The cherry on the cake of the experience was that you get into water that is 70+°F but every part of your body above the water line is exposed to -30°F winds. Fun!
But there were plenty of snowmobile riders in the area. Some of them who bundled up and attempted to ride at these temperatures learned that their lungs did not work well after a short time.
My most notable discovery was when I wanted to jump start my car, because the battery died due to the cold. I was about to bring out my jumper cables when my local friend told me to bring the cables inside first.
I didn't understand why and naively ignored what he said only for the rubber jumper cables to literally crumble in my hand, breaking as I tried to straighten them.
Mongolians are so resilient and have so much knowledge on how to survive in extreme weathers with a simple yurt and a livestock of 100 sheep goats and horses.
Going up the mountain was surprisingly fine. I even had taken off both my jacket and was just wearing thermals as the heat I was generating working to go uphill was enough to keep me comfortable.
Unfortunately when we reached the top, we also ended up directly in the wind with no available cover. Within the ten minutes it took to transition to go downhill, I was nearly hypothermic. I can’t fully express how obscenely, unconscionably, and incomparably cold that was. I have never felt anything like it and I hope never to again.