Workers Brave Bitter Cold

by Jeff Rusack, Reporter
January 21, 2013 5:29 PM


Frigid, freezing, downright cold, all terms you may have used while wandering outside Monday.

But, with temperatures struggling to have a positive sign in front of them, frostbite isn’t far off for those who work and play outside.

“You have to get the right gear and make sure you're prepared. The wind is going right at your face as well as you're going down. So, it's a little bit colder,” said snowboarder Alexei Lawler.

“I was just riding my snowmobile, it's like twice as worse as standing out doing nothing. So, you really got to watch yourself,” said Joshua Goettsch, who spends his whole day on the hill.    

If the temperature is 0 and the wind is blowing at 30 miles per hour, wind chills will be somewhere around negative 27. And exposed skin can become frost bitten in less than 30 minutes. Add an extra 20 miles per hour with a swift trip down the mountain or a cruise on a snowmobile and the wind chill can get closer to 35 to 40 degrees below zero and that's when frostbite can set in, in under 10 minutes.  

“Everybody has hats and gloves. Sometimes you get your face exposed and you can get frostbite,” said Goettsch.  

Those who do brave the frigid temps stick to the basics.

“If you have a bunch of layers on stay fairly warm,” said Goettsch.