Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
work well for even moderately long-distance travel through the snow. Tennis shoes
and street shoes in the snow are a sure bet for trouble and frozen feet. I usually prefer
to use a thin, wicking, liner sock covered by a thick woolen or synthetic outer ski
sock. On multiday winter trips to the backcountry, I like to place a thin plastic bag
directly on the skin of my foot, or between my liner sock and the ski sock, to act as a
“vapor barrier,” which prevents foot perspiration from wetting my socks and leading
to cold feet. When I first tried this technique, I was amazed at the major difference it
made for keeping my feet warm and dry.
•
Hat or hood:
A warm hat is critical. I like to wear a thick, tightly knit, woolen hat
that I supplement with the hood on my parka to keep my head dry when it is snow-
ing, or to add to the insulating value of my hat when it is extremely cold. As a ten
year old child, I was skiing at Mt St. Anne outside of Quebec City on a clear frigid
day, where the temperature was -40˚F (-40˚C). When I got off the ski lift, I was so
cold that I skied non-stop to the bottom of the mountain. What a mistake! Even
though I was wearing a thick woolen ski hat, the arctic air had penetrated through the
knit fabric of my hat and froze my ears solid. When I got inside the base lodge, I
touched my ears, and they felt like frozen leather. When I bent one ear, it stayed bent
at 90 degrees until I bent it back into a normal position. Once my ears thawed out, I
started screaming from the pain! For the rest of our family vacation to Quebec, my
ears were a painful swollen oozing mess, wrapped in gauze and antiseptic ointment.
•
Mittens and gloves:
In general, mittens are much warmer than gloves, because each
finger is in direct contact with the finger next to it, so they stay warmer. In the back-
country, I tend to bring both gloves and warm mittens. The gloves are helpful for set-
ting up camp, when I need more manual dexterity than mittens provide, and for ski-
ing when I am active and staying plenty warm. The mittens are critical when it is
very cold and I am not so active. For most purposes, downhill ski gloves and mittens
will work fine, but in the backcountry, and for ice climbing, I prefer a thick, densely
knit woolen “Dachstein” mitten (available at mountaineering and backcountry stores)
that is nearly waterproof and stays warm when wet. These mittens are usually worn
with a nylon outer shell that has a leather or rubberized palm for an improved grip.
Tips for Surviving Outside in Extreme Weather and Subfreezing Temperat-
ures
Every year people get lost in the backcountry near where I live in the High Sierras, and end up
spending one or more unplanned nights outside in the snow and extreme cold. Some of those
