OCONTO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Some outdoor sports are still underway amid the bitter cold.
One Oconto County cross country skier is still hitting the trails, even as the wind chill hovers well below zero.
‘The people who know what they are doing, do its not that difficult this is not really cold today, once you get on the trail you are protected by the wind for the most part and when you get skiing you get warm pretty quickly,” said Ray Tabar with the Machickanee Cross Country Ski Club.
Tabar says below zero skiing is actually ideal.
“Snow is slower when its cold, its crunchier its sharper crystals, your glide is not as good but its still good skiing,” said Tabar.
The ski club members aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the cold.
The Ashwaubenon Middle and High School Nordic Ski Team season is in full swing.
Director of new skier development, Bernie Rocheleau says the team raced in 7 degree weather with no problems, but they had the right protection to do so.
“It’s good gloves, it’s good hats, its layers of the appropriate wicking, dry fit underneath and then the race suit,” said Rocheleau.
Dr. Amy Romandine Kratz, primary care sports medicine physician at Prevea Health, says your body changes when exercising in the cold.
“Oftentimes we’ll experience cold hands and feet before the rest of our body. That’s because there is actually decreased blood flow when it gets really cold,” said Romandine Kratz.
Romandine Kratz says your body is 40% less likely to feel thirst in the cold.
“The constriction of those blood vessels or tightening of those blood vessels sends a signal to our kidneys as well and that signal confuses our kidneys and says, hey we’re not thirsty,” said Romandine Kratz.
Fatigue is also common because muscles don’t contract as fast as your body is used to.
Romandine Kratz says if it’s less than zero degrees Fahrenheit or the wind chill is less than -17 it’s best to move your activities inside because it’s harder to protect yourself, even with the best clothing.
For more information about how the cold can affect your body CLICK HERE.
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