Brrr! The Arctic Vortex is coming. Our forecast for this weekend calls for a “dangerous, long-lived cold snap and heavy mountain snow, with some metro area snow likely as well. Expect sub-zero wind chills all of Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and maybe Tuesday also. Wind chills will likely approach -20 in Denver, perhaps lower north and east. And again, it’ll last several days.”
This sort of forecast isn’t common for Colorado’s Front Range, even for January. It’s the type of weather that’s likely to land a few folks in trouble — metro-area folks who underestimate how much more extreme mountain weather can be, the more experienced types who end up being just a touch underprepared (which is all it takes), and even locals who don’t realize that feeling warm for the first ten minutes of your run in no way guarantees you won’t come home with frostnip when the windchill is pushing 20 below.
After my last post, I realized that specifically referencing gear that is either homemade or is no longer manufactured doesn’t make for useful information. In this post about lower-body layers, I thought I’d try to explain the features are so invaluable to me. This may give you some ideas about what will work best for you.
In my last post, I mentioned several Skinfit products. Beat introduced me to this Austrian sportswear company that became internationally recognized for simple but high-quality running and triathlon clothing. They also produce cold-weather products geared toward cross-country skiers and ski mountaineers. With these sports as their guide, they’ve zeroed in on what works for athletes who are cranking out a lot of kilowatts in winter weather. Namely: The clothing needs to insulate and breathe, be versatile but easy to use, and be lightweight but robust. The gear is quality as well. Expensive but long-lasting.
That said, SkinFit frequently discontinues my favorite pieces, and their products are hard to acquire in the United States (Beat and I tend to go on a Skinfit store shopping spree when we’re in Switzerland.) These softshell pants may just rank at the top of the list. The pants, created for ski touring, are the perfect winter layer. They feature a wind-resistant shell, wide yet adjustable hem, and comfortable elastic waistband. Each leg has a full zipper for venting. While working hard on a warm winter day (heading into a cold night), I have been known to unzip the pant legs to my hips so they flap around like a skirt. I also expose a sliver of white thigh from time to time. There are two pockets in front (not the sides) that create an ideal place to store items like a phone, wet wipes, and chapstick — items you want to remain easily accessible but warm. These are all features I’d have a difficult time living without. I’m not sure I can go back to plain tights. (Alas, the pants themselves are discontinued.)
Alas, a single pair of pants rarely does the trick. I need extra padding for my butt. All people — but especially women — tend to feel the cold more deeply in their fleshy bits. This is because body fat doesn’t produce its own heat. Yes, fat helps insulate the organs, but the circulatory system must work to keep body fat warm. When the brain decides to constrict blood vessels around this mostly useless organ, body fat inevitably feels cold. Thus, “cold butt syndrome” is common among women.
Many women swear by insulated skirts to warm their cold butt while keeping their hard-working legs cool. Skirts are cute, but I prefer puffy shorts with a water-resistant shell and PrimaLoft insulation. I prefer synthetic to down insulation because PrimaLoft can absorb some moisture and retain its insulation, and it doesn’t take as long to dry. And I prefer shorts to skirts because shorts provide more all-around insulation. Skirts tend to allow too much airflow between my legs and can feel restrictive when I am riding my bike or running (as opposed to hiking.) My go-to shorts are the Skinfit Cristallo that are — of course — no longer made. But Skinfit does have a super cute skirt of a similar nature and it’s on sale. Hmm!
As temperatures get colder, my knees start to feel the sting. I’ve learned that my knees are a lot like my hands — they do a great job venting heat and keeping sweat at bay, but when they finally become cold, they really get cold. Rather than bring an entirely different pant layer to put over my softshell pants, I recruited Beat to design and sew wind-stopper fleece knee warmers that I attach to my shorts with Velcro — also sewn on. Over the years, I’ve had Beat add a second layer of fleece for double thickness and an extra patch of soft fleece for the particularly sensitive knee pits. They’re heavy but they’ve never failed me.
Except for once. While testing out new boots for my bike in Fairbanks in late 2021, I rode down a steep hill at 30 below and developed chilblains on my calves and shins — the only part of my leg unprotected by boots or fleece. If you’re wondering what chilblains are — they’re painful welts that develop on the skin as a result of cold damage. They are not fun, and they take at least six weeks to heal. After that experience, I had Beat lengthen my knee warmers so they reach my mid-shin. Basically, they’re high-water pants. They look like hobo pants when I wear the entire configuration, especially when I start unzipping the shorts and pants to quickly vent heat. I do not care. They work for me.
The battle to keep my feet warm has been a long and perilous journey that began when I punched through lake ice on the Iditarod Trail and froze my right foot in 2009. It’s true what they say — frostbite is forever — and the nerve damage in my foot has been an ongoing pain that prevents me from wearing clipless bike shoes (too much pressure) and has convinced me that feet can never have too many insulating layers.
Deciding what to wear on the bike has always been the biggest challenge. In an earlier blog post, I detailed why I decided to switch to flexible hiking boots rather than the more popular hard-shell boots that most winter cyclists use. Circulation has always been key — I almost can’t keep the blood flowing through my feet unless they are constantly moving. And recently, my biking and running systems were essentially the same. The layers:
1. Anti-chafing, moisture-repelling foot lube. A lot of it.
2. A liner DryMax sock, which does a great job of holding moisture away from my skin. Since my feet are so cold, I don’t sweat a lot, but all of the sweat I produce stays with these socks because of layer three.
3. A vapor barrier. I’ve tried several expensive brands. Reynolds Oven Bags really do work the best. They’re fragile, though, so bring spares.
4. A fleece insulating sock. You can’t go wrong with Acorn Socks! They dry very quickly, which is important if your vapor barrier fails.
5. Shoe or boot. My go-to winter running shoe for years has been the Hoka Speedgoat GTX trail shoe. I buy a pair that is two sizes too large (Women’s 10.5 versus 8.5 for my summer trail shoes) to accommodate the sock layers and also allow for better circulation. My bike shoe for years was the barely warmer Vasque Arrowhead snow boot (no longer made.) I learned that with good overboot layers, shoes and boots are nearly interchangeable. I have completed cold-weather bike trips in my Hokas. For my Iditarod ride in 2022, I decided I wanted something fully waterproof. So after nearly a decade in nimble shoes, I went back to big boots with a pair of Kamik insulated boots that Beat coated with about 14 layers of seam-sealer. They were waterproof! And here’s why such a feature is so important in climate-changed Alaska. Observe:
The Kamiks are great because they’re still fairly flexible and I can move my feet freely. I had to walk long distances while pushing my bike in 2022, and the boots weren’t uncomfortable. However, they are bulky and cumbersome. If I’m merely facing cold weather, I prefer to stick with the Arrowheads and Beat’s specially designed overboots.
6. Overboot layer. I typically wear Outdoor Research Crocodile gaiters on most of my winter hikes and runs. However, these are not enough to ward off cold weather. So I add a pair of overboots that Beat designed for me. They feature a robust and water-resistant outer layer over insulated Primaloft with a silnylon liner to repel moisture. The closest commercial item I’ve seen to these is Dogwood Designs Boot Covers.
7. Hand-warmers. If I am desperate, I will place a hand warmer over my outer sock layer on top of my toes before inserting my feet into the shoe. The bulky things always find their way under my arch, so I avoid this if at all possible. The insole-shaped foot warmers barely work at all, in my experience.
8. It seems to be a little-known fact that feet and hands are your body’s canary in the coal mine — the first things to feel cold when your core temperature begins to drop. Frosty fingers are there to remind you that hypothermia is on its way. And all of the insulating gloves and socks in the world won’t help if you have cold blood flowing into your extremities. If your hands or feet feel cold, give some thought to a weakness in your upper layers. I have solved cold feet by doing something as simple as zipping up my coat. Or eating a snack.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t share my “oh shit” layer, which stays packed away in my sled or bike until it is needed for long stops, cabin transitions, or “oh shit I’m really cold and I have nothing left to put on.” When your destination is somewhere far away in the danger cold, there is nothing more confidence-inspiring than a giant down parka and puffy pants — even if your friends tease you and tell you that you look like the Michelin Man. Seriously, invest in your happiness and buy yourself a big puffy coat and pants. You will not regret it.
I wish everyone a safe and fun slog, or whatever you choose to do during this incoming Arctic Vortex. Let me know how it goes!
Excellent write up though I don’t expose myself to that kind of temperature since moving to California a few decades to go. I’ve done a bit of winter camping and working outdoors in serious windchills in the Arctic, but not recently.
The last part of your article reminds me of a Boy Scout leader, several decades ago, who said “if your feet are cold, put a hat on!” He was making a point to young teenagers that you made: the feet and hands are early indicator of things to come. (I also wonder if you and Beat could make a side hustle out of custom clothing designs.)
This is awesome, Jill! Great write ups and I love this content! You and Beat have so many serious cold weather adventures under your belts for vetting gear that truly works.
I cracked up at the hobo pants image. Function definitely comes before fashion in the deep cold. You are so right about the knees bring vulnerable. I hit a brutal cold spot in Goldstream Valley riding my bike one night and tore thru my framebag and found two trusty fleece neck warmers and fashioned them around my knees/thighs for the ride home. I needed a pair of Beat’s knee warmers! And yes, fleece Acorn socks for the win!! :D