The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 plus 2 letter word SKI LIFT IF
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
K
I
L
I
F
T
I
F
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "it will ride up in the cold" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it will ride up in the cold = ski lift if.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.