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>I’m Canadian enough to know the horror of minus 40, but anything beyond that is daunting. I'm Canadian too, and I was surprised to read that line. I've spent

>I’m Canadian enough to know the horror of minus 40, but anything beyond that is daunting. I'm Canadian too, and I was surprised to read that line. I've spent winters in Northern Quebec where the temperature regularly hovered around -40C and it was glorious. Everything sparkles. Everything. In fact, -40C feels warmer than +5C because there is no humidity in the air to make your skin feel the cold. If you are unprepared for the weather, trying to get by in shorts and t shirt, you're absolutely going to have a bad time. But so long as you're bundled up and your house has good insulation, a -40C day is usually much more enjoyable than a +40C day.

singingboyo 7y ago
I'm a moderate-temperature Vancouverite most of the time, but - does windchill factor in here? In my limited experience, negative X is one thing, and usually quite manageable if, as you say, you bundle up properly. Once windchill gets involved, though, things can get miserable quickly.
- brailsafe 7y ago
  It doesn't really factor in here, because the wind just isn't that bad and we have elevation. I'm also a Vancouverite, but from Winnipeg, so I'm very familiar with both. I'd also say that a night on Salt Spring with no heat is insufferable in it's own way. The difference is bone chilling cold here in the worst of times, vs face on fire mode in the prairies.
- freeone3000 7y ago
  Yes, but below -25 or so you don't have any exposed skin so it matters a lot less. Mostly just decided whether your eyelashes freeze in place or not.
- brailsafe 7y ago
  It doesn't really factor in here, because the wind just isn't that bad and we have elevation. I'm also a Vancouverite, but from Winnipeg, so I'm very familiar with both. I'd also say that a night on Salt Spring with no heat is insufferable in it's own way. The difference is bone chilling cold here in the worst of times, vs face on fire mode in the prairies. This year Winnipeg broke its minimum wind chill temperature record for a full year, reaching lows regular lows of below -52 between Jan and Feb. Not fucking fun.
sib 7y ago
Hmm, i'm going to have to disagree with you on this: "-40C feels warmer than +5C" I've been outdoors in both, plenty of times, to hike or to engage in my hobby of landscape photography. At +5C, it's perfectly possible to hike for hours in light pants and a t-shirt, with a sweatshirt or light jacket in your day pack in case it gets cold. At -40C, I was wearing multiple layers of wool, fleece, and a gore-tex parka, just to stay warm.
- flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
  >At -40C, I was wearing multiple layers of wool, fleece, and a gore-tex parka, just to stay warm. You must have been trekking through some high winds, I imagine? -40C ice fishing out in the middle of a lake with no barrier is much different than -40C walking around a small town with buildings and trees and barriers to block the wind. It feels like you're walking in a void, really. High winds increase the amount of moisture that does hit your skin, and also saps you of any warmth pockets in your garments much faster. It's all relative I suppose.
- ska 7y ago
  This is broadly true, but humidity has a huge effect which I think parent was alluding to. Coastal mist at 5 degrees isn't remotely comfortable to hike in with the clothing you describe, unless perhaps you are trail running. What's that old line about the worst winter someone experienced being a summer in San Francisco?
  - sib 7y ago
    Yes, completely true - if it's 5'C and windy and damp, it's pretty miserable (I lived in Seattle for many years, so very familiar with this situation.) But, given the same amount of wind, I'd still rather hike in 5'C vv -40'C.
seanmcdirmid 7y ago
Haerbin in China is typically at -40C or worse in the winter, and it isn’t that bad...except my digital camera battery died really quickly. I wonder how a modern smart phone would fare (that was...2005, we only had normal cellphones). Of course, Haerbin is a huge city with central heating, so its quite different from being in a small community or in the wilderness.
- robteix 7y ago
  Not better. I live in Quebec City. When we get anything under -30C, my iPhone XS battery dies in a matter of seconds once out of a pocket.
- flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
  >except my digital camera battery died really quickly Indeed! Batteries still dislike extreme cold, afaik. Never heard of Haerbin before, but the pictures are beautiful!
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    The ice sculptures are worth it, as is the huge frozen solid river. They also sell ice cream in the winter and don’t bother using freezers.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- dwohnitmok 7y ago
  Whoa there, did you have an especially horrible winter there? It's been closer to -20 C in my experience (which admittedly was only a couple of weeks). Maybe you're thinking of Mohe? Also smartphones don't fare well if you leave them out. I had to constantly warm up my phone in my pocket, otherwise the battery would often die if I was out and about and left it out in my (gloved) hand too long.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    Maybe I’m misremembering it? I remember the digital thermometer falling from -30 to -40 on the bus I was riding on from Changchun, but maybe it was something like -20 to -30? Anyways m, Beijing felt absolutely balmy when I finished that trip.
bungie4 7y ago
True. Northern Ontario here. I was born and raised in Toronto, where a damp -10C + moderate windchill feels orders of magnitude colder than dry -40 and no windchill. The coldest I've been in was -52C (off an alcohol thermometer) and I was fine beyond my eyelids and nostrils crystalizing. That being said, I've been frost bitten a handful of times, each time, the temperature has been near freezing and damp. But at the end of the day, I'd gladly exchange locales down to the North Carolina/Tennessee area on a permanent basis.
- jperras 7y ago
  > I was fine beyond my eyelids and nostrils crystalizing. As a fellow Canadian from Québec, this is how I explain the degrees of coldness to people whom have never experienced it. You know it's really cold out when your eyelids momentarily freeze shut when blinking due to the accumulated moisture on your eyelashes spontaneously freezing together.
trianglem 7y ago
> Everything sparkles This is extreme rationalization.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
  No, it's a literal description. For example, at those temps snow becomes a very fine powder that literally sparkles in sunlight.
weeksie 7y ago
I grew up in Alaska and no. Absolutely not. -40C is so cold that your face hurts when you walk. Your pants get insanely cold in the places where they are away from your skin and then chill you when they touch again. It's miserable. It is quite pretty though.
- grecy 7y ago
  I rode my bike to work in -48C, and rode every day of the winter for 4 years. I would never, ever describe it as miserable. I loved it, and can't wait to get back North (Yukon)
  - weeksie 7y ago
    Anybody who willingly rides their bike in -48C is (by definition) an outlier. I’m sure you’re quite tough, but yours is not a universal experience.
jly 7y ago
> a -40C day is usually much more enjoyable than a +40C day I can't believe I just read this :) With an appropriately-sized and designed HVAC system, home, and fans, 40C is completely comfortable indoors. If your home is designed well, you probably don't even need a whole lot of energy to achieve this. The difference is, in 40C you can also be outside at any part of the day, for any duration (especially in the shade). I haven't spent a great deal of time at -40C, but I can tell you my experience is that it was pretty miserable to be outside in, even bundled up.

singingboyo 7y ago

I'm a moderate-temperature Vancouverite most of the time, but - does windchill factor in here? In my limited experience, negative X is one thing, and usually quite manageable if, as you say, you bundle up properly. Once windchill gets involved, though, things can get miserable quickly.

brailsafe 7y ago
It doesn't really factor in here, because the wind just isn't that bad and we have elevation. I'm also a Vancouverite, but from Winnipeg, so I'm very familiar with both. I'd also say that a night on Salt Spring with no heat is insufferable in it's own way. The difference is bone chilling cold here in the worst of times, vs face on fire mode in the prairies.
freeone3000 7y ago
Yes, but below -25 or so you don't have any exposed skin so it matters a lot less. Mostly just decided whether your eyelashes freeze in place or not.
brailsafe 7y ago
It doesn't really factor in here, because the wind just isn't that bad and we have elevation. I'm also a Vancouverite, but from Winnipeg, so I'm very familiar with both. I'd also say that a night on Salt Spring with no heat is insufferable in it's own way. The difference is bone chilling cold here in the worst of times, vs face on fire mode in the prairies. This year Winnipeg broke its minimum wind chill temperature record for a full year, reaching lows regular lows of below -52 between Jan and Feb. Not fucking fun.

sib 7y ago

Hmm, i'm going to have to disagree with you on this: "-40C feels warmer than +5C" I've been outdoors in both, plenty of times, to hike or to engage in my hobby of landscape photography. At +5C, it's perfectly possible to hike for hours in light pants and a t-shirt, with a sweatshirt or light jacket in your day pack in case it gets cold. At -40C, I was wearing multiple layers of wool, fleece, and a gore-tex parka, just to stay warm.

flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
>At -40C, I was wearing multiple layers of wool, fleece, and a gore-tex parka, just to stay warm. You must have been trekking through some high winds, I imagine? -40C ice fishing out in the middle of a lake with no barrier is much different than -40C walking around a small town with buildings and trees and barriers to block the wind. It feels like you're walking in a void, really. High winds increase the amount of moisture that does hit your skin, and also saps you of any warmth pockets in your garments much faster. It's all relative I suppose.
ska 7y ago
This is broadly true, but humidity has a huge effect which I think parent was alluding to. Coastal mist at 5 degrees isn't remotely comfortable to hike in with the clothing you describe, unless perhaps you are trail running. What's that old line about the worst winter someone experienced being a summer in San Francisco?
- sib 7y ago
  Yes, completely true - if it's 5'C and windy and damp, it's pretty miserable (I lived in Seattle for many years, so very familiar with this situation.) But, given the same amount of wind, I'd still rather hike in 5'C vv -40'C.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago

Haerbin in China is typically at -40C or worse in the winter, and it isn’t that bad...except my digital camera battery died really quickly. I wonder how a modern smart phone would fare (that was...2005, we only had normal cellphones). Of course, Haerbin is a huge city with central heating, so its quite different from being in a small community or in the wilderness.

robteix 7y ago
Not better. I live in Quebec City. When we get anything under -30C, my iPhone XS battery dies in a matter of seconds once out of a pocket.
flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
>except my digital camera battery died really quickly Indeed! Batteries still dislike extreme cold, afaik. Never heard of Haerbin before, but the pictures are beautiful!
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  The ice sculptures are worth it, as is the huge frozen solid river. They also sell ice cream in the winter and don’t bother using freezers.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
dwohnitmok 7y ago
Whoa there, did you have an especially horrible winter there? It's been closer to -20 C in my experience (which admittedly was only a couple of weeks). Maybe you're thinking of Mohe? Also smartphones don't fare well if you leave them out. I had to constantly warm up my phone in my pocket, otherwise the battery would often die if I was out and about and left it out in my (gloved) hand too long.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  Maybe I’m misremembering it? I remember the digital thermometer falling from -30 to -40 on the bus I was riding on from Changchun, but maybe it was something like -20 to -30? Anyways m, Beijing felt absolutely balmy when I finished that trip.

bungie4 7y ago

True. Northern Ontario here. I was born and raised in Toronto, where a damp -10C + moderate windchill feels orders of magnitude colder than dry -40 and no windchill. The coldest I've been in was -52C (off an alcohol thermometer) and I was fine beyond my eyelids and nostrils crystalizing. That being said, I've been frost bitten a handful of times, each time, the temperature has been near freezing and damp. But at the end of the day, I'd gladly exchange locales down to the North Carolina/Tennessee area on a permanent basis.

jperras 7y ago
> I was fine beyond my eyelids and nostrils crystalizing. As a fellow Canadian from Québec, this is how I explain the degrees of coldness to people whom have never experienced it. You know it's really cold out when your eyelids momentarily freeze shut when blinking due to the accumulated moisture on your eyelashes spontaneously freezing together.

trianglem 7y ago

> Everything sparkles This is extreme rationalization.

9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
No, it's a literal description. For example, at those temps snow becomes a very fine powder that literally sparkles in sunlight.

weeksie 7y ago

I grew up in Alaska and no. Absolutely not. -40C is so cold that your face hurts when you walk. Your pants get insanely cold in the places where they are away from your skin and then chill you when they touch again. It's miserable. It is quite pretty though.

grecy 7y ago
I rode my bike to work in -48C, and rode every day of the winter for 4 years. I would never, ever describe it as miserable. I loved it, and can't wait to get back North (Yukon)
- weeksie 7y ago
  Anybody who willingly rides their bike in -48C is (by definition) an outlier. I’m sure you’re quite tough, but yours is not a universal experience.

jly 7y ago

> a -40C day is usually much more enjoyable than a +40C day I can't believe I just read this :) With an appropriately-sized and designed HVAC system, home, and fans, 40C is completely comfortable indoors. If your home is designed well, you probably don't even need a whole lot of energy to achieve this. The difference is, in 40C you can also be outside at any part of the day, for any duration (especially in the shade). I haven't spent a great deal of time at -40C, but I can tell you my experience is that it was pretty miserable to be outside in, even bundled up.