Snowltimate: ultimate frisbee played in the snow

 I have played ultimate frisbee in many different places with many different people but never like this: temperature well below freezing, a foot of snow on the ground and wearing more socks than anyone can reasonably be expected to run in.

The Ithaca area has an abundance of ultimate frisbee players, likely due to its preponderance of college students, and when the weather dips between nippy and "I can't wear enough layers" these players have two options in getting their ultimate fix. One choice is to move indoors, but seeing as most "legitimate" college sports are also fighting for time in the large indoor rooms, the ultimate players often get the short end of the stick as far as time of day and duration. Also the field is short and crowded, which requires rule changes and restrained play.

The other option is to brave the elements. If you are prepared, this is the far better option. If you ever have the opportunity, follow these helpful steps:

1. Wear many light layers, so that as you warm up (and you will) you can peel off your layers incrementally.
2. Wear gloves. I know throwing a frisbee with gloves seems dibilitating, but you adapt quickly and depending on the glove you may even get some added grip for catching. Frozen fingers have far less dexterity than warm gloved ones.
3. Waterproof your feet. Socks act like wicks, sucking up the frigid water that you collect as all the snow you tromp through melts on your sweaty leg (I said you'd warm up). This is the secret of the veterans: put on a sock, then a grocery store plastic bag, then another sock, and possibly another if your feet are prone to cold. The bag is the key, it keeps that cold water out and your toes toasty. Don't worry about sounding awkward as you walk around, you can't hear it once you're running around outside.
4. Wear cleats or boots or whatever. No one will judge you for slipping or clomping along. You're playing in snow. Just be comfortable.
5. Make sure someone brings a colored disk. This is harder than it seems seeing as 90% of disks are white. Since most throws are kept well below eye-level, the background is nearly always a blinding white field of snow that will camouflage your white disk the moment it leaves the thrower's hand and which will swallow it whole when it hits the ground.
6. Stay as dry as you can, but lay-out (dive) at least once, because there's nothing like diving into a foot of powdery snow and coming up with a heroic catch.