The Benefits of Colder Days
The other day I mentioned some of the negatives of extra-cold days on the slopes. Now it’s time for some upsides.
Less crowded lift lines, parking lots and slopes. If it’s cold enough, people will stay at home or in their resort-town condos.
Bluebird skies. The coldest winter days tend to be those without cloud cover. In exchange for 10 or 15 degrees, you get blue skies. Fair trade?
Greater visibility. More sunshine means more visibility of bumps, ridges, knolls, and bad surprises on the hill. Greater visibility means more confidence, which means more fun.
More speed in the flats, less skating. You can go faster on colder snow. What does this mean? You can zip through some of those flats that might otherwise make you stop and walk.
Extra-warm sweaters. You may have a favorite piece of alpine clothing, such as a sweater, that is too heavy to wear on some days. When the temperatures plummet, you get to break those articles out of the closet.
Better tasting food and drink. Expending the extra effort to snowboard in the cold will make you appreciate your meal even more, even if it’s a PBJ sandwich.
Increased joy in living. There’s something about being outside in the cold–and not only overcoming it but thriving in it–that is simply invigorating. You may even get a better night’s sleep out of it.
January 5, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
“More speed in the flats, less skating.” —-Where did you come up with this? This is absolutely wrong, the colder snow is the slower it is. Cold snow crystals are far more aggressive in shape, this is why cold temp wax is far harder than warm snow wax. Now if snow compacts into ice, which does happen in high traffic flats, then sure it will be faster, but if it is just a pure snow surface, the colder it is the slower it is.
January 5, 2009 @ 10:00 pm
Where did I come up with this? My experience. Most of the time we don’t have fluffy stuff around here; we have ice. And yes, I’m thinking primarily of high-traffic flats.