Ian
291 posts
Feb 08, 2016
5:12 PM
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Hey.
I'm going skiing in a few weeks and was going to bring a harp with me.
Now... Avalanche risk aside, is it ok for the health of a harp to play in the extreme cold? I like the idea of playing a tune whilst I wait for my wife.
I figured I could warm it up before playing, but then once it's all full of condensation it's likely to freeze up pretty bad.
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Thievin' Heathen
674 posts
Feb 08, 2016
6:11 PM
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Well, I think you're about to become the authority on the subject, but until then...,
The condensation is going to make everything go slightly flat, until it freezes, then it will go very flat. I'd go with a plastic comb and ET. Lee Oskar.
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mr_so&so
997 posts
Feb 08, 2016
6:24 PM
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I have about 10 Canadian winters experience walking and harping. I've never found condensation to be a problem. But my limit of enjoying putting harp to lips is about 14F (-10C).
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Chris L
100 posts
Feb 08, 2016
7:18 PM
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Warm the harp up before you use it and in my experience your hands and breath pretty much keep it from freezing. A few degrees below freezing is not bad, and even -10c in a sunny spot should be fine, but when the insulated gloves come out, it's time to put the harp back in an inner pocket.
Here in Alberta I would not leave a moist harp out to freeze.
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Ian
292 posts
Feb 09, 2016
2:46 AM
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I'll report back on my misadventures!
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TBird
181 posts
Feb 10, 2016
5:52 AM
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For what it's worth, I went cross-country skiing yesterday evening (14F) and, with this discussion in mind, I brought a harmonica along. I played it once, then pocketed it and skied a bit more (giving ample time for it to freeze up) before playing it again. Didn't notice any ill effects... other then cold lips for about the first 15 seconds of playing!
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Be humble for you are made of earth.
Be noble for you are made of stars.
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Ian
293 posts
Feb 10, 2016
8:19 AM
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Ha! Thanks for the proactive approach Tbird, I appreciate your efforts!
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nacoran
8928 posts
Feb 10, 2016
10:51 AM
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I've played at the bus stop a couple times in extreme cold. (Actually, I breathe through the harp better in cold weather than without it. Once it warms up it acts like a pre-heater for your air!) Just make sure it's not tongue frozen to the flagpole weather. :)
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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2chops
485 posts
Feb 10, 2016
12:34 PM
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Funny story. A few years ago in January I grabbed one of my Jeep harps from the glove box to play on the way to work. We had a nasty cold spell and it was somewhere in the single digits. Started Jeep, put harp to lips..."Aw nutths!" sure as shootin', my tongue stuck to the dang thing. After a few seconds of heavy breathing it broke loose. Lesson learned. Hold over the defroster to warm up before playing.
Having said that, I have played while walking the dog in very cold temps with no issues for facial body parts or the harp. I keep the harp in an inner pocket for prewarming. Same when done so the harp won't ice up.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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arnenym
371 posts
Feb 11, 2016
6:18 AM
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+1 on mr_so&so..
I have some harps in my car.. I live in Sweden and we have some winters up here too.
Last Edited by arnenym on Feb 11, 2016 6:20 AM
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nacoran
8929 posts
Feb 11, 2016
9:39 AM
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"I have some harps in my car.. I live in Sweden and we have some winters up here too."-arnenym
You have apparently are a people who are masters of understatement as well! :)
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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florida-trader
877 posts
Feb 11, 2016
11:06 AM
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Back in the mid 70's - we're talking 1970's, not degrees - I worked as a lift operator at ski resort. If you worked the bottom of the T-Bar lift, you helped skiers get on the lift. If you worked the top, you sat in a hut the size of a phone booth and made sure nobody fell or otherwise got in the way while getting off the lift, in which case you would push an Emergency Off Button that shut down the lift. Most of the time was spent sitting doing nothing. I used to play the harp in that booth (not heated) quite a bit. Never had a problem.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Feb 11, 2016 11:29 AM
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TBird
185 posts
Feb 12, 2016
8:17 AM
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Ha! I picture a pile of injured skiers gathering on the exit ramp of the lift as florida-trader sits in his booth, wailing away on the harp with his head back and eyes closed, completely oblivious to the rapidly growing ski lift catastrophe unfolding just outside the window. :)
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Be humble for you are made of earth.
Be noble for you are made of stars.
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florida-trader
878 posts
Feb 12, 2016
1:09 PM
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Well - not to get too off subject, but back in the 70's it was very fashionable for girls to wear these long flowing scarfs. They were easily 6 - 7 feet long and even after they were wrapped around your neck you still had 3 feet hanging off both ends. You can guess what is coming next. This actually happened on the chair lift - not the T-Bar. This poor girl got her scarf tangled in the chair and when she tried to ski off the lift it snatched her back like a dog on a leash and she was dragged by the neck until she hit the trip wire which also shuts down the lift. We didn't have to cut her down but there were a few anxious moments as we freed her scarf from the chair with her pretty much getting hung. It wasn't funny at the time, but I get chuckle out of it now when I think about it.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Feb 12, 2016 1:10 PM
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