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**Mike P.** · Jan 8, 2008, 6:27 PM

What season?

I've started to dress less warmly except for my mittens in the never ending battle of moisture management. Now carrying extra gear is a big plus. Layers rule over a big coat. For campers a big coat is nice once you stop moving.

Food. Needs to be temp tested. Sliced pepperoni is good at cold temps. Cliff bars are more chewable at cold temps while power bars freeze up. The old style were brick like.

Gloves: Object is to limit (or never) your bare hand exposure to the elements. Glove liners are great for this, thin gloves that allow you to still tie boots, operate zippers, etc. Fleece gloves (I prefer wind-bloc) over the liners help & still aloow enough dexterity for zippers. (If your gear does not all have zipper pulls on the zippers, you can make some with a little bit of cord.) Then you want some water-proof shells. Having extra liners & fleece gloves should be encouraged

Sunglasses (reflected light off the snow adds addditional exposure, if you have a drive home afterwords, your eyes will thank you

Facemask, balaclava, googles. bare skin can freeze in just a couple of minutes in conditions not uncommon in the mountains.

Light & extra batteries, it gets dark sooner & batteries don't last as long in cold temps.

NO COTTON Clothing

Bring your boots when trying on crampons.

Shopping? I have most of what I want so I don't think about it much. Things like boots, crampons & snowshoes I want to see in person to make sure they fit right & I know how they work together.

Boots, you'll get a lot of feedback from people. I prefer bigger boots, for winter in Norther New England I prefer plastic boots. Sometimes you'll come to a short pitch that requires either kicking in steps or putting traction on. You can't take a really good kick in a soft insulated boot the way you can in a hard plastic shell. It's just liek wearing steel toe boots without the steel getting cold next to your foot.

Water, Nalgene bottles are fool proof, Hydration backs require addition parts & remembering to blow back & still they freeze sometimes. You can get insulated holders for bottles. I use my spare pair of thick fleece mittens for the two liters in my pack & an old sock for teh bottle on my waist. No issues on the mitten clad bottles to date, at times as I get near trhe end of the waist bottle (3-4 hours from the car usually) it begins to get chunky. I'll also use a big mouthed soda liter soda bottle with two nalgene back-ups (space issue in my pack). Cheap, the neck freezes up you can still put your axe or hiking pole through the ice blockage. if that fails, you can cut the bottle & get a drink, you're only out a nickel.

Hiking poles: much more useful in winter when footing may be slick. If you don't use in summer okay but in winter they are a necessity.

Jan 8, 2008, 6:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
Mike P. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: CT Posts: 1,486	What season? I've started to dress less warmly except for my mittens in the never ending battle of moisture management. Now carrying extra gear is a big plus. Layers rule over a big coat. For campers a big coat is nice once you stop moving. Food. Needs to be temp tested. Sliced pepperoni is good at cold temps. Cliff bars are more chewable at cold temps while power bars freeze up. The old style were brick like. Gloves: Object is to limit (or never) your bare hand exposure to the elements. Glove liners are great for this, thin gloves that allow you to still tie boots, operate zippers, etc. Fleece gloves (I prefer wind-bloc) over the liners help & still aloow enough dexterity for zippers. (If your gear does not all have zipper pulls on the zippers, you can make some with a little bit of cord.) Then you want some water-proof shells. Having extra liners & fleece gloves should be encouraged Sunglasses (reflected light off the snow adds addditional exposure, if you have a drive home afterwords, your eyes will thank you Facemask, balaclava, googles. bare skin can freeze in just a couple of minutes in conditions not uncommon in the mountains. Light & extra batteries, it gets dark sooner & batteries don't last as long in cold temps. NO COTTON Clothing Bring your boots when trying on crampons. Shopping? I have most of what I want so I don't think about it much. Things like boots, crampons & snowshoes I want to see in person to make sure they fit right & I know how they work together. Boots, you'll get a lot of feedback from people. I prefer bigger boots, for winter in Norther New England I prefer plastic boots. Sometimes you'll come to a short pitch that requires either kicking in steps or putting traction on. You can't take a really good kick in a soft insulated boot the way you can in a hard plastic shell. It's just liek wearing steel toe boots without the steel getting cold next to your foot. Water, Nalgene bottles are fool proof, Hydration backs require addition parts & remembering to blow back & still they freeze sometimes. You can get insulated holders for bottles. I use my spare pair of thick fleece mittens for the two liters in my pack & an old sock for teh bottle on my waist. No issues on the mitten clad bottles to date, at times as I get near trhe end of the waist bottle (3-4 hours from the car usually) it begins to get chunky. I'll also use a big mouthed soda liter soda bottle with two nalgene back-ups (space issue in my pack). Cheap, the neck freezes up you can still put your axe or hiking pole through the ice blockage. if that fails, you can cut the bottle & get a drink, you're only out a nickel. Hiking poles: much more useful in winter when footing may be slick. If you don't use in summer okay but in winter they are a necessity. __________________ Happy Trails, be safe & Good Luck Mike P.