Hmm. Glad your plane ended up relatively unscathed and nobody was hurt. Where exactly was your instructor while all this was happening? The most dangerous time for a new pilot is right after he is "certified". the expression at our field is that once you have your "ticket" you are now allowed to crash your planes all on your own!

If you aren't doing so already, have an instructor level pilot spot for you whenever you can. Just knowing he is there will help keep you calm and flying nicely. As far as how you flew that day, what were you wearing on your hands? It is sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario, but cold desensitizes your fingertips and most gloves you can wear may keep you hands warm, but transmits very little feel (feedback) to your fingertips as well. It is extremely hard to fly when you can't feel the sticks.