Adam in the Cold—Strategizing for the Brrrrrrrrrr

Cold temperatures are relative. Is it a humid cold? A dry cold. Somewhere in between. Is the wind howling?

And sure, although daylight savings time flipped us into body-clock disarray, it’s still winter for a few more weeks. And it will be winter again here in the Northern Hemisphere next December 21st. The information we are presenting will be relevant again at some point.

I had a mid-February trip to Bozeman and Tetons planned. I began weather-watching. Let’s just say that I visit my oldest child in Montana around his birthday to get some ice climbing, and I’m kind of wimpy. I’m still working through some cold-hand screaming-barfies PTSD from a few years back. Dry heaving and then breaking through the ice soaking my boots, my then 19-year-old comforted me. The life cycle is real. 

So yes, I eyed the weather, fearful I’d again be thrown into screaming-barfie disarray.  

According to my sources, I saw -18 °F in Jackson Hole on February 13th. On the 12th, Bozeman recorded -20 °F. (I know, for those harder than me, you say, “That’s balmy.”) I often send texts out asking about weather conditions elsewhere. Around then, I texted Adam Fabrikant—who ski guides daily in the Tetons and skis 8,000-meter peaks on vacation. 

Inquiring about his day’s activities and the temps, he responded, “It’s -26 at the trailhead.” This led to a conversation about how he deals with cold weather while touring. It must be said that I’m clearly softer than Adam, and my digits are prone to getting icy cold. Here’s an edited, shortened version of our conversation regarding the topic. Trigger warning—we don’t discuss base layer strategies.