You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Or the Lofoten Islands which are stunning.
Got to about -25degc when I visited Riga with a few friends for New Year's Eve - it snowed but was almost like sand - really dry - we had a great time and would recommend it for a trip
Or maybe Tallinn -went for my 30th bit that was in the middle f summer but obv you'll get below -20 in winter - the party crowd from Helsinki get the ferry over on a Friday night which makes for a good time
I've been to aberdeen a few times
I've been in -40C in Canada. It didn't feel as cold as some of the winter weather I've been in in Scotland though.
Porsanger very North Norway Minus 55 degC our rubber cover on the LandRover Shatered, and then Artic Warfare training in Skjold where it was minus 32 deg C when I did Ice Breaking drills, so thats the coldest I've been, I wouldnt recomend it for holiday day
Yeah, when everything's well below zero snow is just another powdery substance. I watched it snow on the road outside my house and it just got pulverized by passing cars and get blown away.
I always thought people talking about squeaking footsteps on snow meant that sort of crump noise.. turns out below -20 ish it's like walking on powdered class and it really does squeak.
Forgot my ski jeans years ago on a day trip to the Kitsteinhorn. So just wore normal jeans to snowboard.
Won't be doing that again.
another vote for sweden for me. not that we'll be doing it this year as family all away to thailand as it's too cold..
Matt22
Ice breaking drills. Oh dear mother of god. Port was worth it though.
Apart from Matt22, everybody else has been talking about it being slightly parky.
For real cold try Fairbanks Alaska in winter. -55 and running bare foot through the snow to jump into the hot springs - bizarre!! One day it warmed up to -35 and folk were wandering around in shorts, it just seemed to be so much warmer 🙂
Be warned though, most folk are friendly enough, but we met some who had a touch of cabin fever and were best avoided, especially as they all tend to carry guns.
Skiing in Alberta, Canada a few years ago now. -40 Celcius.
So cold that breathing in through your nose caused your nostril hairs to freeze up. So cold, that whilst I was in the outside hot tub at the hotel, my hair was freezing with the steam coming off the water. Sooooo cold that I had to keep putting my beer in the hot tub water to warm up a bit before drinking it.
It was cold.
The skiing was utterly awesome though. Banff, go there.
Niinisalo in western Finland - camped for a few days in -30 during a cold spell whilst the weather in Lapland got so cold power lines froze. Well I say camping but fortunately our tents we're equipped with portable wood burning stoves and the sleeping bags were awesome - when we got to use them!
Like others say the cold is a dry cold not the humid type experienced here and as such you don't feel like you get chilled to the bone when you're well wrapped up.
Quick trip to Finland here - it was fantastic. Don't mind the cold if it's dry, it's the wet chill that we get here that piffes me off.
West Antarctic Ice shelf. That was summer though. It was only -18. I've seen Scotland colder than that...
I worked inside industrial freezers for a year..
Went snowboarding in Banff a few years ago in February.
Flipping cold...was advised to keep all skin covered to avoid frost bite.
On one day the lifts were shut as it got too cold.
Snow is slower when it's cold.
Northern Finland (about 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle) at New Year. Was about -15 or so most of the time which was fine but it got to -30C on one night as we lay on our backs watching the Northern Lights.
That was cold.
Went skiing in Geilo Norway one December. -10 during the day, -25 at night. No wind, very dry. We went out at night wearing only t-shirts and normal fleeces. Taking a deep breath through the nose was weird and touching metal door handles with bare hands was also an experience!
It's all pretty much the same under 12 or 13c imvhe...
I worked in Moscow for a year on building sites
Which ones?
A couple of winters ago we took the kids to Lapland to see Santa - the locals were saying it was surprisingly cold for the time of year. It was -28c.
My good lady wife, on the other hand, did a years VSO in Russia in the late 90s, in the Ural Mountains. Her record low was -38c. She used to pass drunks who had frozen to death on the way to work.... 😯
I've spent a fair bit of time inside the arctic circle in Sweden and Norway and can totally recommend it. Quite easy to get to as well in terms of true wilderness - fly into Stockholm and then connecting flight to Kiruna.
There's a wee ski slope nearby called Dundret which is a magic place. Great saunas to warm up. They get loads of Japanese tourists as its apparently good luck for them to see northern lights before they get married and its a very good spot for that.
The icehotel is nearish as well - Jokkmokk.
You can also get the train from Kiruna to Narvik in Norway and various other nice places on route.
If you want something a bit less wild and a bit more civilised I can also recommend Åre in Sweden.
If you chose Scandinavia eat Reindeer in all forms offered. Its great 🙂
I will close this thread by saying that I was born and raised in the coldest city of its size on the planet.
[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_and_climate_of_Winnipeg ]Climate of Winnipeg, Canada[/url]
It even got coverage in the [url= http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/15/world/winnipeg-canada-s-coldest-big-city-has-diversity.html ]New York Times[/url].
SaxonRider.. do you think it would be a crazy idea to plan a roadtrip to the frozen North of Canada in winter time? Is one likely to get stuck in bad weather, does one need special equippment of any kind?
molgrips, here's a kind of "what tires?" thread about driving to Alaska in winter. might be helpful...
http://www.splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=2&p=72897
Though not directed to me I'll wade in your question. Hope you don't object.
The further north you go in Alberta the fewer roads there are. There is only one road heading south from where I am and it is pretty dangerous as it is single carriageway for the majority of the 400km to the next town. The road north is only open in the winter. Personally I haven't driven any distance in the winter but I keep my petrol topped up where ever I go. It helps stop ice crystals forming in the tank and let's you keep the engine running if caught in snow. It is common for a quarter-hour drive to become an hour. A 5 hour drive could take a very long time.
Winter tyres are essential and surprisingly good after trying to drive through snow and ice on summer rubber in the UK. Most hire cars would have all season tyres which are also pretty good in winter.
It you want to see some further afield places, I'd suggest flying in and hiring a car locally.
I've driven in snowy countries, but never far from civilisation. I just fancy the adventure of it all, although days of flat tundra would probably get dull!
I would love to go up there in winter some day, to see what it's like. Do people go out and do recreational stuff or is it a case of staying in and hanging on?
On the SW - I think - face of Alpamayo a while back in the Andes. It was cold enough for my climbing partner to get frostbite, but he did insist on wearing leather boots... I learned a valuable lesson: frostbitten toes being soaked in a metal bowl clear a cafe really quickly.
Coldest place I have been was Sweden in Winter, Stockholm was blinking freezing, in fact you daren't blink case your eyes froze...
Actually the weather forcasts stated -15C max but when you are a UK Southern Softie.. That's kinda COLD... 😐
I will be going back, well in fact we're off to Norway next June, fancy a rideout around the inlets and hills, having watched the Tour of Norway it inspired me.. However, I'm looking for temps in excess of +15C at the very least..(if thats ok) 😀
molgrips - Member
SaxonRider.. do you think it would be a crazy idea to plan a roadtrip to the frozen North of Canada in winter time? Is one likely to get stuck in bad weather, does one need special equippment of any kind?
The short answer to your first question is 'no'. In fact, I would love to take my kids back to experience it. But seeing as I'm back in the saddle after months being on the road, why don't we plan on a ride, during which I can fill you in on the details?
one night it dropped to-40c in northern Noway while I was on exersise with the army, that ended once it got past -32c. coldest ive been outside I the UK is -15c wild camping a few years ago. Have worked in a commercial frozen foods store at a constant -25c. much prefer to be colder than warmer.
I just moved from the UK to Helsinki. Anything below -30c and I'm coming back 😉
Top of Ben Macdui I had a sandwich freeze while I was eating it! -32-ish with the windchill. Not much nightlife up there though.
Fernie in in south east british columbia. Minus 30 in town, minus 35 at foot of mountain, who knows how cold at the top and with wind chill boarding down. I had to buy extra thick thermals and leave no bit of face exposed. One run top to bottom then 20 minutes inside to warm up before going out again.
That cold is not fun.
Weather broke after a couple of days and went up to just below freezing in town.
In the test chamber at -40c this morning. Literally takes your breath away at first. Tend to get in & out quickly, & NEVER touch anything with bare hands. -50c hurts, have to be very careful at that temp.
If you want a holiday somewhere cold, but with stuff to do, go to Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper, Alberta, in January.
It's Alberta's top golf hotel in summer, so winter is pretty much off season, so prices are good.
Heated outdoor "swim-out" pool. Gym, Lodges by the lake with amazing room service. They have a mile oval ice skating rink on the lake with a hockey pitch in the middle. They have a shopping mall in the basement. Huge lounges.
Listen to the coyotes howling in the evenings. Elk wandering around. Occasional bears.
Loads of activities, even if you don't ski or board. Snowmobiling, dog sledding. hire a car for a few days and go to Edmonton for a couple of days and watch an ice hockey game and do some shopping in the worlds biggest mall with the worlds biggest indoor rollercoaster. Ice canyon walks, walks up the frozen Athabasca river including ice caverns behind the waterfalls that we slid down.
Get on the chairlifts up to the mountain restaurants for lunch.
Icefields Parkway glacier tours.
Proper old style town.
We went a few years ago. Normally around -15c but very dry. Got down to -42c, with 4 days no warmer than -32c.
Skiing was okay down to -25c but lower than that was tough. Couldn't have any flesh exposed and getting breath in was hard.
Was the best holiday we've ever had. Amazing experiences.
How about Chena Valley? -60F (none of this namby pamby -40 stuff), XC skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiles, outdoor swimming, northern lights etc, etc
http://www.chenahotsprings.com/
Have worked in a commercial frozen foods store at a constant -25c.
Stupid question: what's the point in chilling food that cold? Isn't it all just frozen once it gets frozen?
iirc, most cold store systems chill to -25
speed of freezing/time i think. i worked at a meat plant and that was the setting on the blast freezers
Chena Hot Springs as mentioned above is nice, although popular with young couples from the far east who think it is good for fertility I seem to remember.
Base Camp for Mt McKinley was pretty cold when the sun went down, but could be scorching when it was up.
And even three of us in a two man tent couldn't keep warm in the Khumbu at 6500m overnight. Pee bottle froze, toothpaste froze, eyelashes, anything with a trace of moisture.
Are you sure you would rather try the Maldives OP?!
Coldest I've ever been was on top of the Presena Glacier at night. Dunno how cold it was but I remember when it was minus 20 here a couple of years ago and it felt a damn sight colder that that.
I've got some -18 freezers at work for keeping carbon fibre in if you fancy a cheap holiday!
Coldest I've been was in new york of all places.
-13 degrees at ground level plus windchill but it happened to be the day I was going up the empire state which was -50 at the top. I could only stand that for 5 minutes with an rubbish coat and jeans on and was shaking a lot!
Coldest I've been was near Turin, on a skiing trip. Got out of the airport to a crystal blue sky, and air so cold it was freezing the moisture in to tiny, rainbow crystals in the air. Stunning.
First day up the hill, at Sauze d'Oulx if you know it, and it was somewhere around -25c, with a strong wind. Windchill must have taken it to around -35c or. Bitterly cold. Utterly brilliant!