staying warm

aaron12345

New member
I'm going skiing in Mt. Tremblant this year at the end of january. The furthest north I've been skiing is in pennsylvania. I hear it can get pretty cold. What do you need to stay warm. I currently have, gore-tex shell, gore-tex pants (lined), gore-tex gloves, long underwear, and a sweatshirt. I just got a pair of Nordica Beast boots that seem like they'll keep my feet nice and toasty. What else do I need?
 
aaron12345":qbmrxwtw said:
I'm going skiing in Mt. Tremblant this year at the end of january. The furthest north I've been skiing is in pennsylvania. I hear it can get pretty cold.

Heh. Heheh. Hehehehehee... Bundle up, m'boy, especially in January!

aaron12345":qbmrxwtw said:
What do you need to stay warm. I currently have, gore-tex shell, gore-tex pants (lined), gore-tex gloves, long underwear, and a sweatshirt. I just got a pair of Nordica Beast boots that seem like they'll keep my feet nice and toasty. What else do I need?

After 8 years of patrolling at Jay, I feel like an authority at staying warm. :lol:

Ditch the cotton sweatshirt and replace it with a 200-weight or 300-weight Polartec fleece. Likewise, get a good base-layer turtleneck (not cotton) to go between the fleece and the long underwear -- I personally adore that new Polartec Wind Pro stretch fabric for these. You didn't specify what the long underwear is, but if it's the old-fashioned cotton waffle weave replace that with the good stuff -- my preference is for Thermax, but that's getting hard to find anymore. I don't care for polypropylene because it can't be machine dried and because it retains odors.

Get yourself a thermax balaclava, and a fleece neck gaitor. Do you wear a helmet? They're warmer than a hat, besides being safer. Consider glove liners.

When it comes to technical fabrics, you really do get what you pay for. The extra expense returns itself many times over in comfort. And if that doesn't do it for you, spend the day in the heated indoor pool! :wink:
 
How much $$ you can spend will be the biggest factor in this thread.First, you should have lots of layers.The first layer will be next to your skin.A good pair of NON COTTON underwear like poly-propelene or Bergelene or silk.Anything that can wick away perspiration.I sometimes wear a polyester shirt over my poly top but not always.Next layer try a fleece jacket and pair of fleece pants.A down jacket may be needed next depending on the temps.Last should be your Gore-Tex of course for wind and rain protection.Goggles will proabably be a must that time of year too.I would also reccomend a balaclava or some kind of head sock that covers everything but your eyes.

Do everything you possibly can to not wear cotton.You may already know this so please dont think i'm insulting you.Cotton, when wet loses all of it'sinsulating abilities.Infact it will actually pull heat from your body.Synthetic fibers such as Thermax,poly-pro,Bergelene,fleece etc will still insulate with almost 99% efficency when wet.

When looking at jackets, armpit zippers are a must in my book.And i've always liked shell pants with a zipper that runs the full length of the leg.This lets you ventilate on the lift and makes for quick pant changes
without taking off boots.

Warm boots are key but a mistake LOTS of folks do is wear too many socks.Too many socks will not only make your feet sweat resulting in wet feet inside a cold boot,but can also restrict blood flow,which carrries heat.Spend $15-$20 and get a nice pair of Thorlo ski socks with a silk or poly sock liner.

Mitts not gloves.Use a mitt that has a glove like inner liner that removes for tasks that require fingers.I also like to keep a couple chemical heater bags(the kind that you open then shake to activate) in my jacket for real cold days.I'll shake 'em then stick them in my gloves for the lift ride.You can get them at the ski shop.

So for around $1000-$1500 you can get yourself some nice cold weather gear. :lol:

If you dont have that kind of cash then just bring as much gear to the hill as you can and pack it on!
((*
*))NHPH
 
Check places like Sierratradingpost.com and rei-outlet.com to see if you can find some overstock bargains.
 
great advice above. one thing to be cautious on though is to not over dress if the temps don't merit the extra layers. for myself, most days i am 100% warm and comfortable in a long sleeve poly-based shirt and a parka. one extra layer if it's cold, and if it's deathly cold then i'll toss on the fleece. that's just me though, i over heat really quickly and even with wicking clothing nothing is worse than soaking up your first layer with sweet.
 
personally i have never ordered anything from here, but they have the best prices campmor.com
 
I'm a chronic overheater, but as a SoCal native I don't function that well below about 10F. I don't have a lot of high-tech clothing but I do know that I'll leak heat mainly from head, hands and feet. For head both my jacket and one-piece have integrated hoods, which in combination with a ski hat do a great job of retaining heat. Furthermore it's simple to flip off the hood to ventilate. For hands I use gloveliners, as it's inevitable that I'll have to get get something from a pocket not reachable with glove or mitts on, and I don't want the bare hand exposed. My son Adam sometimes complains of cold feet, so I got him the Boot Glove, which is a neoprene wrap around the outside of the boot and costs $30. Adam says it's very effective.

However, the coldest temp I've ever skied was -9F at Castle Mt. last year, and there was no wind that day and my clothing as described above worked fine. Worst day in terms of discomfort was January 1987 at Mammoth at -5F with -55F wind chill. My gear was not as good then, so I needed frequent thaw breaks, and I was not able to function in the areas above timberline at all.
 
Well...I IMO it would depend on what wieght your thermal undies are and how well you think your body works in the cold. But since you live in Va. you may get more use out of the 200.
LL.Bean is a great place to get outerwear.Thier 100% satisfaction guarantee is No Bull. I cant belive some of the stuff i've returned there over the years with no hassle like a three year old pack with 50+ trips on it! :lol: They even gave me the sales tax back because I had my recipt! I cant say anymore or the feds will be after me again. :lol:
((*
*))NHPH
 
There's a great product called "Boot Gloves". They're made of neoprene and cover your ski boots. If you're prone to mucking with your buckles all the time, it's not a great system but the added insulation makes a big difference on those -20F days and on cold powder days when the snow sucks all the heat out of your boots.

My boots are in the shop at the moment getting heaters installed. They had some leftovers from last year I picked up for half price.

I find that the most important cold weather gear is the hood on my gore tex shell. With the fleece toque I picked up snow cat skiing in the Monashees a few years ago and the hood, I really cut down on thermal loss through my head. I guess I'm the last person in North America not skiing with a helmet.
 
Shopping list so far is:

Campmor Polartec® 200 Fleece Pants
Campmor Polartec® 200 Fleece Pullover
Outdoor Research P300? Gloves (Used as liners)
Manzella Expedition Weight Polypropylene Balaclava

I took a look at a number of different vendors, and Campora seemed to have the best pricing ($84 for everything above incl. s/h).

With this warmth equip. will be:

Gore-tex shell jacket
Gore-tex shell pants
Gore-tex gloves (these were expensive, so I think I'll hold off on mitts and see how they do)
Thermax underwear
Campmor Polartec® 200 Fleece Pants
Campmor Polartec® 200 Fleece Pullover
Outdoor Research P300? Gloves (Used as liners)
Manzella Expedition Weight Polypropylene Balaclava
Helmet
Nordica Beast Boots
Warm ski socks (weird sounding hightech fabric from last year)
Crappy goggles that fog up too much
Chemical Hand/Feet warmers
Polysomething shirt

Anything I'm forgetting? Thanks for the help!
 
Lift ticket!

That sounds pretty good to me.

Give your sticks a fresh tune before your trip and you'll be lovin' life.
((*
*))NHPH
 
hamdog":2llrm0tx said:
turtle neck?

people still wear those?

WHAT? are you serious? turtle neck is essential, i won't ski without one unless it's above freezing with no wind at the summit and base. not only does it keep your neck warm, it's an awesome bogger catcher!
 
I'm just wondering why a turtle neck is so essential if you have a neck warmer. They look rather warm and fluffy... pardon my ignorance :)
 
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