In outdoor pursuits, hydration is essential at any time of the year. Winter conditions make this tough due to the that water-freezing-in-below-freezing-temperatures situation: a bottle of ice is going to make drinking difficult. Stay hydrated by keeping your water flowing in winter conditions:
Archive for the ‘Weather’ Category
Take the Snowskills.net headlamp test:
- Does your headlamp feel heavy?
- Does your headlamp have only one light setting?
- Does your headlamp shine less light than you could read a newspaper by?
- Does your headlamp leave you guessing as to how much power the batteries have left?
If the answer to any one of these questions is YES, then it’s time for a new headlamp, and we recommend the Princeton TEC Quad Headlamp.
An important part of outdoor recreation is understanding the impacts of weather and the effects of windchill are a huge influence on your comfort level in the winter.
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Winter hiking, trekking, snowshoeing, and nordic skiing is a Tale of Two Hats. When aerobic activity in the winter is involved, it takes two hats: one for traveling and one for taking a break. The traveling hat keeps you comfortable on the go while the taking a break that keeps you warm and dry at rest.
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In earlier post, fishing gloves were mentioned as an excellent choice for skiing in the rain. In response to a comment, the recommended gloves are specifically the Altas 490 GLOVE, PVC BLUE INSULATED and here’s a link to buy those gloves on-line.
Let’s face it, no one wakes up in the morning hoping for the opportunity to go out skiing and riding in the rain. Rain can actually create pretty good snow conditions, however, as it levels and softens the snow surface. The question is usually how long you can hang outside in the rain before becoming miserably wet. Solution? Don’t get miserably wet!
The oldest cliche in the skiing industry is “You should have been here yesterday!” Well, it can seem like your timing isn’t always perfect, but more times than not a day that doesn’t look so good can turn out to be a pretty good day of skiing and riding. Good vision is essential to confidence in skiing and riding and a quality pair of goggles can make all the difference on a day when things aren’t as clear as usual. My personal recommendation for quality goggles is the Oakley Wisdom.
We can take a tip from the Aussies for sun protection in spring skiing conditions. Living on the hottest, driest, and flatest continent on earth, Australians are far more aware of the dangers being in the sun than most Americans. Teaching skiing Downunder was unique in many ways, perhaps most notably that you’re a lot closer to the sun in the Southern Hemisphere than when you’re in North America. The Aussies’ national motto for having fun outside is “Slip, Slap, and Slop!” and it’s a good mantra for spring-time skiing and riding as well.
When is a good day to learn to snowboard? If you are a skier and thinking of trying out snowboarding for the first time, think carefully about which day you will give it a go.
Many people decide they want to learn to snowboard on a day that would otherwise not be the best skiing day. They pick a day that is rainy, foggy, windy, or any other day when the wind or snow conditions are not ideal. I suppose the logic is if they don’t enjoy snowboarding they will not have wasted a “good day” of skiing. Avoid this temptation.
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Skiing in fog and poor visibility conditions brings on a whole new set of rules for skiers and riders. The loss of visibility will basically reduce your confidence to the point where just navigating down a trail can be a challenge. You can maintain good rhythym in your skiing/riding and stay oriented on the slopes through the use of a tactic called corridor turns. Corridor turns require only limited vision through a combination of mental imagery and the use of what few physical features are available.