Ski Season is Here!

Are you ready for the adventure on the slopes?

We cannot be more excited for the season ahead!

Skiing is one of those sports that require somewhat specialized gear. Whether you are new to skiing or a seasoned skier, our tips might help you guide the challenges of slopes.

This guide is geared more towards resort skiing than backcountry skiing but we hope you will find useful information regardless of what you are pursuing.

A Small Note:

If you are a snowboarder or wanted to try snowboarding instead, this guide should still be useful to you. We aim to teach how to dress rather than how to ski itself, and in terms of clothing, snowboarding is very close to skiing. It is advised to maybe change the gloves and we will add a note for that later on. So, keep on reading!

What to wear for the ski day?

Unless you are a seasoned skier who knows what to wear and do, how your body responds to skiing as a whole, there are certain guidelines that we suggest every skier follow, especially if you are new to skiing.

When it comes to skiing, there are things you should wear before going to the ski resort. (or you can change there if you are going after work - we totally get it.)

And there are other specialized gear that you will either rent there or bring alongside you (if you own them) to wear/use for skiing.

The clothing is mostly versatile if you follow our guidelines; i.e. you can buy them once and use it for many winter or cold weather adventures and for some cases, even in the city.

The gear however will be mostly for slopes only - think of skis, ski goggles (maybe you can use on your winter hike if the weather is too windy) or ski helmet. There should be rental options in your resort, in case you don't want to buy them.

Ski Clothing 101

What to Wear?

Let's talk about clothing first.

Outdoor clothing in three top layers are usual here as well. You need to change the thickness to fit into winter conditions. If you'd like to see our video about fall and spring layering, watch our quick guide here on Instagram. It is suggested to be similar but with thicker, thermal base layers for winter warmth.

In essence, three top layers are all you need:

• A trustworthy, thermal wool or synthetic base layer, like our Lightning series thermal tops, shown below
• A mid layer, usually a moisture wicking fleece hoodie (skip this in end-season or spring ski days, 50F+, or if you already run hot)
• An outer layer, a waterproof ski jacket or a waterproof ski shell

Two bottom layers:

- A wool or synthetic base layer bottom, like our Lightning series thermal bottoms

- A ski shell pant or a waterproof soft shell pant, preferably with a built-in gaiter

Accessories:

- Wool blend socks

- Wool or synthetic neck gaiter (optional but useful)

- Ski gloves (must be windproof)

- Ski goggles (nothing fancy needed at first, but photochromic lenses could help)

- Ski helmet (not your bike helmet, preferably with MIPS technology)

Ski outer clothing and gear

Easy rules to follow:

• This layering has made us comfortable in conditions as low as 15F.
• Never wear cotton anywhere (check our other posts to read why, stay tuned)
• Bring in water and lunch, unless you plan to buy at the resort
• Wool is highly recommended over synthetics for a plethora of reasons but to name a few: wool is not clammy, odor resistant, thermoregulating. More on this on next post.
• Never forget to take a break
• Getting professional lessons is recommended

We will be posting breaking down each segment to talk about them in detail.

See you there!