Bitter cold weather's impact on winter tourism

(NECN:  Lauren Collins, Lincoln, NH)  Drew Matta and Heather Adams were all geared up and ready to go. It was minus six degrees when this couple woke up in their hotel room Friday and they were worried that, "We're gonna be cold.  We're gonna get frost bite."  
     
But there's no spot for frost to bite these hearty skiers who figured they'd make the most of their get away in spite of the arctic cold blast.

Greg Keeler, Cannon Mountain's Marketing Director says, "We keep telling everybody, dress properly you can still have a great time when it's cold out," even when it's well below zero at the summit of Cannon Mountain.    

"It's really cold out here I just to need to wear multiple layers up there to try to keep warm," says skier Andrew Cronin of Boston.  

The same rule applies for snowmobilers who are out on trails in wind chills as cold as 25 degrees below.
     
"Snowmobiling's a cold weather sport," says Paul Fasolone of SledVentures in Lincoln, New Hampshire. "We provide all the gear and really people just keep going."  
     
Even a group Irish students couldn't be convinced to stay in the lodge at the Indian Head Resort.  

"They still went to the mountain every single day and skied," notes innkeeper Gloria Spanos who wouldn't have done the same herself.       

"It's actually really not that bad. People are over thinking it," says Ryan Clifford ready to get back on the slopes.  

The highly publicized closure of Wildcat Mountain earlier this week due to extreme temperatures seems to have scared off some visitors.

"When it gets a lot of play in the media about being so cold to go out side your house it probably has an impact on the day ticket holders," says Keeler.
 
Fasalone can peg it a little more accurately.  "We've had 10 to 20 percent cancellation through this week where they've rotated to later in the season looking for more climate weather."  

Those tourists can still head north and cozy up by the fire.