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I'd make fun of you to find -1 a challange but I'm sure I would be the same in -30C. And climbing a mountain 2-3000 ms tall is not nothing. My greatest climb was from 2-300 ms to 900+. Tho I was in the Tatra as a kid and I can't recall the specifics.
In cold being wet is a real dread. Cold itself is meh, but the water just sucks the heat out of a person. So sweating has to be avoided as much as possible - but sometimes it's impossible a change of t-shirt can come in handy in case the worn one is sweated through. When I go for a walk into the woods I often take off my jacket, hat, scarf/shemagh and if I have gloves, and climb in a t-shirt and a hoodie well not counting my pants and boxers, and socks, and boots. Around -1 is an ideal temp for general hiking. No insects, no mud. But I think between +10 and -10 its okay.
A thermos full of warm tea, and a chocolate bar can also make all the difference.
I can't even imagine a first experience you had with cold and ice. Perhaps if I visited the Sahara, that would be similar environmental change.
> We soon figured that ice was immune to cloth but could go away with water from our flasks.
You mean you tried to rub the frost off the car with cloth?
> At least I have bragging rights now.
For sure. But you still have to walk on snow, and feel how it crunches under your feet, and wash your face in it.