Before there was SCUM, there was Team Brain Dead. In the late 80s, when winter temperatures were colder, Team Brain Dead was formed to celebrate those hardy skiers who would continue their workouts regardless of temperature. They had t-shirts made when they ran the 1990 Midnight Sun Run on skis, extending their ski training range from -48 deg F to +68 F deg, a 110 deg range:

Team Brain Dead points are awarded for skis done at temperatures of -30 deg F or colder. One point is awarded for each degree below -30. So today each skier earned 7 points multiplied by the 5 skiers to total 35 TBD points.

We skied Tower Loop, Green Dot, Flat Black, Tommy Knocker Extension, Roller Coaster, White Cub to Zoomer Cutoff, and back to the stadium (or to the Groomer’s garage). Here’s the photo Bill took of the scariest skiers:

And here’s Joanna and Mom (whose claustrophobia prevents her from wearing anything over her nose or mouth):

It was a “strange” day as there was no temperature inversion: it was -37 deg F in the stadium, -40 deg (both F and C) on the top of the Tower Loop, and -31 deg F at the biathlon range.

With the cold temperatures, the corduroy and deep tracks remain pristine except for the abundant birch seed and spruce cones that have been deposited on the trails. Air quality was moderate according to the Purple Air station at Birch Hill, so our workout did more good than harm to our aging carcasses.