Page 23 - 2015 AMA Autumn

• Seals well with your goggles
• When you find that perfect winter hat .... buy a spare one.
Brands worth spending time trying on include Mountain Equipment, Lowe Alpine, Montane, PHD and Outdoor Research. If, like the author, you are blessed with a massive melon head, then consider buying the tech fabrics from PennineOutdoor and getting a hat that actually fits made for you. I got one that would cover Anglesey made for me by Brenig.co.uk.
Hands
Using only your clenched fist try turning the bezel on a compass, screwing up a krab or doing up the zip on your shell. Hard isn’t it ? but it affords the same amount of dexterity as a painfully cold clump of skin and bone on the end of your wrist if you let winter conditions get at unprotected hands. Cold hands lead to a world of hurt. Gloves in winter need to be layered appropriate to the conditions and activity, and spares for the important layers need to be carried. Layering. Layering. Layering. Spares. Spares. Spares.
For general hillwalking a windproof fleece or softshell glove combined with a waterproof (and possibly insulated) over glove for wet or deep cold.
For climbing and mountaineering it’s a similar process to the layering system for your head. Walk-in in something like a thin softshell glove. For the climb, whilst mitts are acknowledged as being warmer than gloves, they lack dexterity, and placing protection in a mitt is a mare. Find a warm, dextrous, robust glove that allows you the full range of motion for climbing ... then buy at least 2 pairs. Once one pair get wet stuff them inside your sack and put on a warm, dry pair. If you are at a belay for a while, an outsize waterproof synthetic mitt or a Buffalo mitt, to go over the top of everything, works well. An alternative to this system, especially for people who really feel the cold, is to wear a dextrous insulated softshell glove under a very warm climbing proof mitt to climb in, dropping the mitt, to hang off on wrist cords, whilst placing gear. If the route off the mountain requires you to function properly (an hour long nav off the Ben at last light) then pack a third, or even fourth pair of gloves.
An important factor for keeping hands warm is keeping wrists, where blood passes very close to the surface, well insulated. A base layer with long sleeves and thumb loops can do this, a pair of Buffs can do this, and role specific Powerstretch wrist warmers from the likes of Marmot do it too.
A suitable glove layering system for winter costs a lot of money. Fact. The inability to keep your hands warm in winter could end up costing you more than money. Fact.
Between them, Mountain Equipment, Terra Nova, Black Diamond, Rab, Lowe Alpine and Buffalo probably offer the most comprehen- sive choice of high quality gloves and mitts. The aforementioned Marmot wrist warmers are no available in the UK too.
Feet
You’ve spent £300 on your mega (insert name of Italian boot manufacturer) winter boots, but by pitch 2 you already have no feeling in your pinkies. What’s going wrong ? Well as well having your boots professionally fitted, what you put between your foot and the boot makes a lot of difference. Sock technology has evolved beyond the white issue Arctic sock (yes, really !!). Liner socks should insulate, breathe and not be so tight as to restrict blood flow across the ankle. Buying a merino wool and nylon winter sock that is well fitted, at least mid-calf in length, flat- seamed, pads the shin from the boot cuff, and mates seamlessly with your liner sock is a good start.
Expect to pay over £10 for a good liner and £20 to £50 for quality winter socks (Darn Tough, Lorpen, SmartWool and Bridgedale have the market covered).
A good base layer legging can fit snugly over the ankle joint and make sure that the blood here is kept warm. Like the wrist joint, exposed, or under insulated ankles haemorrhage body heat. Although some people think of them as very 1970’s, a good gaiter to seal in the boot and lower leg can add valuable insulation. – Black Diaomnd and Outdoor Research make good ones.
Useful Accessories
Powerstretch Wrist Liner from Marmot
Buff – particularly the merino wool ones for winter, dozens of uses Long zip pulls – available for a few quid from AlpKit. Heatmax pads – fit under the insole of boots and produce about 38c for 6hrs for £2
HotHand pads – fit between glove layers and produce about 52c for 10hrs for £1.50
Discounts
Good gear is expensive BUT please remember that AMA membership entitles you to discounts on a lot all of the gear listed in this article.
Additional Reading:
Excellent BMC Article on avoiding and treating frostbite – https:// www.thebmc.co.uk/only-skin-deep-looking-after-your-skin
Andy Kirkpatrick Gear Knowledge – http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/ articles/gear
UK Climbing Gear Review Pages – www.ukclimbing.com/gear/
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 21