After developing some minor frostnip during a trip over to Moran Bay for an overnight ski adventure, I tried to treat them over the course of a couple days, but then another adventure came up.  Five days after crossing Jackson Lake with agonizing pain in my feet, we headed up the Grand to ski the Ford/Stettner.   When we got down to the car after skiing the Grand, I took my boots off to find that my toes were very white, but not black (frostbite). I warmed them in a hot tub that night, continued to rub them with arnica over the next few days, but the numb/painful sensation persisted.

I went to an acupuncturist two days after our trip and while it provided some relief, the one visit wasn’t going to do the trick. I would have needed numerous visits to potentially get the feeling back, but my bank account wouldn’t have agreed with that. So, I have been soaking them in a hot bath daily, rubbing them with a Chinese ointment (Zheng Gu Shui) a few times a day to try and get the feeling back. From what I can gather, it just takes time for the sensation to return and pain to dissipate. Unfortunately, this winter is dwindling away at a rapid pace and I fear that my toes will not be healthy until the snow is gone.

I have looked online for some alternative treatments, but there is nothing out there for fristnip, only frostbite. I found some decent information on the differences between the two, so I have ruled out frostbite, but there doesn’t seem to be solid information on exactly what to do for frostnip.

It is a frustrating “hiatus” from an otherwise amazing season and hope to get the digits back in skiing condition, but only time will tell if that is possible. In the interim, if anyone has some great stories that they want to share on OutdoorBeta, please email me. While I am sure there will be more adventures in the future, this break has been difficult coming directly after one of the more amazing ski mountaineering adventures I have had, but what are you going to do … C’est la vie – “That’s life”