Winter Gear

[skidoc22]

I have been a three season hiker for many years, in the winter turning my attention to downhill and occasionally cross country skiing. Last year I bought a pair of MSR snowshoes but haven't used them as yet. I plan (hope) to change that this year. I am looking to outfit for at least dayhikes into the high peaks without totally breaking the bank. Of course every hike I take I can rationalize a savings of at least fifty bucks I would have spent on a lift ticket. I currently have a number of daypacks (one with ski slots) and xc skis but no true backcountry skis, crampons or winter hiking boots. I generally do not get cold when others around me do so I have felt winter boots may not be essential for a day hike (although the top of a high peak would be a bad place to find out I'm wrong). I'd appreciate suggestions on the essential gear for winter dayhiking in the high peaks. I've seen various threads on gear but none quite address this question. Thanks, Mike

 

[iceNsnow]

Cold feet!

I would encourage you to use whatever boots you are comfortable in for a winter "test" hike.
In the summer, I happily wear sneaks.

In the winter, I wear leather boots and a pair of Gortex gators, for the most part. There have been some shorter (2-3hrs) winter hikes where I have gotten away with my Gortex sneakers. To make up for the fact that my Gortex sneaks aren't high tops, I have worn two pairs of gators to keep the snow out of my socks.

The cold temps do not bother my feet either. I find that the most uncomfortable time of the year for my footies, is the cold, wet seasons (late fall and early springtime). It seems that as long as it is cold the winter snow doesn't melt and my feet stay dry and warm.

Now if the temps get below Zero (and high winds are expected) I drag out my insulated leather boots and I make sure that I keep moving. I also find that by making sure that the rest of my body is warm and dry, problems with chilly extremities is minimized.

All in all, I wouldn't rush out to buy "winter boots" if you typically don't have troubles with cold feet.
Winter boots are often very rigid and more difficult to fit. Fit is just as important as insulation in my opinion.

I wish you the best!!

 

[SherpaKroto]

Gaiters are a definite requirement for winter hiking IMO. As is a good layering system (you probably know that from XC skiing). I'd start on an easy one (Cascade) with the gear that you have. Watch what others are wearing, and go from there. If you plan on going above treeline (Cascade) facegear and eye protection is a must. A lot of the rest is common sense, but search on this site and you should find many poss related to what works for winker hiking.

When you need crampons (often), it is dangerous to be without them. I love my Grivel G-10 New Classics as I wear a number of different boots in the winter. They are on sale at Northern Mountain Supply

 

[shadowcat]

winter gear etc

for what it's worth here's some suggestions i have:
1. boots - your feet will most likely get cold in a "reg" pr of boots. now you could be the exception but it's hard to keep your toes warm when you're out in the snow and especially if we have cold temps like we did last yr. if you only need boots for winter hiking which will at some point require snowshoes, crampons or both go online to sites like sierra trading post, cabela's, shoebuy.com (for merrell's) & look for an insulated pr of boots. you can find some great deals out there for example: on stp, they "had" the vasque artic for $30 & the "snowbow", cabela's has boots rated wayyy below zero for under $100, and on shoebuy, if you do it right you can get the merrell winterras for around $99. if even $100 is a bit too much, then just look for deals - rite now i know stp has some insulated boots on sale for under that. you can wear your reg hiking boots with warm socks & gaitors up to the point where snowshoes (or crampons) become required. at this point you'll want a warmer boot. but then you won't need to worry about an expensive hiking boot, many just use a pr of columbia/sorels! trust me: there are many great pr of winter insulated boots out there for under $100.
2. crampons: depending on how often you go out and the conditions, you may be able to get by an entire winter without using them. if i had to choose bet crampons or snowshoes; i'd get the snowshoes as you will HAVE to have them at some point and they have crampons on them in any case. if you decide you want crampons, look for a decent pr that are for hiking, don't spend a ton of money on ones used for mountaineering or ice climbing. depending on your boot; you may need a "universal" pr, which will fit any boot or a pr of semi automatic/step ins. i got a pr of austrialpine universals from ems for $70 (full price) and a pr of step-ins off stp for $31 (on sale!). i would not recommend those mesh/wirey things that slip on the sole of your boot - just my preference.
3. snowshoes: if you seriously plan on being in the daks during the winter; you will need these. go online and do some serious searching for sales of last yrs or older models. they're out there. i got a new pr of tubbs altitudes, reg $249 now, on clearance for $40! you'll need these tho and have a blast with them. look for ones that have a fairly easy to use binding system and a price you can live with.
4. clothing: depending on how your body temp is: i'd recommend a silk 1st layer (top/bottoms) & a medium or expedition wgt base layer (top/bottoms). over that a fleece zip neck . for pants: you can go with fleece (try for ones with fabric cover on butt & knees & zip ankles) or other type of warm, water resistant/proof pant. for a jacket: there's all types now: some have fleece zip outs which are nice- one that has a hood, is water resistant/proof & pit zips are also really nice. get some decent gloves & some glove liners, good socks and sock liners, a headband/hat and you should be good to start out. all these things you can get on sale if you just spend some time looking. try to get discounts of at least 50-70%; that way you can get top of the line brands that will last a lifetime!
fyi: i love to look for stuff so i you want to give me your sizes i'd be more than happy to help you look. there's a ton of good web site out there - just go directly to the sale/clearance depts!
good luck

 

[skidoc22]

Thanks for the suggestions

I appreciate all the good suggestions. I did get to EMS for their 20% off sale and got a few items including an inexpensive set of crampons (those austri alpines were even 20% off - under $60 for full length ), a pair of Bugabootoos and even an ice axe (nobody mentioned this except the Winterwise guide from ADK and one of the guys from the store who has given me good advice in the past). I already have the snowshoes and gaitors and a zillion waterproof "breathable" jackets. Does anyone use the newer softshell climbing type pants? They start around $100 on sale. Seems like a less expensive shell or skipants might work. I get pretty warm so the soft shell more breathable pants do sound attractive. I wonder if they really are waterproof though. Now we just need some winter! Thanks again. Mike

 

[SherpaKroto]

skidoc22: likely no one mentioned the axe as fwe of us hae ever had the need to use them. Carried them a lot, just rarely use them (once or twice for me, and only for a short section. They are great for carefully breaking ice dams on the roof though!)

I use Marmot Precip pants in winter. As it gets colder, I just use heavier underwear. I rarely use fleece pants, and I've hiked as cold as -25 F or so YMMV. I'm a fairly warm hiker.

 

[spider solo]

These past few winters I have experimented with a wide variety of clothing and foot wear, gloves etc.
What I have found as a rule of thumb, for me at least, is to "keep it loose".
Much like ice skating a tight pair of boots your feet will freeze no mater what the quailty of the boot.
I find this true with gloves as well.... actually enough so that I lean towards mittens for warmth. Leaving "wiggle room" for fingers and toes does wonders to keep things warm.
I find while hiking that I never stop to put on a warmer pair of long john bottoms.. as a result these days if I neeed extra warm for my legs I will bring an extra pair of pants and put one right over the other...so of course the 2nd pair is a nice loose fit over the 1st.
I know there are many who ski and hike in tight fitting clothes so I assume they have worked out what it takes for them to keep warm and I worry not what they may wear.
I think the bottom line to staying warm is to keep moving.
The colder the day the more I know that I must keep moving ...a frigid day with temps in the -20's for example means a day with limited time for me to rest but makes for a day of perpetual motion....albeit in my case it might be slow motion.
If someone is dressed lightly for the conditions you can be rest assured they will be highly motivated to go, go, go to keep warm.

 

[Warren]

Does anyone use the newer softshell climbing type pants? They start around $100 on sale. Seems like a less expensive shell or skipants might work. I get pretty warm so the soft shell more breathable pants do sound attractive. I wonder if they really are waterproof though. Now we just need some winter! Thanks again. Mike

BY definition soft shells are water resistant, not water proof.

I've been using softshells for the past few years ( or longer depending on your fabric/soft shell definitions). They're great for cold and cool weather. they can saturate with water but are still somewhat comfortable and warm. My preferred cold weather core layer. I think of soft shells as backcountry jeans.

Search the forums for soft shells the topic has come up a few times in the past year.

 

[shadowcat]

re: pants to wear

sierra had some great waterproof, stretchable pants; cloudveils reg 225 for 79 (reg 99) but they were 20% off. also i wear nils ski pants; the ones i have are windproof and waterproof; really warm, stretchy and close fitting which is nice. last time i ckd sierra they had mens/women's pants of various prices but all good deals for the upcoming winter season

 

[skidoc22]

sierra trading

I just don't ever seem to have much luck finding anything that is the right size at STP. If it looks like it fits the bill and is priced well it usually is in an XS or XXL size or some wacky color. I couldn't find the cloudveil pants you recommended Shadowcat - most of what they had left was women's. Oh well I'll keep looking - I guess you have to get lucky.