Posted: 02/07/07
What really bites
Students fight bitter cold and frostbite
Abby Robitaille | contributing writer
arobitaille@smcvt.edu
Winter weather came late to Vermont this year, but when it did, it did so with a vengeance. Thermometers hovered around zero degrees the past week, making frostbite a serious threat to the many skiers and snowboarders who made their way up the mountain.
Frostbite 101
Ken LaPlante, a ski patrol dispatcher at Smuggler’s Notch, says ski patrollers sees frostbite regularly.
“Frostbite is the freezing of a cell,” LaPlante says. “As water in the cell freezes, it expands and bursts the cell membrane, and instead of an intact, viable cell, you have a cell that’s broken.”
 |
Students who choose to snowboard and ski in extreme temperatures should take precautions or risk patches of frostbite such as the one pictured above.
(Michelle Bookless, photo)
|
The most commonly affected areas of the body are the nose, ears, fingertips,and toes, he says.
St. Michael's College junior A.J. Urquhart experienced this firsthand while skiing at Smuggler’s Notch on Jan. 15.
“The guys running the lift were yelling at
me because my face was all white,” Urquhart says. “I didn’t think they were
serious, so I just went for another run. After that I couldn’t even get my jacket off of my face.”
Urquhart went inside to warm up and the frostbite was gone by the next day, he says.
Getting out of the cold is the first step to treating a case of frostbite. Eben Widlund, assistant director of St. Michael’s wilderness program, says “If you notice frostbite early, get inside.” “If you have frostbite, your skin will look pale and waxy, and you should use skin-to- skin contact to warm it up,” he says. “Put your hands on your nose, or your fingers under your arms. You shouldn’t use warm water or air, and you shouldn’t rub the frostbite.”
Widlund says, minor frostbite is relatively easy to cure, but a more severe case can cause serious problems.
“As the frostbite goes deeper into the skin, it will blister,” Widlund says. “If this happens you need to go to the emergency room.”
Long term consequences of frostbite can include a high risk of getting frostbite again, a loss of feeling or tissue in the frostbitten area, or in extreme cases- amputation of the affected body part, he says.
Fighting freezing weather
According to Mark Noel, a sales representative at the Alpine Shop in South Burlington, there are a variety of ways to protect yourself from frostbite.
“A lot of people don’t understand how to prevent it, or they don’t think about it at all,” Noel says. “Inexperienced skiers especially are more prone to frostbite.”
One option is to use a product like Bag Balm or Dermatone, which is applied directly to the skin. “It’s a waxy, oily substance that you put on your face and lips, and it protects you from the cold,” Noel says. Dermatone can be purchased cheaply in shops around Burlington, including the Alpine Shop.
“We also sell face masks made of neoprene or fleece for people who don’t want to put things on their skin,” Noel says.
 |
Goggles and mittens are two pieces of equipment you shouldn't go without when temperatures become extreme.
(Abby Robitaille, photo) |
Urquhart says he could have prevented his case of frostbite if he had more effectively covered his face.
“If I wore something over my face, I think that would have helped,” Urquhart says. “I was also breathing into my jacket, which I think was part of the problem.”
Noel says he personally uses a product called The Pinch, to cover up his face when he goes to the mountain.
“It’s a heck of a lot easier than a full mask,” he says. “It’s a piece of fleece that fits under your goggles and protects your nose and cheeks. We don’t sell them, but they’re simple enough that they could even be homemade.”
Widlund and LaPlante both agree that keeping skin covered is the best preventative measure to take when dealing with frigid temperatures.
“Avoid exposure,” LaPlante says. “That’s the best way to avoid frostbite.”
The proper precautions
When taking Saint Michael’s students out into the Vermont wilderness for adventurous winter activities such as ice climbing and telemark skiing, the Wilderness Program ensures that they are well-prepared, Widlund says.
“If it’s going to be cold when we take kids out on trips, we make sure to give them a short talk about frostbite and how to avoid it,” he says. The program’s wilderness leaders are all well-educated in the area of outdoor safety.
“All of our wilderness leaders are Wilderness First Responders, they all have 80 or more hours of Emergency Medical Training,” Widlund says. “They know a lot about dealing with, and most importantly about preventing, frostbite.”
Ski patrollers at mountains around Vermont see various degrees of emergencies throughout the ski season. When the temperature starts to dip, frostbite is a common one.
“It affects the general skiing population, not just beginners.” LaPlante says. “You see ski patrollers with frostbite sometimes.”
The Wilderness Program offers some specific tips to skiers and snowboarders to help keep them frostbite-free.
 |
“Avoid exposure,” LaPlante says. “That’s the best way to avoid frostbite.”
(Abby Robitaille, photo)
|
“Make sure that you have a friend periodically check the parts of your body you can’t see, like your nose and cheeks, to make sure you’re not frostbitten,” Widlund says. Another important factor to consider is circulation, he says.
“When you’re on the lift, loosen your boots,” Widlund explains. “Often, people have their boots on really tight, which results in poor circulation in the toes, where you can get frostbite. The same goes for gloves and mittens, loosen up the straps so the blood can get to your fingers.”
With the proper measures against frostbite, people are able to enjoy the mountains even as February begins and another Vermont winter starts to show its muscle.
“It’s important to be well fed, well rested, well hydrated, well aware, and never to ski alone,” says LaPlante. “It’s a common thing, you just deal with it and take precautions to prevent it.”
