Frostbite is really something to look out for. I am however very used to it from a number of other activities, such as snowboarding and mountaineering, we do both in very low temperatures it is mostly a face and finger issue here though.
reading your experiences is very valuable. I will not promise not to do the fresh pow thingy, but I agree that dry is better or easier to run at least.
Shoe wise I tend to stick to fivefingers. Merrels are too narrow for my feet and I really dislike the feel of a closed toebox. Vivobarefoot ra and gobi are great for days where you have to wear shoes (business meetings etc.)
the el-x is having one of the best soles I have ever walked or run, it really retains an amazing amount of feel, the upper is not perfect though. The seeya is not too bad either and I have come to really like it (for a shoe). the spyridon is my favourite off road shoe, it is great on rugged sharp terrain, where cuts and bruises would otherwise be the order of the day.
Seems we tend to go with the same amount of layers, just different materials, I have found that as long as I am moving heavy insulation is not really needed, a windprrof layer works miracles though.
Yes, the great thing about BRS is reading about each other's experiences. I've learned a lot here. I don't presume to tell you something you don't already know, but it's always good to put stuff out there. Even if the person you're directly responding to has had similar experiences, there maybe someone else reading the thread who hasn't. This has been a great thread for sharing experiences.
In any case, good luck experiment with the snow. Avoiding frostbite with face and fingers is different for me, because it involves air and wind, whereas with bare feet it's the contact with the ground that's the main concern. It can happen a lot quicker in the latter case. On the other hand, the feet are active while running, so once you reach a certain level of numbness, there's a chance you will stabilize and be able to continue to run. That threshold is what all of us have to discover by ourselves, as there seems to be a lot of variation, even among those of us with decent cold tolerances. In dry conditions my feet go through what I call "the numb-plunge." They slowly numb up, to the point where my metatarsals feel a little stiff. That's more or less my threshold. Any number than that, and it's time for me to put on the footwear.
I agree the Merrells are narrow, but I have narrow feet so they work for me. I like how truly minimal the Vapor Gloves are. I'm also a big fan of the Ras. I got two pair--brown and black--several months ago and they are my go-to shoes for casual use. It's important for me that a shoe be easy to slip on and off, as I tend to slip them off at the first chance I get.
For really bad wind, I slip my rain jacket on over the Merino wool stuff. It's not as breathable, but with a lot of wind, who cares, right?
I wish I could speak a Scandinavian language. My grandfather was born in a small Minnesotan town where everyone spoke Norwegian and learned English in school. My mom could still understand it, but the language has died in my generation. I love the way Nordic languages sound, so melodic.
Pink is good, blue / purple is a warning, white means you have gone too far.
Again, it's different for hikers. We tend to keep a close eye on our feet which is something you runners don't have the luxury of doing. Interestingly, I find boggy and wet ground in moorland and heaths harder than snow. Probably because of the immersion factor.
What I have learned (the hard way), is NOT to warm my feet up too quickly if they get too cold. It's agony!
I don't think I've ever gone through the blue/purple stage! My toes are either red/pink or, like the time I got frostnip, white.
I agree wet ground/grass can be killer, worse that wet asphalt.
And yah, after a cold run, I need about 10-15 minutes of warm-up before I can jump in the shower.