What is the coldest you have ever been ?

[PILOON]

Two times, once went swimming in the river in mid February by accident, clothes frozen by the time I got to my grandmothers house a short distance away
mark

I'll never forget my similar winter dip wither. My pants were like stove pipes!
Just reading this gives me the shivers. Haven't warmed up since. LOL

 

[s219]

It's kind of funny how it depends on the location. I've gotten up early in the morning to ski in Utah when it was -20F, and it was tolerable with all my layers on (no wind thank god). The drier air in that part of the country makes cold temperatures feel less severe to me. In contrast, the same temperatures in Vermont were brutal. I remember carrying in a load of firewood one morning in Vermont when it was -35F, and that was the coldest I have ever felt. My nose skin hurt from exposure to the cold in just a few minutes outside.

 

[tcartwri]

I've worked in the very high arctic in camps for the last 25 years. -50C is pretty common, but the coldest I've ever been was after being dropped by helicopter to service a remote station at -5C. I wasn't dressed for the conditions and it was open and windy.. The chopper left to get more equipment and I imeadiatly realized i was in trouble. Never got caught like that again.

 

[Iowan]

The first winter my wife and I were together I made the mistake of touching her bare butt in the middle of the night, ****. Now she keeps the electric blanket on roast so its better but the thought still gives me the shivers.

 

[BKBoiss]

Coldest I have ever been was the first winter I hauled logs. We were hauling night shift into this little mill in the middle of a farmers WIDE OPEN not a tree in sight field, the temp gauge in the truck was showing -48C and wind was blowing around 60 70kmh. I managed to jake all the way in without touching the brakes then as I was loading the pole trailer I ran over my cord and jumped on the brake peddle. I spent the next half hour under the truck with a torch and hammer trying to get that dang valve to release. Thankfully by then I was between the log decks at least.

 

[MoKelly]

I was in Harbin, China for their annual ice festival a few years back. Harbin is in North China very near Russia. It was -25F at night when we had to walk around looking at all the ice sculptures. Despite all the clothes and furs and stuff to wear, it was still cold. And walking around drinking beer looking at ice just made it all that much colder.

It was not fun.

MoKelly

 

[jix]

In 1978, in Alert NWT ( LAT 88* n) Temp minus 60 *F wind 40 MPH. Stuck in deep snow in A Nodwell sno-cat cab for 11 hours, engine running. Got out and tried to dig out with shovels for 45 mins. Froze fingers, toes, Hypothermia, but we got her out and spent another three hours getting to heated shelter before fuel exhausted. Warm (not hot) water baths for six hours, then hyperbaric oxygen to perfuse the frozen limbs. Amputation of two toes subsequently. Nasty. Close call. Below 50, never go outside if it is windy at all. Even the eskimoes build an igloo and stay inside with an oil light. No amount of any kind of clothing will keep you warm in such cold, even if you are moving. Gotta have shelter. Gotta have hi calorie food (blubber) or die, from exposure. No joke.

 

[QueBota]

Amundsen Scott Research Station, Antarctica, -85 F. Had the new guys walk a course following a guide rope in shorts and tshirt, fortunately wind was blowing less than 10 mph. Walk takes about three minutes, so cold that it actually hurts. All the paths between buildings were well marked, when the wind picks up and the snow starts blowing around hard enough you can't see you feet, it's easy to get lost and could be deadly.

Q

 

[Daver1963]

December 1984 - Bradford, TN. It was hovering around 0F and my sister and her husband had gone out of town to a meeting. They had left that afternoon, got to the hotel, and about 8pm my sister calls and thinks she left a coffee pot on. She says there's a key by the back door. My father and I bundle up and go there. No key. We go back home.
Sister calls again says, well I think the bedroom window is unlocked. We go back and only way to try and slide window up is to take off gloves. Even if the window was unlocked its frozen shut. We go back home.
We get home, slightly frozen, and my sister has called again. Said that husband (who had been out of the hotel room) came back and said he unplugged the coffee pot before they walked out. Thanks Sis!

 

[tcartwri]

In 1978, in Alert NWT ( LAT 88* n) Temp minus 60 *F wind 40 MPH. Stuck in deep snow in A Nodwell sno-cat cab for 11 hours, engine running. Got out and tried to dig out with shovels for 45 mins. Froze fingers, toes, Hypothermia, but we got her out and spent another three hours getting to heated shelter before fuel exhausted. Warm (not hot) water baths for six hours, then hyperbaric oxygen to perfuse the frozen limbs. Amputation of two toes subsequently. Nasty. Close call. Below 50, never go outside if it is windy at all. Even the eskimoes build an igloo and stay inside with an oil light. No amount of any kind of clothing will keep you warm in such cold, even if you are moving. Gotta have shelter. Gotta have hi calorie food (blubber) or die, from exposure. No joke.

 

[wawajake]

My wife and I had walked into our cabin near Wawa Ontario in February 2004 on the snowmachine trails and spent the weekend and then walked back out to our Dodge Dakota parked on a hydro access road. But when we did the one mile walk back to truck Sunday morning it was minus 45 degrees without windchill. Truck would not start, seemed like vapour lock but killed the battery too....so removed the battery and put it back on tobbaggon (wife waited in the sun filled truck cab) brought it back to the still woodstove warm cabin and hooked battery up to cabin generator and charged it up for half hour (and warmed it up) then with my heart condition walked back out with battery and brought along a bag of charcoal briquets and a large frying pan, and gas line antifreeze........we lit the charcoal briquets and placed it under the oil pan , and reinstalled battery........still no start, my wife then walked the mile out to highway to wave down a motorist for a boost........got one motorist, it was not enough , got a second one .
One of the motorist helpers took it upon himself to pour gas down carburator, before I had chance to remove red hot briquets from under oil pan,,,,,,,,,,almost had major fire, but the gas and double boost worked and finally truck started , it ran on a few cylinders for next ten miles into town and finally got back to normal...wife and I were very happy to see warm coffee shop !!

 

[Thomas]

Back January 74 -37F that morning chores took couple good hours but it took all day,water hole would freeze faster than it could be chop.

 

[MoKelly]

Amundsen Scott Research Station, Antarctica, -85 F. Had the new guys walk a course following a guide rope in shorts and tshirt, fortunately wind was blowing less than 10 mph. Walk takes about three minutes, so cold that it actually hurts. All the paths between buildings were well marked, when the wind picks up and the snow starts blowing around hard enough you can't see you feet, it's easy to get lost and could be deadly.

Q

OK. Dumb question. Why do the new guys have to walk 3 minutes in shorts and a t shirt in -85F weather? Also, once it is -85F does the wind chill really matter anymore.

At -85F wouldn't your skin freeze immediately upon contact?

Seems just plain weird to do that to anyone.

MoKelly

 

[kevin37b]

My wife and I had walked into our cabin near Wawa Ontario in February 2004 on the snowmachine trails and spent the weekend and then walked back out to our Dodge Dakota parked on a hydro access road. But when we did the one mile walk back to truck Sunday morning it was minus 45 degrees without windchill. Truck would not start, seemed like vapour lock but killed the battery too....so removed the battery and put it back on tobbaggon (wife waited in the sun filled truck cab) brought it back to the still woodstove warm cabin and hooked battery up to cabin generator and charged it up for half hour (and warmed it up) then with my heart condition walked back out with battery and brought along a bag of charcoal briquets and a large frying pan, and gas line antifreeze........we lit the charcoal briquets and placed it under the oil pan , and reinstalled battery........still no start, my wife then walked the mile out to highway to wave down a motorist for a boost........got one motorist, it was not enough , got a second one .
One of the motorist helpers took it upon himself to pour gas down carburator, before I had chance to remove red hot briquets from under oil pan,,,,,,,,,,almost had major fire, but the gas and double boost worked and finally truck started , it ran on a few cylinders for next ten miles into town and finally got back to normal...wife and I were very happy to see warm coffee shop !!

Gas a fire and jump starting x 2 , amazing !

 

[dragoneggs]

Fishing in below freezing weather off a dock in a lake. Was standing on a diving board to get a little deeper and lost track of where I was and walked off the board with pole in my hands. Water was so cold I couldn't breathe... all I could do was to try move over to the swim ladder and pull myself out before I went under... shed my boots and coat because they were way too heavy. Lost my fishing pole until next summer. Walked about a mile back to my cabin and my clothes I left on, froze along the way. Never do that again! :cold:

 

[jix]

T shirt and Shorts at -85*f in the Antarctic. Super jeebees, that would make your pecker shorten up. What ever was the reason for that exercise?

 

[dangier_VA]

Back January 74 -37F that morning chores took couple good hours but it took all day,water hole would freeze faster than it could be chop.

Back in the late 60's I can recall a few nights in Windsor, VT at -38 and having to carry water to the horses. Pail would freeze almost solid if the horses did not drink it right away.....
House door hinges would build an inch or so of ice on the inside.

 

[oosik]

It was late into the winter of '68-'69 when two stupid fellows (my boss & me) decided to drive to a meeting in Fairbanks, Ak from Anchorage, Ak. The one way driving distance is 360 miles and by the time those two fools arrived in Fairbanks - the big digital thermometer on Ak Nat Bank said -52F. We couldn't find a heated garage to park in so we had to keep his da*n car running the entire two days. He though it was funny - if I weren't so darn nice, he would have been shot and buried right there in Fairbanks.

 

[jix]

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TIM Cartwright..a Fellow "Frozen Chosen"..were you a "Buzz-Head then? I was TMO out of the OPS bldg. back when it was an H hut
"
JIX Aka "Casey Jones " on ARS Radio 1340

 

[jix]

One night, NEW Years Eve, in Edmonton it was 50 below F, My dodge truck oil was frozen solid, but I didn't know it. Truck started, went back to wait for the cabin to warm. Neighbor phoned. He said your truck sounds pretty bad. It was the oil pump that failed. Totalled the engine. after it was checked, the oil pump gear drive woodruff key had sheared right off. Never saw oilf freeze solid before, but it does at that temp. KEE Kee birds were all out that nigjht..Kkee-kkee Kekeerhrist its cold out.