The other thing about being outside in extreme cold is that you avoid moisture at all costs - you wipe the ice off your face, you brush the snow off before it can melt, you try not to get too sweaty, etc. Cold is bad; cold and wet is deadly.
Those of us who are used to colder temperatures, I always find discussions like these interesting. Growing up in a cold place, there is so much about cold that we take for granted, like the air being so cold it hurts to breathe it - well, you don’t go outside in the cold and take a big, deep breath - why would you do that? You’ll freeze your lungs! The different levels of frostbite, too - if it’s still prickling, you’re still fine. I think most of us know how to re-heat after frostbite, too - you don’t hop in hot tub or hot shower, but re-heat slowly, with lukewarm heat.
You know it’s cold out when you smile, and it takes a bit of time for the corners of your mouth to come back down.
I’ve been in -20 F, and didn’t stay out long, but the coldest I’ve experienced overall was about -8 F with a really strong wind. The wind chill was -80F and more than 2-3 seconds outside was absolute misery. I went out in it for a few seconds just to experience it, and didn’t make it past my front porch before running back inside.
As a high-school senior I went with three friends to a research facility that had a -50°C cold storage. We were wearing just a sweater as warming material. They offered special jackets, but “we don’t nedd no stinkin’ jackets”.
Going in was a punch to the face, every breath was painful and after 10 seconds I thought I was going to pass out. But, the four of us kept looking at each other, to see who chickened out first. Luckily, after what seemed 2 hours (possibly 20 seconds) the researcher (who was of course wearing the jacket) said “let’s go out”.
There’s a photo of me standing next to a thermometer showing -50F in Northern Minnesota. I was wearing boots and a pair of boxers. Alcohol was involved. I was in my twenties then, and I remember we were out there for quite a while. It felt like somebody had just slapped me. All over my entire body. All at once. It’s that kind of sting.
