Frostbite occurs when your skin is exposed too extreme cold for too long and is a condition in which skin and the tissue just below the skin freeze.A condition in which skin and the tissue just below the skin freeze. Frostbite mostly affects small, exposed body parts such as fingers and toes. With frostbite, the skin gets very cold, then numb, hard, and pale. Frostbite is rare their are fewer than 200,000 US cases per year