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and I mean proper artic icy cold.
where you been?
cos I fancy a holiday in the new year, and I want to go somewhere mind numbingly cold.
Never been but Scandinavia has always appealed.
You could try the chat forum. It's icy over there:-)
Is -37 Celsius cold enough? 😀
Saariselka in Northern Finland is an amazing place. As much as 60cm of Snow and below -20 most days. This was the coldest we've ever seen.
It's very beautiful when it's snowy and this cold for several months.
Been in -35 in the French alps a few years back, that was very unpleasant and dangerous.
Yep, finland inside the artic circle.
Actually -20 and below isn't as bad as you would think.
I loved it.
You want to try our top toilet ton. In the depths of winter, he feeling of toilet seat on warm bum is enough to take not only your breath away, but also the urge to poo.
That's cold.
I've been to Finland in March, to about 65 miles further north than the arctic circle. It was about minus 15 C, so quite cold but not excessively! Had a great time.
Theale.... no seriously
frozen food warehouse for Waitrose, a balmy -20 near the doors, but a slightly less than tropical -35 at the blowers near the back.
in there with a streaming cold is not something I want to repeat 😆
went camping to a motorbike rally in Eastern Germany once- had to dig a tent shaped hole in the snow to pitch said tent- -18c on the roadsigns on the way- then it dropped overnight!
I've been to Norway in December and that was properly cold.
[i]Never been but Scandinavia has always appealed.[/i]
If you don't mind the near perpetual darkness in winter.
How cold do you want to have it? Parts of Russia go down to -40 deg C. The winters we have in this part of Germany are cold enough for me!
Try the Ice Hotel
I think its a bit chilly in there ?
Coldest I've encountered was -38 in Finland, been there a good few times at -20.
I live right in the south of sweden and it was a bit painful biking to work when it was minus 15 for a few weeks. Skating on huge frozen lakes is ace though, just as good if not better than skiing for a feeling of getting out of normal life.
My ex-girlfriend's heart?
We've been to Finland about 6 times now. No matter how cold it's a really nice place to be and there's lot's to do.
Seeing wild Reindeer and riding around on Snowmobiles never gets old for me 🙂
Went to Rochdale once......that was cold ...
went to ottawa last year in february, not all that cold, -20 at night, -5 to -10 c daytime.
loved it, and as mentioned already, didnt feel all that cold possibly because it was dry. (until you got even the slightest breeze, then the word windchill takes on a whole new meaning)
i also got to skate on the worlds largest skating rink, which i enjoyed.
Make sure they have a suana/bastu to warm you up to the bone after being frozen.
Southern Ukraine on the black sea in february.
-28 c out of wind
-35 with windchill
Was cold - very very cold. Posh hotel wasnt on the comunal steam heating system - it had electric heating - the electric went out just before bed and the toilet water froze.....
Got to assume you're talkin below -20C, otherwise you could just stay in the UK. I've experienced that sort of air temperature here and been exposed to colder once you factor in wind chill.
fancied finland or Sweden to be honest....gonna have a look at travel options.
Feels colder in the UK as it is damp. Proper dry cold does not feel as cold if you have the rigt clothes on just kills my lungs when biking.
I was in Toronto once when it was -20-something. I went for a walk to see how cold it really was and as I was shivering uncontrollably in my down jacket I met a chap loafing in his shirtsleeves while he smoked a ciggy on the windswept quayside. 😯
Had this new year in Hammerfest,it was pretty cold around -18.
Different cold to what we get over here though,more of a dry cold if that makes sense.
Crazy new year up there,pissed up vikings letting rockets off in the street. 😀
I worked in Moscow for a year on building sites, got down to minus 28 according to the local press. That was plenty cold enough when I was stood outside all day. I do like a bit of chilly weather.
Greenland in April - dunno what temps, but you didn't want to be outside the tent too long after the sun went down. "Warm" in the sun, though.
Coldest was probably British Columbia in January. mostly not oo bad, between 0 and -15 most of the time (not too bad when it's a dry cold, as above) but there were 2 weeks of -30 and below. That was parky.
What do you want to do while you're there, Ton? Just be cold? Really North in the depths of winter will also be Really Dark, so a good slice of activities would be alcohol-fuelled.
Something in the Stans maybe? Or Mongolia?
I'm living in northern alberta at the moment. The coldest it got last winter was -45 *c. Without the wind. That is really cold. So cold that the air sparkles with ice crystals. It doesn't snow that often here, but once it is on the ground it stays. Last year we got the first snow in October and it didn't melt until May.
It is -8 today and snowing. By January -8 will/would feel warm! However, being so dry here it is easy to wrap up against the cold. The sky is usually blue and the sun big, if low, in the sky. This is my 3rd winter here and I like it. Much better than rain and grey sky.
Down to -25 is 'ok'. Below that becomes painful. As such, if you are looking to go somewhere really cold aim for a destination that is guaranteed to be below -30 and go in the winter, rather than the autumn.
Every one interested in the outdoors should have a go at 'really cold.' It is quite an eye opener. The crazy thing is, people just get on with their day to day business (not that they have any choice) and when you get in your car, it starts when you turn the key!
Have a good holiday!
Was in Greenland living in a tent for a month. In a huddle, inside the tent, wearing so many layers, puffa, gore tex and a life jacket and I was still freezing.
This was at night (although it was perpetual daylight) in June.
GB
Middle of Poland in winter.
The chaps' car that picked me up from the hotel had a burning smell - he'd had to light a fire on a shovel and put it under the sump to defrost it.
I've seen -30ish at midday in Canada - skiing though, so well wrapped up and active, though the chairlifts were bloody chilly even without much wind. Quite hard to breathe properly, though I am a bit asthmatiuc
We were quite worried about frostbite since the windchill while skiing along can be bad, but 2 balaclavas kept our faces [s]toasty[/s] unfrozen
The overnight temps were lower of course and on TV there was a RayMears-alike geezer doing a survival show and sleeping in a shelter made of pine branches. I assume he lived 😯
Whereabouts were you gee? North West? Work or play?
Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.
Air temp in Jan was -29c with wind chill was around -40c
Blimey that was a cold day!!
nedrapier..........a bit of sightseeing, a little bit of walking and a lot of mooching around.
so maybe a city or town. god knows where tho.
The ice hotel in Sweden. -12 outside in the day. -4 in your 'room'. Lack of onsuite facilities means a long cold walk in your boxers in the middle of the night when you've been on the piss...
Maybe euro city, not too far north, then?
Budapest? St Petersberg? Helsinki?
(cheers for the edit!)
The ice hotel in Sweden. -12 outside in the day. -4 in your 'room'
Did you go in the summer? it was -38 at night when we went! I got a telling off from my wife because I "let the cold in when I left the door open after a bathroom visit". She slept in her thermals, normal clothes and the thermal suit, proper romantic it was.
Worked in Russia last year -20 in winter but felt -30 with the wind chill properly cold out
top of the Wrekin on sunday....jeeez was it cold,.... even my snackbar was frozen
Helsinki looks nice.....somewhere like tromso would be proper cold tho eh?
Finland, -25c next the biggest fire I've ever seen (where a there was a thermometer).
Antarctica for 10 days back in 1973 on a trip with an employer who operated one of the research stations under contract. It was summertime there, but a bit on the frigid side.
Spent 3 years on Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, but actually more windy and foggy than bitter cold.
-35 waiting for a greyhound in Canada one night
Phone stopped working, inside of nose felt blocked, turns out it was frozen, breath frozen on face and front of jacket
Luckily I was only waiting about 15 - 20 mins, I was getting a bit anxious though
-35 in the Cariboos (air temp.) Bramear regulary sees temps of -20 and below.
It's all down to whether you're wearing the right gear or not IMO. I've felt colder and probably been more at risk of hypothermia, etc just being outside in the UK not dressed sensibly than when, for example, caught in a blizzard up a mountain in the Alps.
I know what you mean though, much prefer cold places/holidays to hot. Going on a Nordic cruise early next year, should be fun!
Did you go in the summer? it was -38 at night when we went!
I don't remember how cold it was outside at night. Hard to breath cold for sure.
I went to Chicago - with the wind chill it was in the -30's. The local police were arresting people who lived on the street to make sure that they had a warm room (a cell) for the night. I believe that the lake / river were frozen over - I have never been that cold, it makes Buxton positively tropical
Barrow - i still get shivers down my spine.
minneapolis where the wind chill took it down to -75.
But bright blue skies and a beautiful place if you like the flatland and endless skies.
I've been to Aldershot.
I used to work in a frozen food warehouse. -28.
Went snowboarding in Banff over new year a few years ago, warmest it got was -22. It didn't actually change much at night though, maybe -28. It did drop to -37 one day, with windchill, and being outside for any more than a couple of hours, whilst active, started letting the cold in. You certainly didn't appreciate the chair lift stopping halfway up! Had to wear balaclavas and goggles all the time on that day, and got some frost burn on my face where I had a gap.
Nice town with outdoor saunas, ice lake sculptures etc, but probably only for a day or two if your not skiing/boarding.
AS others have said Aberta especially the North is proper cold. Been there at -36 and there were still some dick head wondering around in T-shirts walking between the shops.
Hardanger plateau (not sure of spelling) in Norway. Balmy -15 when we dug our snow hole. Toasty inside but in the morning we climbed out into -29. That was a shock to the system.
I was in west Greenland about 20km inland from Illulisaat studying ice stream bedforms - It was a Uni trip with a couple of the lecturers and 7 other students - full on wild camping, flew in by helicopter, stuff dropped in crates etc... Amazing times.
GB
Lapland
Val Thorens in January
Top of Cairngorm in a blizzard
Industrial freezer
Moscow in January
Alberta or even NWT for proper cold. Others have already posted some nice stories but my own cold story was falling through a supposedly frozen river into the water underneath at -20C and then running (literally running) towards the camp feeling my legs starting to freeze. My friend had to use his ice axe to chop away part of my boots so I could get my feet out and by the fire.
Having said that I find -5C in Norway now feels much worse than -15C in Canada due to the relative humidity.
Bratislava -23, and in typical Brit abroad fashion walked the 30 mins from the old town to the hotel in a long sleeved shirt. Good night though. Only noticed how cold it was on the roadside digital thermometer. Come to think of it, it was quite chilly that night.
-30 something in canada didnt shake properly and froze to the inside of my trouser leg.
I went from abu dhabi in july, straight to the Falklands in the middle of their winter, it was a bit of a shock
Not as cold as some have said, but Les Deux Alpes 2009 was pretty nippy. -28 with windchill during the day and windy it certainly was. We didn't venture out at night, but I suspect it was a fair bit colder than that.
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Ton - I've spent a lot of time in Finland (my family's from there). For city and cold you could easily spend a few days in Helsinki, a lovely city in my opinion with trams, museums, restuarants, an old prison on an island, fish markets, then fly up to Lapland for a few days of proper winter fun.
Same here, BC and Alberta in Canada. Kind of feels like anything below -20 is the same thing to me.
Also Sweden, where I live .
I too would love to do some proper cold - Canada, Scandinavia or Russia somewhere.
Best I have experienced has been Scotland in 09/10 winter. A good few -10/15 days and a couple of -20 nights...
This was -18 dawn, and some similar days/nights.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/4233131705/ ]New Year[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4056/4271762129_844f89120a_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/4271762129/ ]P1010818[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2552/4233910680_a954201016_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/4233910680/ ]New Year[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
This was one of the days that just *felt* darn cold as the sun set - and the next morning from memory was one of the -20 ones on the car...
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/4193570200/ ]Ben More from Glen Dochart[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
And an 'ordinary' -10 or so day on the way to work...on a road that was ploughed or gritted once a week...Winter tyres FTW.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/4330212197/ ]More snow.... :)[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
Oh, and a colleague who had written a couple of arctic photography books reckons the coldest he has ever been, as not been the day he lost a toe to frostbite, but chucking out time on Buxton high street...
Canadia. Depending what you like, there's skiing (downhill and cross-country), dog-sledding, skating, winter camping, ice hotels and so on, from Quebec City across to the Rockies. Generally it hits around -20 outside the cities; it can get to -40ish if you go somewhere nuts like Winnipeg. But as they always say, it's 'dry' cold, so you don't feel it as much...
I've been over 20,000 feet in Alaska and it got bit chilly. I had five layers on my feet - liner socks, vapour barrier socks, thick socks, plastic mountaineering boots and neoprene over boots.
I'd wave my willy but it fell off.
Middle of Iceland (not supermarket) for me ... it hurts.
Banff Alberta was -35 during my last season. Froze my eyes shut.
We stayed in a place called 'Golden' in Canada. It was so cold that the lorries and some vehicles plug their engines into sockets in nearby buildings to stop the engine and diesel freezing up.
Coldest for me was skiing in Whistler, -28 in the wind chill, found it hard to function properly and just had to get down the hill.
many people in Britain exaggerate the temperatures on really cold days. It makes me chuckle. Although I was once at a bus stop in the centre of Stockport when it was -7 and many locals were dressed as though it were a normal spring day.
iceland rekyavic -20 brilliant fun
I'm up in Gallivare, Kiruna & Sodankyla for work quite frequently...
It can get a bit chilly when the wind is blowing. Makes the fingers hurt when working outdoors.
About -30 Deg C in Levi (Lapish Finland). Not as bad as you would think but you can feel the snot freeze in your nostril!
We have the facility to test down to -60 Deg C at work for products that are sold into Siberia/Alaska/Canada. It is amazing how many products we sell for -40 Deg C applications and we also sell a reasonable amount for -50 and -60 Deg C locations.
I have put my bare hand into a test chamber at -60 and you can feel the tips starting to freeze in seconds.
We got to the magic -40 in Canada on a roadtrip, early 90s, the ice bridge at Niagra is phenomenal when there's a big ice bridge and then a storm, even more of a spectacle than summer imo. Don't know if they still let you wander about on the ice these days though. My camera battery gave up but it was a completely mechanical Pentax MX so I managed a few shots, I'll have to have a rummage, pre digital so in boxes under a bed. Got the car sideways a few times on the trip south through the Poconos in northern Pennysylvania.
Due a winter trip to my wife's home town of Bialystok, which is close to the Poland/Belarus border. Can get to -30, but she genuinely thinks it feels colder here due to the humidity.
I used to do rotation work around various places in Norway, the coldest experienced in Harstad was about -25. By far the coldest ever was in Deadhorse near Prudoe Bay Alaska, which regularly drops below -40. In these environments you need to be really really careful.
Lived in Finland for a year, we had -40 for two nights and we were still cycling. It was regularly -25 to -30. As long as you are dressed for it it's no problem.
I lived in Helsinki for about 15 months. There were three kinds of weather mostly. -3 to -8 or so, where it might snow; -10 to -14, snow less likely, thne a snap of -20 to -25 with clear skies which was lovely 🙂
Not much actual weatherin generally really, no gales, snowstorms or anything interesting, just gentle snow now and then, which never melted, got up to about 50cm deep then started to pack down as fast as it accumulated. The snow evolved through the winter, it was fascinating. I walked to work mostly, through a wooded park. At -25 it was a bit like being in a sauna but in reverse - tingly and breathtaking but lovely. I miss it, it was just fantastic.
XC skiing (although not in those temps) through the snowy forest was really profound, for me. Really special, in a different way to MTBing. And you can get home and get straight into a sauna too.. I can't describe how brilliant that is 🙂
I've also been to Wisconsin a few times although not in a deep cold snap. They have more weather there though; -15 and 30mph steady wind, that was bitter 🙂 Took the dog out to chase a ball, we stood there wrapped up to the hilt and he was running around like a mad thing in just his thin fur, drool freezing onto his face!
Can get to -30, but she genuinely thinks it feels colder here due to the humidity.
My wife (who's from Wisconsin) grew up with -35 odd in the winter, and she thinks that the UK when it's +1C with wind and sleet is just about the most unpleasant weather going. She thinks nothing of -15C but has to wrap up here when it's near freezing.
Norway in January. -30 with wind chill. Was excellent though!
Ton, if you want to sight see and mooch about, I'm not sure if I'd go to Tromso in the middle of winter. I went in May this year, and it's quite a nice little city, couple of nice bars, but I'm not sure whether it's much of a destination. The thing that really makes it is the scenery, the mountains and fjords nearby are beautiful, and the views from the plane in and out are fantastic. You won't get any of that if it's dark, though. I wasn't there long, though, so I might have missed the good bits in town!
But if you want to get on the sauce and go crazy with the locals, that's a different thing. There might be better places than Tromso, though. Hammerfest, like someone else mentioned?