How to Dress for Comfortable Skiing

If you need to know how to dress for skiing, then it's obvious you haven't skied much in the past. No matter how great you look on the slopes, your skiing ability will immediately identify you as a novice. That makes it important for you to be warm and dry while you go through the thrills and many spills every novice skier encounters. Keep with it, and one day you'll be able to dress any way you like because people will see how good you are at skiing, and your clothes won't matter.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ski helmet
• Goggles
• Neck warmer
• Long underwear
• Fleece mid-layer
• Windproof bibs
• Windproof jacket
• Mittens
• Ski socks

1. Skiing happens in cold weather, and the quickest way to be turned off by skiing is to get cold. You can lose up to 40 percent of our body heat through your heads, so proper head gear will make a big difference in your skiing comfort. The first item you need is a ski helmet. Ski helmets resemble bicycle helmets, except they provide insulation of the head and ears. Rent one along with your skis, and you'll be glad you're not wearing an itchy, scratchy hat.

2. Goggles are a necessary component of any good ski outfit. Even an inexpensive pair of ski goggles is far better than the most expensive pair of Oakley sun glasses. Goggles protect you from two things: Wind and snow-blindness. Skiing happens on big mountains at high altitudes. You could easily be exposed to winds in excess of 40 miles per hour at times. The cold, dry air will wreak havoc on your eyes if you are only wearing sunglasses. Goggles eliminate this threat. Snow-blindness occurs when unprotected eyes are subjected to the intensity of sunlight reflected off of the snow for hours on end. At the end of the day, an unprotected skier will experience intense eye pain, complete blindness and a bright flashing sensation in the eyes. It goes away after a few hours of rest, but it's better to just get a pair of goggles.

3. A neck warmer may be the single most important piece of gear for personal comfort on the slopes. It's a simple piece of fleece that fits around the neck like the top of a turtle neck shirt. Avoid the neoprene masks with nose cutouts. They have to be taken off when you get too warm, are too bulky and look frightful! The neck warmer remains around your neck, and may be raised over your mouth, ears and nose as temperature dictates.

4. Long underwear is a mandatory first layer. The best long underwear on the market is UnderArmour. These have a compression fit that helps improve circulation, a necessity for cold hands and feet. If you can't afford those, get a pair of snug-fitting synthetic underwear. Avoid cotton, as it absorbs moisture and holds it against the skin. Can you say brrrr?

5. The next layer should be a heavy fleece. This layer serves as insulation and will keep you warm and cozy all day. Fleece is breathable, so your perspiration will be able to easily escape to the outer layer of your ski system. Any type of fleece pants and coat will do.

6. Your outer layer is going to be a couple sizes larger than you are normally accustomed to wearing. This is because it has to fit over your long underwear and fleece underlayers. The best choice for outerwear is a nice shell of windproof fleece, or windproof nylon materials. Waterproofing is more important for the pants than the coat, but if you can get wind and waterproof shells, that's great. For beginning skiers especially, get a bib-type pant. The advantage of a bib is that snow will not be able to go down your pants when you fall. If you wear pants, the snow will make it right into your backside. Very unpleasant!

7. Hands and feet are vulnerable to the cold because of reduced circulation from falling temperatures. In order to give your hands the maximum protection, use a pair of insulated, waterproof mittens. If any part of your clothing must be waterproof, its your mittens. Why mittens and not gloves? Mittens allow your fingers to sit next to each other, which allows them to share their heat. Gloves isolate the fingers, and can cause frostbite. Next time you see a really good skier or snowboarder, look at their mittens.

8. The last item on your clothing list is ski socks. A good ski sock will have a snug fit, and will be relatively thin. The reason this is so is because your boots provide protection from the elements. A good fitting ski boot will feel quite snug on your foot, which is necessary for good ski control. Ski racers have to unbuckle their boots after every run because their boots are so tight.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get hot, unzip your layers to allow air to circulate. Don't allow your body to sweat if you can avoid it; you'll get cold in short order on the chairlift ride to the top.
• Speaking of chairlifts, the coldest part of your day will most likely be at the bottom of the hill and your ride to the top while you're just sitting there. That's why you dress in layers.