Keeping warm

A snowHead

I've only been skiing once last year (to Winter Park) and it was fairly cold on a couple of days (-17degrees c was about the coldest day on the slopes I think).

This particular day was a bit of a write off in terms of skiing because I was cold and miserable. I will have been wearing something like

A base layer top and pants
Another t shirt of some sort
A micro fleece
My jacket and salopettes
One pair of socks & mittens
Hat
Snood/neckwarmer thing

My hand and feet were particularly cold - I read somewhere that you should only wear one pair of socks, so presumably I should invest in some decent ones. Can anyone recommend any for me?

Also, my fingers suffered quite badly. How do you guys keep your hands warm? I only had one pair of mittens on, nothing inside - should I use 2 pairs of gloves?

I am going to Panorama in Canada this year and I'm worried it will be much colder - any suggestions of decent pieces of kit would be appreciated! Very Happy

Thanks!

A snowHead

Silk inner socks and inner gloves can help.
Falke socks, Hestra gloves (though other brands are frequently recommended).
And stop frequently to warm up, particularly to get boots warm.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Cheers for the advice Very Happy

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v1cky24, I don't find extra socks a problem, as long as they don't wrinkle up and get uncomfortable in the boot. I definitely recommend the mittens you can buy with gloves already inside though. If your body is cold put another layer on - there aren't any rules except to enjoy it!

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v1cky24, Longjohns are a good idea, check out the Uniqlo HeatTech thermals www.uniqlo.co.uk, use them as base layers.
My daughter had problems with cold hands and we bought her mittens, which solved the problem. For socks try Bridgedale

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v1cky24, an expensive, but nice solution for cold feet is the electric thingies which are fitted inside. Do you have your own boots?

Better quality mittens, maybe, with silk inners. What sort of mittens do you have?

Also, avoid any non-wicking layers. So if your T shirt layer is a cotton one, keep it for apres ski.

If you body is warm your extremities will be helped, too - so maybe another light layer? A close fitting merino wool is good.

Also, though it might be too late for this year, maybe consider late seasons skiing. I have one v cold friend who wouldn't dream of going anywhere in a normal January - especially Canada. Mid to late March in France/Italy/Austria.

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walk rather than taking the lift wink

I find this problem hard to identify with as my problem is usually getting too warm. I second Pam w's notion though - keep your core extra warm and your extremities will not tend to get as cold.

After all it is free

A gilet to help keep your core temperature up... If your core is toasty warm, your extremities will be warmer.
Merino wool base layers.
For when it gets really cold I have a pair of overmitts - they're made of thin waterproof shell material, and they spend most of their time rolled up in my pocket, but when it gets really cold they're brilliant.

SaraJ,

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Whitegold, you "cover up" your feet with boot heaters? You must have an unusually talented bootfitter.

v1cky24, Lidls are doing their cashmere range of thermals at the moment - leggings and tops - they are a bit 'fluffy', but are lovely and warm.

You know it makes sense.

Lots of good suggestions here - Falke socks, Icebreaker base layer and Hestra gloves work for me.

Also - to get feet warm at the start of the day, do a couple of energetic blues or reds with lots of short turns. Keep the boots fairly loose and the blood gets pumped round and warms hands & feet.

I find that thin / thick socks do not make any difference to warmth - I go with v. thin for better fit and fewer pinch points.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I ski in Canaada a lot and I am a very cold person............

These things help me:
good mittens with separately purchased liner gloves. Never over gloves- your fingers need each other to keep warm.
boot heaters (really really recommend - revolutionised my life.
more layers than you describe- ditch the T shirt swap for good quality fleece
Jacket has those wrist black stretchy extensions (are these called wrist warmers?)
Helmet and under helmet balaclava
Face mask (essential)
Smart wool socks

I have survived way colder than -17C with these.

This year I have invested in 260 weight ice breaker as well- we'll see how that goes.

When are you going to Panorama?

A snowHead

I've seen seppos with neoprene over boots though IMV strategic deployment of duct tape can help keep out cooling drafts. Layer up more - down mitts if necessary

A snowHead

Make sure your gloves/mittens and boots are completely dry before you put them on in the morning...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

gryphea, I second a thin headcover - balaclava or buff under the helmet. Always keeps me toasty. Also, although it probably doesn't have much in the way of insulation properties where it should count I always find that if I'm wearing a jacket with a fluffy/fleece like lining to the collar so you feel it around your neck that it helps to give you the impression that you are warm and cosy. Also, I find the harder I work whilst skiing the warmer I get, but I chill quickly once I stop, even if I keep covered up and I always put that down to a lack of calories. Hence as indicated above I would also keep topped up with choccy bars stashed in your coat pockets.

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As a skinny person who pretty much always has cold hands/feet day to day I should be able to be of some help! Coldest I've skied in has been -30 and I was fine.

1. Stay out of the wind! The wind is a real killer, head into the trees and ski lower runs. Make sure your outer gear is windproof too.

2. Avoid uncovered chairlifts if you can, often I can be fine skiing but sitting doing nothing on a chair can get cold pretty quick. A good tip here to lay your poles across you and clamp with your arm rather than holding onto them with your hand, gripping poles for a time = cold hands very fast!

3. Mittens are better than gloves for warmth. You already use these so try glove liners underneath. You can also get packets to put in yoru gloves that release heat for a while.

4. Make sure you have a neck tube, this stops any warmth escaping from your collar and covers your face/ears under you goggles. ANY exposed skin will hurt like hell. (you already have one though)

5. Make sure you do your boots up correctly! Most people that get cold feet do up the lower 2 buckles far too tightly, you only want a light amount of force required for them to snap closed. The top 2 + power strap should be as tight as you can get them. Wearing extra socks will mess up the fit of the boot and cause the same issue as doing them lower buckles up too tight.

6. Layer as much as you can. Trapped air between layers really helps warmth, don't skimp on quality, look at patagonia etc. Cotton as a base layer is very bad, if you sweat *at all* when you are skiing you will freeze to death on the lift/when you stop.

7. Make sure you have eaten enough beforehand but a full stomach when skiing isn't good since your body is working on absorbing food to blood goes away from extremities.

8. Ski really hard, physical activity is the best at keeping your warm.

9. Avoid January which seems to be the coldest month in most places

With no wind, -17 should be no problem at all. I've been skiing and noticed my skis were a little slower, looked at the temp and seen -18 - it was my skis that made me check not how cold I felt.

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Make sure you eat, as well as what most people overlook with cold - keep hydrated. There is an argument (don't ask me the logic behind it) that inner gloves are actually detrimental in terms of keeping your hands warm. Invest in some good mittens. I always find the best way to keep feet warm is simply staying very active, shorter lifts and short radius turns down with few or no breaks. Even take your skis off and do some warm up excercises like you would in any other sport if it was cold.

Have fun in Panorama, when are you going? It is quite likely to get below -17 I'm afraid!

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Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions!!

I'm going to Panorama in December so I'm quite sure it is going to be colder than last year.

The breakfast thing might help me actually, I most likely didn't have anything substantial as I don't eat much in the morning!!

The day that I was cold did involve being stuck hanging around etc because I was in a lesson waiting for people to catch up etc, I guess that won't have helped will it?

I have my own boots which did have a heating system of some sort attached to the footbeds, however, I've had to scrap this and have a custom one fitted sadly Sad

My mittens were from TKmaxx and are level ones?? I don't know if these are any good or not, I am happy to shell out for a better pair though. I think I'll have a look for some hestra ones.

My microfleeces are nike ACG - again, don't know if these are any good or not! Embarassed

After all it is free

v1cky24, Not eating much breakfast is probably the largest contributory factory to you feeling cold. Push yourself to do the works for brekky - its even worth missing first lift for. Do in hot savoury food, croissants, cake/bready/toasty materials, lots of jam, hot drinks, 'Danish' pastries etc. consciously go 'calorie loading' and make sure you work on sugars for instant energy first thing and a fair helping of starchy stuff as this will 'burn' during the day. Don't worry about your waistline, if you ski hard enough you will easily burn what you eat and more.

N.B. I note your wearing list did not include a helmet - at the risk of mentioning the H word (you've got nearly 60 posts so you must realise the implications of bringing up the H topic Laughing

), even if you don't wear one predominately for protection most of them have a thick layer of 'polystryrene' like material in them with all the insulation that comes with it. I wear one and add a thin buff/balaclava under it and it really helps keep your head warm - I know there is an argument that the jury is out on how much heat is lost through the head, but I still believe keeping the head warm helps. They often have a fluffy type lining that helps keep with face line where it touches warm too, you might like to try one for keeping warm purposes. Also, don't forget if your jacket has a hood that it might be worth pulling over the head/helmet/hat etc. whilst on long chair lifts.

v1cky24, you can have heaters fitted to custom footbeds - I have and it makes a real difference Very Happy

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Just skim-read the above, so sorry if this is a duplicate. I find that these are slim enough to go inside my gloves and still enable me to grip my poles.

http://www.completeoutdoors.co.uk/MyCoal-Disposable-Hand-Warmers

I have them in the palm area, and they feel really toasty when you grip the pole handle. I row too, they are great inside my shoes on a cold winters morning on the river Cool

. You can get the insole sized version - but I haven't tried them.

My wife has heated insoles, the battery pack clips onto the back of the boot - and trousers fit over the top. She loves them.

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Help!!

Keeping warm

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