For student members of the Alpine and Nordic ski teams, the temperature and wind chill are always on the mind.

“It sucks to be wearing race suits because the wind goes right through them when you are on the chairlifts at races,” sophomore Alpine skier Ethan Asis said.

In order to avoid suffering from frozen toes, frostbite, and hypothermia, students must dress properly. Skiers can minimize their exposure to the cold by wearing non-cotton base layers, wool socks, a windproof layer on top, hats, some type of mittens or gloves, and balaclavas.

Many students also use hand and toe warmers to avoid the pain of having them freeze, and put either Dermatome or Warmskin on their exposed skin to protect themselves from the damaging wind.

“To make sure I don’t freeze I wear lots of warm layers, a buff, and a hat, and hand and toe warmers are a necessity,” junior nordic skier Dina Moradian said.

Even after putting on all of this winter gear, sometimes it is just too cold to have a competition, or even a practice. According to the MSHSL (Minnesota State Highschool League) website, at a -15 degree Fahrenheit wind chill, exposed flesh can freeze in 1 minute, and beyond a -70 degrees Fahrenheit wind chill, one’s skin can freeze in 30 seconds.

The regulations around cold temperatures are more rigid for Nordic than Alpine skiing, because while Alpine skiers are out in the cold for a relatively short amount of time, Nordic skiers can be outside racing for up to half an hour. MSHSL states that when the ambient temperature drops below -4 degrees fahrenheit Nordic skiing competitions must be either postponed or canceled and Alpine skiing competitions can continue, but modifications to the racing procedure must be made in order to minimize the time skiers spend outside.

“When it gets too cold and windy, they try and make us be outside in the cold for the shortest amount of time that we have to, and you have to be bundled up for safety, no acceptions,” senior captain John Soranno said.
Furthermore, when the ambient temperature is less than -20 degrees Fahrenheit or if the combined wind temperature drops below -40 degrees Fahrenheit, all outdoor activities, including Alpine competitions and both Nordic and Alpine practices, must be cancelled.

Recently, the Mesabi East Invite Nordic Ski race was postponed from Jan. 7, its original date, and moved to the next weekend, Jan. 14, because the temperature dropped below a -4 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature, the minimum requirement for Nordic competition.

Junior Nordic skier Emilia Hoppe explains why she was glad when the race was switched.

“I was glad that Mesabi was postponed because it’s really hard to race in cold weather. You can only fit so many layers underneath your uniform, and the weather of the new date was much better. None of us were even worried about getting frostbite,” Hoppe said.

The Varsity Nordic ski team bundles up after the rescheduled Mesabi Meet. “To make sure I don’t freeze I wear lots of warm layers, a buff, and a hat, and hand and toe warmers are a necessity,” junior Nordic skier Dina Moradian said.