In reply to Sharp:
Really interesting point Ben:
> I think it depends what you're doing re the "get your belay jacket out more often" advice. If you're waiting for your partner to labour up some mixed monster then getting the belay jacket out might be worth while... For us mere mortals I find it wastes a whole lot of time when you want to be moving quickly,
What do you count as moving quickly? Just unpitched climbing? Or pitching routes as well? Do you tend to lead alternately or just have one leader? Do you use a belay device that can be used in guide mode when bringing up a second? And of course - perhaps the most important thing: what is the weather like?
The weather when winter climbing isn't always horrendous and most of us have pretty decent gear these days so often you can just stand and belay in what you climb in and you might only be getting cold after some time. I did Central Trinity with my missus this January, it was pretty cold, but not too windy. I was wearing a medium weight merino baselayer and my gtx shell over it. Because I did all the leading - so wasn't at the belays for long, and its a fast route to climb (using just a single rope), I didn't ever put my belay jacket on. But ice climbing in Norway this March, it was pretty standard - build the belay, attach myself, put the reverso on it, get the seconds moving, hang pack on belay, put belay jacket on.
But the trick as ever is to have a bag that is easy enough to get into - some way to clip it to the belay and a jacket at the top that can quickly be pulled on.