[SoldierDad]

Fierce winters — where temperatures drop as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit . . . .

When I lived in Minot, ND from 1978 to 1983 I had the "pleasure" of experiencing a windchill temperature of -115. When the wind blows in ND in the winter, there is NO way to keep warm.

[thackney]

Ouch!!! The -72 hurt, mostly because I wasn’t prepared for it. I was outside less than a minute. I was in the -48 for several hours but we went in and out of several buildings for breaks while gathering information.

[Docbarleypop]

grew up in Bismarck, but the coldest i have ever been was in the north Pacific while in the Navy, no idea what the temp was, ice on the water, no wind, just cold to my very core

[Vigilanteman]

FWIW, when I was an elementary school boy, two favorite winter diversions were:

1. Distance spitting contests to see if it would freeze before it hit the ground. You could actually tell if it did by the shape of the indentation.

2. Tunneling and trenching. My best friend lived on the opposite side of the block. If the snow was deep enough, you could tunnel right between our back doors. This was especially fun as we would take the snow in the house and dump it in the toilet or shower to melt-- much to the chagrin of our mothers. If it wasn't deep enough, you could still dig a trench deep enough to allow us boys to crawl or even walk between the two houses without exposing your head to the wind.