The temperatures were low, and the wind was whipping.
NEWRY – With temperatures plummeting as low as minus 26 in Maine, the state’s busiest ski resort wasn’t so busy on Wednesday, with only several hundred skiers venturing forth onto Sunday River’s slopes.
In Bethel, the Yukon huskies were yipping and ready to go but their owner could find no customers wanting to go for a dog sled ride.
And the ice shacks on frozen lakes and ponds: Well, let’s just say most anglers were saving their fish stories for another day.
Even in Maine, where people are used to cold weather, the latest round of subzero weather sent all but the hardiest people indoors, heeding warnings from weather forecasters about potentially deadly wind chills.
Overnight temperatures dropped below zero across the state with Portland’s minus-10 reading being the warmest.
Overall, the coldest spots were at Pittston Farm in Somerset County and at Sunday River, where the temperature dropped to 26 below.
The strong winds made it seem much colder. In Frenchville, the temperature hit minus 22 but the wind chill was minus 54, said Tom Hawley, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Gray.
At Sunday River, it was minus 13 at the lodge as a only handful of skiers hit the slopes.
The ski trails were largely deserted and empty ski lifts swayed in the wind as they moved up the mountain.
The resort offered free hand warmers, hot chocolate and coffee to keep skiers warm. A spokeswoman estimated there were only about 250 skiers, compared to 1,000 to 1,500 on a typical weekday in January.
Icicles were hanging from the eyelashes and brows from one of the skiers, David Mulcahy, who said he wasn’t going to let the cold keep him from his long-awaited ski trip to Sunday River.
He felt seasoned after sitting through the Titans-Patriots game in Foxboro, Mass., where it dipped to 2 degrees – with a wind chill of 11 below. But nothing prepared him for what he encountered on Monday.
“This is the coldest I’ve ever skied in. The wind just cut right through my clothes,” said Mulcahy, 38, of Dedham, Mass.
Another skier, Michael-John Pierce, said the numbness started in his fingertips and worked its way up his arms until his whole body was chilled as he skied runs by the names of Agony and Monday Mourning.
“Words like ‘agony’ take on a whole new meaning on a day like this,” said Pierce, 22, of Darien, Conn.
At Mahoosuc Guide Service, which offers dog sled daytrips, the Yukon huskies were vociferously announcing their willingness to go, but the day’s only customer opted to postpone the trip to avoid the howling wind.
Polly Mahoney, co-owner of Mahoosuc Guide Service, said she gives customers fur-lined parkas and heavy mittens on days like this. As for the dogs, “They like the cold but even this is extreme for them,” she said.
On Lake Christopher, a few miles from Bethel, Bryan Bennett was the only fishermen on the frozen lake.
Bennett, 27, of Bryant Pond, said he keeps his ice shack warm with a propane heater – so warm that he strips down to a T-shirt.
“I imagine there are a lot of people that think I’m crazy,” said Bennett, a bait dealer who had caught 100 smelt by afternoon.
Schools in several communities, including Sanford, Bristol and Acton, called off classes. State police advised motorists to stash extra clothing in their vehicles, keep their gasoline tanks full and remain with their vehicles in the event of a breakdown.
It was so cold that the National Weather Service took the unusual step of sending an advisory warning people to be wary of frostbite. “If you are not prepared, these cold conditions can lead to hypothermia, frostbite, or possibly death,” the weather service said.
The cold weather also prompted warnings for people to make sure their furnaces were working properly.
In Sidney, residents of Hearthside Extended Care Facility were taken to the hospital twice in three days for carbon monoxide poisoning apparently caused by a malfunctioning furnace.
Eight residents were treated on Sunday, and six were sent to the hospital again on Tuesday, officials said.
The cold weather in Maine didn’t come close to comparing with the coldest spot in New England, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the temperature dipped to 44 below with a wind chill of 100 below.
Nonetheless, Hawley said Wednesday’s windchill readings were the coldest in years in Maine. On Thursday, even colder weather was on tap but windchill readings were expected to be lower, Hawley said.
One man who felt he had little choice but to brave the cold weather Thursday was 80-year-old Paul Schipper, who holds the nation’s longest skiing streak having skied every day Sugarloaf USA has been open since 1981.
He didn’t sound too happy after coming down from the 4,000-foot mountain, where the temperature was minus 25.
“I’m getting old. My hands get cold. Everything’s cold,” he said. “The wind is awful.” He said he had lost count of the number of days, but he believed it was more than 3,800.
AP-ES-01-14-04 1410EST
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