Winter Sports · General · Snow and mountain science
Wind chill is when the temperature you feel is lower than the actual air temperature because the wind quickly carries heat away from exposed skin. According to an information card from Turkey's Ministry of Labour and Social Security, at −5 °C a 30 km/h wind feels like −13 °C. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, when the wind chill is between −28 °C and −39 °C, exposed skin can freeze in 10–30 minutes; at lower values this drops to a few minutes. When skiing, you create part of the wind yourself: skin cools very quickly when you are coming down fast and especially when you are sitting facing into the wind on a chairlift.
Written by: Outdoor AcademyTechnical review: Mustafa Kaya · 27 October 2026Published: 4 min readKIS-097
Your body creates a thin layer of warm air just above the skin. The wind keeps carrying this layer away; your skin has to produce new heat and cools down faster. Even if the thermometer shows the same value, you feel colder in windy weather and exposed skin freezes more quickly. The wind chill index used by the US National Weather Service (NWS) and Canada calculates this effect; in Turkey, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security uses the same method under the names "feels-like temperature" (hissedilen sıcaklık) or "chilling temperature" (üşütme sıcaklığı).
The values below have been calculated with the Celsius version of the wind chill formula used by the NWS and Canada (rounded):
| Air temperature | 10 km/h | 20 km/h | 30 km/h | 40 km/h | 50 km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 °C | −3 | −5 | −6 | −7 | −8 |
| −5 °C | −9 | −12 | −13 | −14 | −15 |
| −10 °C | −15 | −18 | −20 | −21 | −22 |
| −15 °C | −21 | −24 | −26 | −27 | −29 |
| −20 °C | −27 | −30 | −33 | −34 | −35 |
The example on the ministry's information card gives the same result: −5 °C with a 30 km/h wind feels like about −13 °C.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the time it takes for exposed skin to freeze:
| Wind chill | Exposed skin can freeze |
|---|---|
| −28 to −39 °C | In 10–30 minutes |
| −40 to −47 °C | In 5–10 minutes |
| −48 to −54 °C | In 2–5 minutes |
| −55 °C and below | In less than 2 minutes |
In sustained winds above 50 km/h, frostbite can set in faster than the table shows. An example from the US: at −18 °C, a 24 km/h wind creates a wind chill at which exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
On the slopes, wind does not only come from the weather:
For ski resorts, the Turkish State Meteorological Service's (MGM) ski resort forecast page gives temperature and wind information together. Strong wind can also cause lifts to close; we explain what happens in that case in our guide What Happens If the Weather Changes Your Ski Holiday Programme?.
Dressing correctly turns a cold winter day into an enjoyable one. On an activity holiday, the rhythm of the day is built around the cold: training in the morning, a break to warm up at lunch, practice in the afternoon. Evenings with the group make you forget the day's tiredness and cold; that is why Doğadayız winter programmes are each a social adventure holiday. For the programmes, see the winter activity holidays page.
Doğadayız Packages
Winter activity holidays with accommodation, ski pass and equipment included, shared with a group.
Doğadayız social adventure holiday
An activity holiday puts a sport at the heart of your trip: transport, accommodation and meals are planned, so you can focus on learning on the slopes. On Doğadayız winter activity holidays, accommodation, ski pass and ski or snowboard equipment are included in every package; course packages include basic lessons with instructors affiliated with the Turkish Ski Federation, while experience packages let you practise on the slopes at your own level.
What makes the programme different is the group: sharing the slopes with people at a similar level, dinners and nights out together, and a group leader by your side at all times. Solo travellers become part of this social adventure holiday from day one. That is why we describe our programmes as a social adventure holiday.
It is when the temperature you feel is lower than the actual air temperature because the wind quickly carries heat away from exposed skin. For example, at −5 °C a 30 km/h wind feels like about −13 °C.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, exposed skin can freeze in 10–30 minutes when the wind chill is between −28 °C and −39 °C, and in 5–10 minutes between −40 and −47 °C. In strong wind these times get shorter.
Protect your face with a neck gaiter or balaclava and your eyes with goggles, and leave no skin exposed. If you notice whitening and numbness on your cheeks, nose or ears, get to a warm place straight away and do not rub the area.
GeneralEquipmentWinter Sports · KIS-056
For skiing and snowboarding you wear three layers: a synthetic or wool base layer that wicks sweat away, a fleece mid-layer that holds in warmth, and a ski jacket and trousers that keep out wind and water. Add a single pair of thin ski socks, waterproof gloves, a neck gaiter, a helmet and goggles. Do not wear cotton: it gets soaked with sweat and makes you cold.
Read the guide →GeneralSafetyWinter Sports · KIS-098
A whiteout, as defined by the American Meteorological Society, is an optical phenomenon in which the observer appears to be engulfed in a uniformly white glow: over unbroken snow cover under a uniformly overcast sky, shadows, the horizon and clouds disappear, and the sense of depth and direction is lost. According to the UK Met Office, the risk increases when fog or mist combines with widespread snow cover. When skiing, this means not being able to see the gradient, the bumps or the edge of the slope. When visibility worsens, slow down, stay on the marked slope near the markers along its edge, and switch to a slope one level easier; if visibility is very poor, ski down to the nearest lift station and call it a day.
Read the guide →GeneralSnow and mountain scienceWinter Sports · KIS-099
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), altitude sickness (acute mountain sickness, AMS) mostly affects unacclimatised people sleeping above 2,450 metres; in Colorado it occurs in about 25% of visitors who sleep at that altitude. The symptoms are a headache together with loss of appetite, dizziness, fatigue or nausea, and they usually start within 2–12 hours. At ski resorts in Türkiye the ski area can go above 3,000 metres (Erciyes 3,346 m), but accommodation is usually much lower down, so going high during the day and sleeping lower down reduces the risk. The CDC recommends avoiding alcohol for the first 48 hours. Altitude also increases UV radiation: by about 10% for every 1,000 metres.
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