Bill Jennings: Extreme cold on the mountain requires extra preparation

As you make plans for the weekend, be aware that the high temperature on Saturday for Mount Spokane is predicted to be 10 degrees. To reach this peak, the mercury will spend the greater part of the day climbing from the depths of negative single digits.

A round of productive storms last week allowed local hills to open vast amounts of new territory. The Arctic chill has kept freshly fallen snow in fine shape. The groomers will be great. Off piste coverage and conditions are very good for early season. But a chilly day on the mountain requires extra preparation.

“Wear extra layers to help regulate your body temperature, said Craig Schwinn, a veteran ski patroller at Mount Spokane. “Last week it was about 6 degrees with a 10- to 15-mile per hour wind. On the lift, we were in a deep freeze. Going down, we worked up all this energy and heat. If you sweat, it will chill you. I took off a vest and put it in my pack to ski down. I put it back on at the bottom.”

The corduroy will be fun and fast this weekend. Use the right wax. If you don’t have any in stock, pick up some blue wax, which slides in temperatures as low as 10 degrees. You may want to play it safe and pick up some green wax too, which is good from 14 to minus 26 degrees.

As you fly down the mountain, protect your face with a neck gaiter you can pull up over your nose and mouth. When it’s 10 degrees and you’re skiing 30 miles an hour, the temperature will feel like minus 12 on your face. You could be numb to any pain. Fortunately, the ski patrol is likely to notice if you’re in trouble.

“I look at the people in the lift line,” Schwinn said. “I check out noses and cheeks, see if they’ve got that yellow tinge that occurs before you get that whitish color of frostbite. We also ask the lifties to keep an eye out for that.”

The yellow tinge is frostnip. In extreme cold, blood vessels close to the skin constrict to help preserve core body temperature. This protective reaction reduces blood flow to body parts that are farthest from the heart, as well as most exposed: fingers, toes, ears and noses. The affected area turns yellowish or gray. It may tingle at first, but frostnip can make you cry. You may need a full day to recover.

Consider frostnip your warning to avoid frostbite, the actual freezing of body tissue. When tissue freezes, ice crystals form within and between cells, extracting water from them. Dehydration within the cell leads to chemical imbalances that damage proteins.

While this is happening, capillaries and other small blood vessels are damaged and begin to leak serum (the liquid part of blood) into surrounding tissue. The remaining blood cells, platelets and proteins thicken into a semi-solid, forming clots and blockages that further restrict blood flow. Without a blood supply, tissue dies.

Put some disposable hand warmers in your jacket pocket just in case. These products use iron, carbon and salt to create heat by triggering a chemical reaction with air. When exposed to oxygen, the iron oxidizes, producing heat. Salt acts as a catalyst, carbon helps disperse the heat, and you enjoy up to five hours of warmth.

Hopefully you will either avoid frostnip this weekend or heed its warnings.

“Be sensible,” Schwinn said. “If you get cold, go in. If you get wet and things start to freeze up, go in, warm up and have some hot chocolate. Keep your calories up, that’s really important. Eat a cube of butter or something. The skiing is really good when it’s cold. But you have to take care of yourself.”