Snow Skills

My favorite piece of clothing for spring skiing in sunny weather is a fleece vest, for a bunch of reasons. It keeps your torso warm while giving your limbs freedom of movement. It’s not too warm on the chairlift ride up and keeps you warm on the way down. It gives you pockets for storing lip balm, keys, and the season pass. It has a collar to keep the sun off your neck. It’ll make you look like a skier and rider, on and off the slopes. And there’s lots of choices for how much you want to spend on one.

There are many places to get a fleece vest including both Web and bricks and mortar retailers. Here are some suggestions:

For an inexpensive fleece vest, try your local Old Navy Store.

For the socially conscious, try an environmental co-operative such as Mountain Equipment Co-op. For a $5 lifetime membership, you’ll be proud to be part of an organization driven by passion, not profit, and they carry awesome gear, too. They have several stores across Canada as well.

For a good value, try an on-line retailer like Sierra Trading Post or Campmor or L.L. Bean. Look for brands like Columbia or North Face, their stuff pretty much lasts forever. Campmor has a huge store in Paramus, NJ and a road trip to the L.L. Bean “mother ship” store in Freeport, ME is a great idea.

For the best quality, try Patagonia, Marmot, or Cloudveil. If you’re lucky, you may live near an outlet store and be able to shop during sales. You’ll pay more, but you’ll see the difference in design, performance, and longevity.