season, to replace a 4 man 
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You know it makes sense.
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Whistler looks virtually closed too
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Big White closed for the day earlier too.
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Poster: A snowHead
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When they call it 'Sunshine Village' you know they're trying to kid you
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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And it ain't just the Great White North either. Almost the entire continental US will be below freezing this weekend, and 55 million people will be below zero. At midday its a sunny 19f on my porch, half a mile from the ocean (Puget Sound).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This is colder than usual. They say yesterday was the lowest daytime high since 2004. Its pretty cold. Dogs are feeling it going outside for a pee. Usually they can cope with anything, as long as the younger one has booties. We had to take them to pet store yesterday for their walk, because their faces are freezing and they can get frostbite (as can we)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Big White closed on Jan 12, but partly open today (Jan 13). Looks like lower lifts only. Similar at SunPeaks on Thursday.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We were at Lake Louise either Christmas 2004 or 2005 and saw daily temperatures of -30, I managed to dislocate my thumb putting my ski boots on.
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Yeah it’s not pleasant skiing at that sort of temps as we discovered last year at Big White but everyone is sensible about it. Announcements made and some lifts don’t run in case they break as being sat exposed at -40 isn’t fun.
We did 40 mins on, 30 mins warming up with hot chocolate in cafe and repeated throughout the day. They tend to cancel night skiing as well on this -40 days.
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@Neil.c, I remember needing to sit in the café at the bottom of Sunshine with hubby for absolutely ages waiting for his boots to warm up, as he'd left them in the boot of the hire car while he drove there. Kids were not happy at having to wait.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Scooter in Seattle wrote: |
| And it ain't just the Great White North either. Almost the entire continental US will be below freezing this weekend, and 55 million people will be below zero. At midday its a sunny 19f on my porch, half a mile from the ocean (Puget Sound). |
I came back from balmy Hong Kong yesterday and had to stand outside on the curb at JFK waiting for my pickup for a good 10 min 
Fortunately I had sufficient warm clothing (old ski jacket), including hats and gloves. So not too bad.
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All of which reminds me. I was using cable ties ("tie wraps") to stop my boots automatically flipping from ride mode to walk mode, which is a design defect. I was just sitting in the pub with a material scientist friend whining about how frequently those cable ties break, and wondering what the mechanism was. He nailed it immediately: they're made of PU and that's very brittle at low temperatures, such as those typically encountered in BC in winter. Needless to say I just ordered some which work down to minus 40, so they should be just about ok.
My boots are made of fancy stuff (amides, carbon), but anyone in older PU boots may have some issues with that I suppose.
Squeaky slower snow and the need to constantly wiggle my toes is about the only thing I notice when it's very cold.
For general living, I find just that you have to cover your head and you can't wear jeans outdoors once it gets properly cold. In Finland the trains are on time, and the commuters all appear magically just as they're arriving: no one waits outside on the platforms.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My learning experience from the rather chilly weekend at Kicking Horse (down to below -40C at one point!  though no lifts running below -30C ) was that even if you think you have everything covered up, if you miss a bit you get frostbite! Nothing too bad fortunately.
What I also learnt was that the locals crack out the KT-tape to cover bits such as the cheeks and nose, though I shall avoid skiing fast at -30C in the future, I shall also go with the KT tape approach if I have to go skiing in anything like that cold again.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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KT tape is a lifesaver@stuarth, kids always wear it when its super cold. Helps to pre-cut it
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