-24˚F when I woke up this morning. Even the heater going full boar in the room couldn't hold back the quarter inch of ice that built itself on the window the night before. Here, hats are a must for entering the world that everyone works so hard to isolate themselves from. Even when the sun shines, it approaches at such a low angle, solar radiation fails to provide enough energy to feel any real difference in temperatures between the sun and the shade. Steam billows out of mouths - breathing through your nose freezes boogers in a second - escaping bodies to return to the frozen world swirling around.

I take some pride in weather like this, I don't wrap my face and hands in a variety of thinsulated brand name accessories, I like sticking my face right out into the cold. Its good for the heart to walk out in this weather without an excess of material - wandering around all bundled up is just another way of decreasing your self reliance. A good jacket, sturdy pants, and a hat are all you really need. Gloves, for sure, if you need to do work, but it is good to feel the cold air on skin, its good to know and trust the heat that your body can produce.

Skiing in sub zero temperatures exposed to wind and snow is another good test for your relation to the elements. Rather than piling on every pair of long johns you own, try removing layers until only the basics are left. Focus on the movements that make warmth. How cold can you really get? When your face feels cold, don't cover it up right away. I am not advocating loosing appendages to frostbite, but see what its like to face the air as if there were no scarfs or neck gaiters. Two days in a row subjected to blowing winds and a windchill that made alaskans shiver was enough to give my chin and cheek a bit of frost nip. No big deal, just a bit that looks like a scab just came off, a little peeling, but no real harm done. The pain was really minimal looking back, but it just makes you stronger.

I encourage everyone to push themselves to see how far they can go by themselves. Take the world head on with what you've got.