Friday, January 5, 2018

Skiing or Boarding at 30 below

My son is going boarding this weekend, and everybody is scared about the intense cold.  This was my world when I was skiing in the 70's.  And we are going back to this cycle, and perhaps colder.

First, pick a sunny day.  I found you could last longer on the sunny side of the slope.  The north side is to be avoided.  Have lots of mini-rests.  Get a zippo hand warmer.  You really get cold going up the lifts.

Have sock liners.  These are thin socks that wick moisture to your main socks.  Avoid cotton.

Lots of face protection, such as a face mask.  No loose scarfs on the lifts or you'll end up hanging in an uncomfortable manner.

**hand warmers -- electric ones are useless.  The energy density of fuel-based warmer is 10 to 100 times more.  The higher quality ones use a carbon felt and platinum catalyst.  There is no danger from these.  I used one for years, and now they are much better.  To light, you need a cheap lighter with a jet flame.  Run the flame over the shoulders first, to vapourize fuel, and then pass over the catalyst for a few seconds until you see little embers.  Close up and double check that it has caught.  On ammie, the Chinese copy at $15 is as good as the zippo at $25, but the zippo one is much "cooler', in a macho way.

The chemical ones don't last that long, and you are creating garbage.

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