Really appreciate everyone's thoughtful answers - thank you!!

It's helpful to hear that there's gear I could get to help protect the circuits - will have to check out the inrush current limiters! Thanks!

Your post really helped me imagine (and appreciate) the dynamics of an electrical circuit (how the different components could respond to each other in unexpected ways, in the cold in this case). Thank you for outlining what could happen at the circuit level! It's interesting to think about - makes me really appreciate the hard work that goes into spec-ing / rating equipment.

Very helpful data point! -40C.. that's impressive!

Makes sense that condensation could become an issue - have a cheap temperature / humidity monitor up on my workbench now to keep an eye on it. Appreciated your answer, thanks!

Appreciate you calling out specific risks, thank you!

Thanks for your answer here (and want to say thank you to everyone else as well). I think this will be a helpful reference if I can gather the supplies to try building a cable. Really appreciate the background information and tips! This was my first question on stackexchange and I was amazed at the quick replies. Thanks everyone!

Based on the answers I've read, it sounds like there aren't any cables that you can buy to make the connection (but, instead you have to use a 'homebrew' setup like you've described here). Does that sound right?