The biggest question I get about skiing is “what do I wear?”. This page will be a guide to answer that question. Against popular belief you don’t need to spend a ton of money, although this page will have links to the gear I’ve choosen to use.
Base layer
You want a thinner layer on the base to wick away the mositure. I prefer Helly Hansen’s Lifa ProWool. This is a non-ichy wool based fabric. This layer has never been damp at the end of a long day like 100% polypropylene.
Middle layer
This layer needs to provide warmth down to 40 degrees. For example when you stop and head into the lodge you will strip down to just the base and this layer. I normally use a loose, but not baggy long sleeve “sport” shirt. Anything but cotton should work. You want to use something that continues to pull moisture out. Anything wool, polypropylene, or other non-cotton fabric will work. You just don’t want it super thick.
Warmth layer
I strongly recommend a pure wool sweater for this layer. Some people complain about wool being itchy. That is BS. The sweater is not going to be touching your skin. I don’t like fleece since it doesn’t deal with mositure well no matter what people say. You can use the same sweater for 5 days and it will not be wet and barely stink at the end of the week. With a quick wash it will be back to new. Depending on how cold it will be you can vary the thickness of this layer.
Optional warmth layer
This is a layer for those extra cold days. This is optional. I recommend a sports vest. You don’t want sleeves on this layer or you will feel like a stuffed person who can’t move their arms. I’ve recommended two. One is warmer then the other.
Outer layer bottom
This layer is pretty easy. You want pants with warmth, waterproof, and tough on the outside.
Outer layer top
You want a shell for this layer. You don’t want something with warmth as funny as it sounds. You got that from the other layers. This layer needs to stop wind and be water proof. You’ll want a hood on this layer. The hood must either be permenent or zipper with snaps on either side. Hoods that just zipper will fall off. Hoods with just snaps will fall off. The hood is to be pulled on while on the lift or when it is snowing out. Look for a snow skirt. It doesn’t really keep the snow out, but it does keep out the draft. Also on the outside mid-forearm you want to make sure it has a little loop to attach your gloves.
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Hands
These need to be water proof and warm. You want each glove to have a lanyard on them to attach to the loop on the sleeve of the previously mentioned shell. This way while on the lift you can pull your glove off and not worry about it falling. Also you want something that fits over your sleeve and seels to keep snow out. One really cold days you’ll want to use mittins instead.
Your Head
not finished
