UKC

I'm off to Austria (Kaprun) for my first ever ski trip. I'm loathed to spend out more on new clothing so my question is can I make do with my normal outdoor attire? Temps looking like -20. I have:

RAB Latok
Paramo Velez light
TNF salopettes
ME gloves/Mammut Mitts
Full thermals/fleece layers

Can I get away with using what I have already? Is my clothing going to get trashed when I fall over? Do you keep quite warm when skiing?

Thanks!

In reply to AnnaSpanna: sounds like a great set up. Get a hat n goggles and your sorted

Sounds fine and very similar to what I wear to ski. If it really is -20 then you will want some sort of face covering as skiing = wind chill.


One stays nice and warm when skiing - it's the lifts that are the cold bit. Having an extra scarf to seal out the wind will help a lot on the lifts.

In reply to AnnaSpanna: You will be fine , you will just not look fashionable but since when did climbers care about that?

Al

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

Sounds fine to me. Just carry an extra layer for those long cold lift rides.

I find I am far more likely to trash my clothing climbing than I am skiing! As long as no-one else side-swipes you with their edges, you'll be fine

Do buy decent ski socks though, it will make a world of difference!

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

Yes, I have/do and so do plenty of mates.

Some good advice from the others. Only thing I'd add is proper ski socks - normal walking ones are too short inside ski boots. I use the Bridgedale ones and they're brilliant.

In reply to AnnaSpanna: Excellent! Hat, goggles and socks on the shopping list. Cheers!

In reply to AnnaSpanna: I spent a week learning to board in a buffalo tecmax and cheapy ski salopettes with no problems. The important thing is that you have salopettes which will help lots when you're on the lifts or on your arse!

In reply to AnnaSpanna: Sorry to hijack but.....

Do you really need ski salopettes? Could you get away with using say mountain equipment combin pants with suitable layering underneath? With possibly gaiters over the top to stop snow going in the boot if the trousers are to tight cut and ski boots to big.

Iam a bit tight i dont want to buy/hire something just for skiing.

In reply to AnnaSpanna: seems fine, i use most of my old stuff for skiing, but have toasty mitts. Your shouldnt trash your jacket/trousers if you fall even on icy piste. Get some goggles, but no need for very pricey ones.

You'll generate a lot of heat skiing, esp[ecially if its new sport for you, its the chair lifts that are a bit of a pain, but nothing too bad.

Enjoy.
Dave

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

Off to Banff in Jan for 3 weeks and will be wearing the same sort of set up as I always do for skiing:

Base layer
T shirt
RAB Vapour Rise
Hard shell
HH lifa bottoms
ME thin fleece trousers
TNF hard shell trs
Thin gloves and a pair of goretex mitts
One of those buff things and a helmet

Goggles of course and a couple of spare pairs of gloves. May seem too much for some people but, was there last year and it went down to minus 25 with the wind chill and admittedly I did feel a wee bit nippy at the end of the day but seemed to work for me for most of the time.

If I got too hot, then vapour rise and fleece troos came off. Have a grand time!

In reply to AnnaSpanna: If you have a down/belay jacket, chuck that in a pack and throw it on when you're getting on the lift. Ski-lifts/pulls are the ski equivalent of cold belaying. If you have it lose in a bag, it takes seconds to get in and out and you wont hit the slopes shivering especially after long lift rides.

In reply to 1apetus:

Short answer yes. They contain an inner skirt and an outer layer. The skirt stops snow flying up your leg when you fall, or even when you're just riding down. I very much doubt your gaiter idea would work, over the years I must have seen thousands of skiers/snowboarders, I've never seen even on using gaiters...there must be a reason.

In reply to Tiberius:

In a similar vein, a ski jacket has an elasticated skirt that prevents snow flowing up your back/front when you fall. General mountain jackets are just not designed for this and things will get uncomfy.

generally you don't need to spend a lot, brands like dare2b and regatta are perfectly adequate and not expensive.

-20 seems cold, I've seldom known it get that cold in the alps tbh, usually getting too warm is more of a problem than being to cold, although as pointed out, sitting on chair-lifts can get chilly. Take a hat and scarf for that.

In reply to AnnaSpanna: If you have access to a Decathlon, I thoroughly recommend it. I bought salopettes for about £14 and tops are about £30ish. As for underneath - a T-shirt is usually all that I wear and a spare long sleaved top in a pocket just in case it gets cold. I would recommend you invest in some goggles just incase you get lots of snow but sun glasses otherwise.

In reply to 1apetus:

No. Don't need salopettes. Helpful if there is an internal gaiter in the trousers but most mountaineering trousers are close fit enough over the ski boot.
Similarly snow skirt in jacket is not needed either. Cinch in the waist cord reasonably tight and you will have no probs.

In reply to Tiberius:

January skiing regularly gets to minus 20 with windchill.
Had -35 for a period in Chamonix - got frost nip on my(exposed) nose.

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

Skiing fashion varies, but I noticed when I was in Austria that the locals wore skiing fashion brands (like Spyder) on the sunny days, but on the stormy days they wore shells made by mountaineering brands.

In Chamonix it's really common to see people skiing in smart shell jackets.

That's an answer from a fashion point of view, from a purely practical point of view - if you wear the same clothes as you would for Scottish winter hill walking you'll be fine.

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

I wear...

Base layer
Thin fleece
Shell jacket.

and carry a spare layer, depending on the weather this could be a Polartec 200 fleece, or a Polartec 100 gillet.

I also take a Decathlon belay jacket, this is mainly to wear when walking home from bars in the evening, but I occasionally ski in it on the very coldest days.

In reply to AnnaSpanna:

I usually ski in my climbing kit:
Cheap but effective thin Mountain Hardware showerproof jacket
Cheap over trousers (or old snowboard trousers)
Long sleeve thermal 't-shirt'
Old M&S jumper or an old fleece
Hat, gloves, goggles/glasses

That's usually ok down to -15 or so more if the sun is out.

Facemask, Ronhills, one or two extra jumpers and a scarf when it's cold or crappy.

If you're keeping moving and the sun is out you don't need much at all to stay warm. If you're spending a lot of time in bad weather or on open chairs or standing about in ski-school then you'll get cold. Cold fingers and toes are the most unpleasant I find, keep them warm and dry and you'll feel better.

jk