How to dress for Ski Tours | Iwona Januszyk

Probably most of you already have your own patents and know well what clothes work well during trips or ski-tour training. However, trends are changing, wise people come up with new solutions that I will try to present to you here. So what to wear for skis? What is worth investing in, and what is a kind of whim?

It's winter, it must be cold? We go skiing, we wear ski pants and a jacket warmly - sounds reasonable, right? However, when we go on a ski tour, during which, in addition to the cosmic speed downhill, we will be climbing up the turtle pace, the topic becomes more complicated. Skitourists are sometimes like climbers. They take nothing in reserve, just a perfectly calculated number of items. You know! Physics can not be deceived!

Tour. We are not in a hurry, but we must remember that even walking relatively slowly uphill, we will get tired like in a marathon run, so we cannot afford a wet, cotton T-shirt that will never dry out. Thermal underwear is such a basic element and now, depending on the prevailing conditions (relatively cold, very cold, Siberia), I choose thicker or thinner - it is very important that the first layer quickly drains moisture.

Personally, I always like to wear a racing suit - it has the right number of pockets, ergonomic cut. Thanks to its low weight, I don't feel like I'm wearing anything. Trouser legs cover the holes in the boots and snow does not get in there.

Front pockets allow you to hide energy bars and seals. The internal pockets have space for an avalanche detector. The added value is the fact that a well-designed suit simply looks great - you want to shoot a photo on Facebook or other Instagram. However, if the overall is not your cup of tea, we wear a light sweatshirt (e.g. made of technostretch material) and not too thick trekking pants - we never wear ski pants (we use the sauna after the trip).

Another element that I take on every trip is windproof clothing, which has a quick-dress system. The mountains have their own rules. There may be a lamp, beautiful weather and raspberry honey in general, and in 5 minutes there is snow falling across it, fog and minus the "teen" temperature. Such a mini-jacket and pants with side zippers can really save your life! But OK!

Let's say that the weather is stable and we do not have to save ourselves - then it is worth putting on a windproof suit (up to 5 minutes) of the approach, warming up and not fighting frostbite on the descent. In addition, such clothes can also be used during jogging and hiking, so we do not overpay for unnecessary things - we can just use them all year round! A vest is also a great solution on windy or cold days, as it warms up less than a jacket or sweatshirt, but it protects against the wind well, and does not overheat with a heavy approach.

The next layer is a down jacket. Personally, I use and highly recommend the Polartec Alpha insulation jacket, which works even better for me than primaloft, because I have the impression that it retains a little more heat with much better breathability.

For a pair jacket, insulated pants with zippers that take less than a minute to put on are ideal. The knee-length trousers are perfect - they weigh less and fulfill their function just like long ones, and they look fabulous, as in the case of pro-descents during training. Here, for the ladies, I can also offer a skirt (yes - a skirt!), Which looks great, and also works well for the approach - it does not heat, but protects against cold and wind, and the best thing is that you can take it off literally in one move. I'm sorry, gentlemen, you don't have that choice!

Let's move on to the accessories: GLOVES! The first pair does not have to be armored, softshell or, for the more durable, lightweight running gear. Be sure to take the second down / primaloft / polartec gloves, preferably with a hole on the hand, so that you can stretch your hand a little and, for example, put on crampons or fasten seals. I even take a third pair of gloves on trips, in case the first ones get wet. Summarizing gloves, we take how much we carry! Just kidding, 2-3 pairs should be OK - only warmers will work for the eternally frostbitten hands.

The next must-have is a multifunctional scarf (so-called "chimney", possibly a balaclava) - probably everything has already been written about its advantages and usefulness, so I just mention it so that sometimes no one forgets to take it.

Cap, light, made of breathable material - woolen will only work on a descent, but it does not fit under the helmet, so it does not work at all.

Such equipment, as I mentioned, worked for me both on Beskid hiking, Tatra trails, and high-mountain glacier expeditions about 4000m. n. p. m.

The key is to pull off / dress the layers so as to maintain thermal comfort at all times. Better to stop for a moment and take off your jacket than to walk around in wet clothes afterwards.

When choosing ski touring clothes, we should carefully check the forecast at the altitude we are going to and also follow our experience. Let's remember - no one has died from one additional jacket in a backpack, but no one has died from the lack of it! Always take the NRC foil with you - it doesn't weigh anything anymore, and it can really help!

See you on skitours!

Iwona Januszyk