Winter Hiking Tip #2

“How much are your hands worth to you?!”

Tom and I were heading to the summit of our first 4,000 footer when he was wracked by excruciating leg spasms. During the 15 minutes it took before he was able to hike again, my hands became excruciatingly cold. Thus began my two year quest to find a bomb-proof mitten system that would actually keep my hands warm on the brutally cold 8 hour days in the mountains.

Through trial and error, and at least a dozen gloves and mittens later, here’s what I learned…

~Mittens are MUCH warmer than gloves

~The gloves or mittens that you wear for the ascent should be lighter than the ones you wear on the summit, since you’ll be generating an enormous amount of heat when you climb. Glove liners are the perfect for the ascent.

~Bring an extra pair of glove liners in case you sweat through your first pair.

~Gloves or mittens that are too tight will not insulate well. When in doubt, size up.

~Always carry a few pair of hand warmers for emergencies.

~If you must remove your gloves or mittens for any reason, stuff them into your jacket to keep them warm.

~If you have an iPhone and want to take pictures, bring a stylus so that you won’t have to remove your gloves.

My bomb-proof mitten system:

I wear Dachstein 4 ply boiled wool mittens as my first layer, followed by Outdoor Research Alti Mitts, which have both an insulating mitten and a thick, windproof outer shell.

I hesitated to buy these because, well, I’m frugal. But when I balked at the price, Tom asked me, “How much are your hands worth to you?”