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Bullwinkle58 -> RE: OT - Question about sub-zero weather (1/11/2010 3:53:50 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Big B
Well, the reason I asked was because 30 years ago I was an infantryman in the Cal Army N.G. . And in January 1981, when Ronald Reagan was 1st sworn in as president, we were doing our 15 days A.T. at Ft. Ripley Minnesota for cold weather training.
We loaded aboard C-130's from Los Alamitos NAS, and it was about 74 degrees when we left California, but six hours later when we landed in St. Paul Minn. it was down to 4 degrees. A day or so later we went out to the field and set up our tents for the remainder of our time there.
The only time I saw a thermometer out in the field was one day on an M-60 MG range - inside a squad sized tent (with a little stove) and the thermometer in there read -35 degrees F (inside the tent). There was very little snow at the time (the entire time we were there - that made the mandatory cross-country skiing difficult), and mostly clear skies.
Anyway, one night, while sleeping in our sleeping bags on the frozen ground, I got so cold I literally couldn't breath - so - only wearing my skivvies, I jumped up and started running around (in panic) trying to force air in my lungs. I was really cold, and to
this day - I always wondered if the temp actually dropped below -35?
Overall, I thought Minnesota was a nice place - but you shouldn't camp outside there during the winter.
They routinely take 6th graders out for winter camping here as part of the public school science curriculum. A friend with a son in that class said the last one was canceled due to zero visibility and the governor closing the roads south right before Christmas. Otherwise they would have gone. It was below zero at night that week.
The key is to not get wet, and to not have any exposed skin, especially fingers and ears. If you're dressed for it sub-zero isn't that bad. I have ice fishing boots that are rated down to -80 F. Mylar linings to reflect heat back to the skin, and four-inch thick soles. You can't drive in them, but you don't get cold feet either.
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