What's the Coldest Weather you Paddled?

[Dr. Steve Yaney]

Cadron, Feb 15,1979! Temperature on Feb 1st was 5 degrees and stayed below freezing for 9-10 days. On Feb 6th there was over 9 inches of snow on the ground. The parking lots were plowed and had 6 feet piles of snow. Stuff started melting and we had cabin fever so me and Robert Dalby jumped in some pirouges (like a kayak but open cockpit that you can stand in and pole your way around) in our jeans and flannel shirts. The temp was about 45 and high was to be about 70 degrees, but much cooler in the valley. There was still ice on the edges of the creek and lots of wood. I got pinned on a tree and had no choice but to sink the boat and swim. Then had to get back in creek holding a branch that Dalby was bracing me with to get the boat out. My paddle was gone so I grabbed that branch and hopped back in the boat . At the next bend, I drifted into a corner and looked down and found a paddle, not mine, from GOD! We made it back to shuttle vehicle and of course the dirt roads were now thawing and we got stuck. We hitched a ride back to Dalby's truck and went to get boats and pull my Chrysler out of the mud, but we got stuck again. So we hitched another ride to Dalby's house and got his Dad's truck......you guessed it, we got it stuck too. A local farmer came to our rescue with his tractor and........we got it stuck!!! We gave up and called his Mom to come pick us up and take us back to Conway. Felt great to get out of those wet jeans and flannel shirt about midnight! Crawled out of bed early to go get vehicles and gear when the roads had frozen up again and drove right out!

[Yarbrough]

28 degrees on the Illinois Bayou. It was sleeting little bitty ice pellets and they were bouncing off my spray skirt and into my eyes. That was the day I figured out I like pogies more than the thick gloves.

[Deuce]

Last winter on our annual three day Current river float it was supposed to warm up, and it did, eventually. However, the first day saw highs in the twenties and sleet. We found a gravel bar early and if team fire building were an olympic sport I'd have a gold medal team for sure. If you have a good tent and adequate sleeping bag the sound of sleet on the fly is really nice. Great times!

[SteveGabbard]

Whitewater school 2013. It was a good lesson in different types of thermal protection and warming techniques. I don't remember what the high was exactly.

[Deuce]

Holy Schnikeys that was cold! Nowhere near the coldest weather I've paddled in but pretty sure the coldest May weather I've paddled in. Fortunately Eric Esche sent a dry suit with Arthur Bowie along with strict instructions for me to wear it. It was also a good lesson in remembering one never knows what Arkansas weather can do, especially in the hilly parts.

[Smo_Off]

Everyone on here seems braver and tougher than I plan on being.
But I haven't paddled since Christmas so we will see how long I can wait for temps to rise.
As my desperation goes up, I'm sure the temp I'm willing to paddle will go down.

[philllll]

my perspective on what's cold paddling changed when i moved to NE Wisconsin a few years back.
Spring brings big flows and awesome play boating waves and big water runs in the northwoods.
Too bad it's 30 degrees… but the waves are worth it.


https://vimeo.com/63487947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


if anyone ever wants to come up and get some of that, PM me. It's a crazy experience.

[Deuce]

Cory, I know in my case what I plan to run plays a large role in the decision making process. For instance, I wouldn't hesitate to run the Current, Buff, Eleven Point and many others in really low temps but would think long and hard before tackling more challenging runs in the same weather. Dressing to swim is definitely the correct approach and I always factor in that possibility wherever and whenever I boat, but there's a difference between discomfort and danger.

[Tim Eubanks]

Dale Barton posted a few years back on the subject, his wisdom as I remember it: If you will only be warm if dry, you're not dressed appropriately. He also remarked that if you're not swimming you're not paddling hard enough or hard enough water. That may or may not apply to paddling in freezing temps.

[Deuce]

I agree with both of those tenets with caveats.

There's a difference between warm and warm enough. If you swim in cold weather without dry wear over warm layers you may be warm enough but it's extremely unlikely you'll be warm. Furthermore, a mitigating factor as it relates to those two very subjective conditions is the length of the swim.

Not everyone has the goal of constantly pushing themselves on every trip. Some do which is fine, but there are plenty of other very worthwhile reasons to be on the water that likely won't result in a swim.

It all involves calculated risk really. That's part of the appeal.

[Eric Esche]

Coldest that I have paddled whitewater? minus 20F on the Cheat in West Virgina and that was in the 70's, before I had ever even heard about drysuits and my first wetsuit was a 1/4" used suit sold to me by a fellow student at Georgia Tech, Bobby Gaar, Father of Clayton Gaar. Didn't think I could afford a wetsuit as a truly starving student, but Bobby probably saved my life by finding someone who was getting a better grade of wetsuit (lined on both sides with Nylon) and he convinced them to sell me their old one that had scratches from briars encountered on river scouts. Prior to that, I had paddled and swum the Chattooga's Section IV at 22F with no wetsuit.

Coldest here in Arkansas? Minus 15F on Beaver lake for 5 hours after the ice storm a couple of years back. It got down to minus 21F, but I waited until it warmed up and the sun came out at Minus 15F.

Eric Esche

[SteveGabbard]

One theory is to dress for a rescue rather than a swim.

[Twindad]

Sometimes you'll get lucky and the temp will drop after a (relatively) warm rain. You can get out of the cold air by getting in the water. Or you can warm up by taking all your stuff off and standing around nekkid and dry. This only lasts for 5 minutes.

- From a motel in Rawlins, Wyoming

[okieboater]

Well Twindad, having lived in the area close to Rawlins WY, I can say with confidence that you are right in the middle of some of the coldest weather in the lower 48 and wind chill capitol of the US. That wind for sure cuts to the bone no matter how many layers a person has on. I drove that stretch of the highway and it was not uncommon to see 18 wheeler's blown on their sides along the roadway. Stay warm!!!!

[Tim Eubanks]

Eric wins coldest contest hands down! Dr. Steve Yaney has the best overall story, IMHO. Not sure thread was started as a contest but that's what it turned into. Good reading.