What I Wear: Winter

"MOLLY. YOU ARE IN TROUBLE"

"Whyyyyyy?"

"You can't just go climb a mountain in negatives temperatures in the middle of winter and not tell me about it"

"But if I told you beforehand you would just worry the whole time."

"You're going to take 5 years off my life."

"But we're fine!"

"Jeesh. How cold was it?"

"-10 without the wind chill."

"Good LORD. What do you even wear?"

Let me start off by defending myself. I'm not trying to take 5 years off my mom's life. I always leave my specific hiking plans with multiple people (usually other family members), so I'm not being reckless by not telling her. I share that conversation because of the last question - what do you even wear? It's a question I answer a lot, either by friends that hear our winter hiking stories or (mostly) by customers in the store. I'm the one woman in the store that regularly hikes in the winter in the Whites, so I tend to get customers sent to me specifically with that same question. It's easy for me to suggest things people should wear, especially when I have a whole array of technical gear at my disposal, but here is what I do wear.

I'm lucky enough to get a hearty discount and amazing ProDeals, otherwise I would not be able to afford most things on this list. Remember, these things have cheaper versions. You don't need to spend $250 on waterproof pants unless you really want to (they are really damn nice, though). 

THE TOPS

Patagonia Capilene 4 Base Layer

This is one of my favorite garments I own for winter activities. Many people mistake Capilene as the name of the garment, but it's actually Patagonia's trademarked fabric made from polyester and spandex. It's extremely warm and surprisingly breathable, with a deep front zipper for extra ventilation. The dropped hem in the back makes it easy to tuck into pants and ensure it stays in place all day. Wool is always the warmest, but I have sensitive skin that tends to get itchy from wool tops. This is the best alternative that I've found.



Wool Sweater

I don't always wear a wool sweater, but I will for extremely cold trips (air temps in the single digits or lower). As I mentioned above, wool is always warmest but it can irritate your skin. I wear a casual Smartwool sweater that I got on a crazy clearance over my Cap 4 base layer to get the warmth of wool without the itchiness. It's not a technical layer, but it does the job. It's also lightweight enough that I can bring it along without adding much weight to my pack.



Arc'Teryx Atom LT or Patagonia Down Sweater

The Arc'Teryx Atom LT is easily my favorite technical jacket I own. Again, I scored this on an incredible deal and would not be able to afford it otherwise, but I'm so happy I made the investment. It's insulated with Coreloft, a lightweight, breathable, compressible insulation in the torso, arms, and hood. The side panels are made from Polartec PowerStretch, so it's stretchy and forgiving. The jacket is rain and wind resistant. One of my favorite features is the hood; once up, it covers everything but the mouth, nose, and eyes. I typically choose this jacket over my down jacket because once down compresses it doesn't work nearly as well.

I prefer my synthetic jacket while actively hiking, but my down jacket always comes with me. Down is f*cking amazing, it really is. It's instantly warm, extremely lightweight, and highly compressible. The downside? Once it's wet it doesn't work, it takes   while to dry, and it has to maintain its "loft" to work properly, so a heavy pack or outer layer will compress it too much. It's perfect for pit stops, camp, and emergency situations. I also use it in the shoulder seasons when it's warm going up and down but chilly above treeline.



REI Snowcrest 3-in-1 Jacket or REI Motility Jacket

I have two hard shells. The first is a 3-in-1 jacket with an insulated, windproof, water resistant liner that zips in/out of a shell with 2 layer waterproofing and 60mph+ windproofing. The good? It's warm, you have 3 options of how to wear it, it's roomy enough to fit layers under it. The bad? It's heavy, and the lower pockets sit right beneath my hip belts. 2-layer waterproofing isn't my favorite, but it's a decent jacket.

My other hard shell is the REI Motility Jacket. Again, I got this for an amazing deal but I'm very happy with it. It has a 3-layer watperoofing system with sealed seams and waterproof zippers, and it still offers 4-way stretch. It doesn't feel like your "typical" crinkly rain jacket. It is also windproof to 60+mph. The pockets are much better than my other jacket; the hip pockets are still covered by my pack, but the chest pocket is easily accessible with a pack on.

ON MY HEAD

I use a few layering combinations depending on the weather, but typically I start with an Icebreaker Merino wool beanie. It's thin and breathable but still offers coverage while hiking. Once above treeline I put on my very non-technical fuzzy ear flap hat, pictured left. Yes, it's bulky and heavy, but that hat ROCKS. It clips under the chin for maximum skin-to-fuzzy-material-contact-ratio (technical term). If I will be above treeline for a while I use a face mask, if not I just use a wool Buff and pull it up over my nose. 

For really cold or sunny days, I use my Smith OTG Goggles. I've struggled with goggles. They're fine when I ski, but it's really hard to regulate the temperature with the goggles on and they either fog up or make my glasses fog up. But nothing beats goggles when full-face coverage is needed - the photo to the right was on top of Mt. Monroe was 50+mph winds and a -50 degree wind chill.

THE BOTTOMS

REI Heavyweight Base Layer

There's really nothing special about these base layers. I laughed after I wrote that, but it's true. There's nothing special about them but they work just fine. Sometimes I like REI stuff because it's not super fancy. These heavyweight bottoms have a brushed fleece line and do a good job wicking moisture. The fit is not fantastic, I find that the materials bunches up too much around the ankles, but it's not a deal breaker.

REI Fleece Tights, Pants or Ibex Izzi Tavern Pant

Surprisingly, the question of what to wear between base layers and hard shell pants is one I get a lot. I wear either fleece tights or fleece pants, I prefer the tights because it's less material to deal with. Lucky for me I can fit into kids large or extra-large fleece pants (much cheaper). I'm not that small of a person, kids are just huge now-a-days. They don't fit perfectly (usually a bit short), but it's fine. My other option is the Ibex Izzi Tavern Pant - a kind of casual kind of technical wool pant. I love Ibex and I had been eyeing these pants for weeks before I committed to buying them, but I am so happy I did. They're amazing. Again, nothing beats wool for warmth. They're not even itchy on my sensitive skin. Ibex knows what's up.

Arc'Teryx Beta SL Pant or REI Chinuka Pant




Arc'Teryx rain pants are another thing I would never be able to buy if not for ProDeals. The "SL" designation means super-light, which is one of the main reasons I got them. It's sibling, the Beta AR (all-around) pant uses Gore-Tex Pro, which is more durable but heavier. My pants use Gore-Tex PacLite, the lighter weight version. That, and other factors, cuts the pants weight down to 8.5 ounches compared to the 1 lb 1.8 ounces of the AR. The downside is that the material is so thin that it's prone to ripping, as I learned when I tore a small hole with my traction just above the reinforced instep.....





.... which prompted me to buy the REI Chinuka pant. It has 3-layer waterproofing, 4-way stretch, and is windproof to 60+mph. I haven't worn them yet, but they have a bit more "oompf" material-wise than the Arc'Teryx pants and I believe they will be better with traction.

AND FINALLY, ON MY FEET

Salomon Quest 4D GTX

These are the best boots I've ever owned. I love shoes, I love boots, and I have a decent spread of hiking boots. I wore Merrell Moab's for a long time and I thought those were "my" boots, but alas, these are a step above. Of course, everyone's "best" boot is different, but these have been golden for me. I used them for a summer of trail work and wore them 5-6 days a week for up to 12 hours at a time, and they were insanely comfortable and durable.

Let me get off my soap box. Of all the questions on what to wear for winter hiking, footwear is probably the most common and least easy to answer. Everyone wants to know how to keep their feet warm while somehow still having a boot that's comfortable and lightweight. Basically, they want to buy one boot that works in all four seasons, and I don't blame them. Boots are expensive. But, queue music, "... you can't always get what you waaaant....". These Salomon's are the closest I've come to a "4-season boot" (again, it's NOT a 4-season boot because those don't really exist, but I wear it in all four seasons).  This boot isn't insulated, so I compensate with thick wool socks and toe warmers as needed. They are stiff enough that the ratchet system of my Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro doesn't cut into me, yet more flexible and lighter weight than an insulated boot.

Lowa Mountain Expert GTX Mountaineering Boots

I found these boots on consignment at IME and had to snatch them up. REI used to have a gear rental program that was free for employees, but once they stopped that I didn't have access to rent mountaineering boots. They are insulated with PrimaLoft, crampon compatible, the whole nine yards. I've only worn them once, so they definitely still need to be broken in. The one drawback is that they are heavy ~ 3lbs 9oz.


The North Face Chillkat 2

Aside from the ridiculous name, these boots are pretty decent. I got them for tromping around snowy Boston last year and have only snowshoed in them once. They're a bit bulky, but so are any winter boots. They have 200g PrimaLoft insulation and are rated to -20 degrees, but temperature ratings mean nothing. I won't get started on that. I wish they were higher, but gaiters take care of that. I'm happy with them but have yet to do a longer hike with them.


People also always want to know how thick of a sock they should buy. Well, that's really up to you. Wool is best, and I use the thickest wool socks we sell ("mountaineering" or "expedition" weight) plus a thin wool liner. I always have an extra pair of wool socks in my pack, too. For winter, I say get the thickest wool sock your boot allows.

Well, there it is! Like I said, this is what I wear and it may not necessarily be what you should wear. Do what works for you. Winter hiking is awesome, but it takes more planning, forethought, and gear... and it's totally worth it. Happy layering!

Making the Switch

I finally said goodbye to Verizon.

It's been an 8 year love affair with my cell carrier, but we had to end it. We just weren't mean to be. Okay... strong words, but really, it had to end. My sad, sad wallet just couldn't take the $108/month bill that Verizon was hitting me with.

Bask in the Glory

I started my 8 year stint with Verizon at the age of 16 with a pink Motorola Razr, the coolest phone on the face of the planet. I was hot shit. I kept upgrading from there, always qualifying for an upgrade before my 2-year contract was up and signing up for another 2 years. It didn't matter though, I was happy with the service and my bill was comparable to other carriers. I was grandfathered into the unlimited data when Verizon took it away, but I lost it when I upgraded to an iPhone (RIP BlackBerry Curve). I had 2GB of data and ended up going over a few times, much to my dismay, because I found out quickly that they charge an arm and a leg for doing such a thing. Finally I had to decide: severely limit my data usage or just upgrade to 5GB. I figured upgrading was my best bet.

Jerks.

$108/month is a lot. It started around $85/month in February '14 and it's been in the range of $108 for the past 6 months. I thought I must be doing something wrong, but after reviewing my bill I realized that Verizon was just plain expensive. After doing some research it seemed like Sprint (unlimited talk, text, data) was my best option, coming in at around $70/month. I contacted Verizon's customer service to see what they could do for me. Now, I'm a damn good customer. I pay my bill on time and I have been loyal to them for 8 years. I explained my situation, broke down the numbers, and asked if there was any way to lower my bill. The customer service rep typed.. stopped... typed... stopped... typed... stopped... typed... and finally said "there is nothing I can do for you". Really? I just told you I'm one step away from switching to another carrier and there is not ONE THING you can do to lower my bill even, like, $10/month? Nothing? BYE.

I didn't fully trust myself to go through with the switch online (there must be some fine print I wasn't seeing, I thought), so I decided to go to the store. I already knew the "Cut your bill in half" thing had fine print associated with it, and that it was only the service portion that they could "cut in half". The biggest red flag was that you HAD to turn in your old phone to Sprint, and I knew for a fact I could get more money by selling to a third party. Boom, capitalism. I was a bit skeptical of the store because every Yelp review I read said Sprint had terrible customer service... and not just one or two people, but almost every single one complained that they had a horrible time.

Well, I didn't. It took two visits (it could have taken one, I opted to mull it over before committing), but I'm now an iPhone 6 owner. The customer service was totally fine. I went in on a Thursday night and was the only one there. The guy we worked with was definitely trying to sweet talk us into the deal, but he was entertaining and nice. I went back on a Saturday to a much more crowded store and had to wait about 30 minutes, but it was a SATURDAY and there's only so many employees. The person I ended up working with was really pleasant and efficient. Once the process got started it was quick and painless.

So, what are the biggest changes?

• With Sprint, the "contract" is tied to the phone. In essence I am "paying off" the full price of the phone over 2 years at a minimum of $20/month. I can choose to pay more and pay it down faster. 
• The monthly service charges are $50/month with unlimited talk, text, and data, which is significantly cheaper than Verizon's "base line" plan that I was on.
• Service: the big one. The main reason I stayed with Verizon for so long was because I had service everywhere. I was hesitant to switch and have a useless phone anytime I left the city. I've been up north twice now, and while the service isn't stellar (no 4G) my phone still functions as a phones. I can make calls, I can send texts, good enough. I don't REALLY need to go on Facebook on a ski mountain anyway. Is the coverage as good as Verizon? No, but it still work and that's all I care about. So many places have free WiFi nowadays that it's not hard to access the Internet if I absolutely have to.

So far so good, kinda. I got a free tablet as part of a promotion and was told that I wouldn't have to pay anything more than the taxes, but it just showed up on my bill. I'll have to make another trek back to the store and get it adjusted. Is that a sign that Sprint is terrible and I make a huge mistake? Not necessarily, I've had issues like that happen at Verizon in the past. Edit: I went to the store, talked to the staff, and it was my own fault. I misunderstood something, everything is fine now. Is my bill significantly cheaper than before? Well, it's not "cut in half", but in the long run it will be much cheaper. It IS cheaper now and once the phone is paid off it will only be the cost of the service ($50) + taxes. I can't say I'm over the moon happier with it right now, but we'll see!

It's Easier Than Hiking

It's the SnowMBTApocalypse! 

This has definitely been my snowiest year in Boston, and unlike most I really enjoy it. Sure, it's unfortunate that the MBTA is imploding. I have had screwed up commutes since the first big storm like everyone else. I've shoveled, I've trudged through the slush and ice, I've stood outside in single degree temps waiting for a train that's 30 minutes late, I've groaned about where to park the car... but it's NEW ENGLAND! It's cold and snowy in the winter. That shouldn't be news to anyone who lives here. Sure, it's snowier than average, but it has to be above average at some point, right? 

Snowbanks on Beacon Hill are taller than me!

Another reason I am happy to have all of this snow is so I can go skiing. Sure, mountain's make their own snow so you can ski in the winter no matter what, but there's something more magical about real, fresh snow. Adam and I planned a 2-day ski vacation about a month in advance, and it just so happened to fall on the days of Boston's next big snow storm (~ 2 feet this time). Our 2-day ski trip turned into a 3-day ski trip when we added in Pat's Peak. Kelsey and Stephen braved the first day of the storm and met us up in NH for a day on the mountain. I really love Pat's Peak because it's not a huge resort but there's still plenty to do (for me, at least). We had a blast in the mini-trick park. I even did a black diamond!...........For 30 seconds.........okay it was actually really flat glades with widely dispersed trees, but it was really fun. I had never gone through the trees before so it was a nice, easy introduction.

Adam and I left Henniker for Lincoln and drove 2 hours through the snow to arrive at our little cabin. Pemi Cabins is awesome, I would recommend it to anyone. These adorable cabins have everything you could need - small kitchen, fireplace, extra blankets, comfy bed, screened in porch overlooking the the Pemigewasset, and even though they're close to the road it feels like you're in your own private cabin in the middle of the woods. It's also a pet-friendly place, and I was delighted to meet a loving cat name BooBoo and two dogs in the office. 

The second stop on the Tour-De-NH-Ski-Mountains was Bretton Woods. It was much quieter than the last time we went there, which was on a weekend, and it was nice not to wait in line for the lift. We started on a green run to get our ski legs. Halfway down I had to stop and adjust my boots. To make a long story short, just before we left for this trip we somehow pulled the ultimate Hail Mary of ski boot shopping and found me a pair of boots that would fit my bindings. Again, long story short, the bindings were originally mounted to Adam's boots; I didn't have my own and had been using his, but they're a bit too big so we wanted to find new boots. Unfortunately, the bindings couldn't be adjusted enough to fit my size boot and they couldn't be remounted, so I ended up having to buy the size that isn't ideal for me but that fit my binding. Why not just use Adam's boots? Well, the binding on his telemark ski ripped out and is getting replaced, but with the storms they didn't come in fast enough, meaning we had 2 skis but only one pair of boots and he would have had to rent for 3 days (very expensive).

ANYWAY. It was only my second day using the new boots so I wasn't honed in on the best way to ratchet them yet. I realized one was too loose, causing my foot to do all the work through the turns instead of using the boots to my advantage. It started to get really painful, so I stopped to tighten the boots. All was well until I caught up to Adam at the bottom of a steeper section. We stopped while I explained what happened, then he said "alright, now you just get to relax and enjoy skiing!". We aimed towards our trail, crossing a big, wide open intersection that was relatively flat but still sloped enough to get some speed. When we got to our trail I saw some snowboarders to our right, so I stayed left and started my turn to bring down my speed. Nothing happened. I tried to put pressure on my left foot to turn to the right and away from the trees. Nothing happened. My foot had totally Charlie-Horse'd and was basically a useless brick. I immediately aborted and tried to make a semi-controlled fall, but what happened next will live in infamy. I remember falling to my side, aka my "controlled fall" that I'm actually pretty good at, and getting somehow turned around onto my belly. I felt something hit my lower back/butt area, but my main goal was to get my skis up so I didn't get too tangled. My skis were in the air when I stopped, goody for me! Adam stopped and asked if I was okay (I was), then told me to look where my ski was. I didn't even realize my ski popped off, so I did a 360 scan on the trail looking for it. Nowhere to be found. BECAUSE IT WAS IN A TREE. 

 This is not a joke

That's right, folks, my ski flew into a tree. What I felt hitting me was my ski popping off, rocketing off ass, and somehow landing perfectly balanced horizontally a tree. How it stayed so straight is beyond me. We stayed there for a few minutes just admiring this wonder of physics because it will surely never happen again in my whole life. 

Mt. Road Traverse, Bretton Woods

My skis stayed on the rest of the day, thankfully. Adam and I visited another part of the mountain that I had not been to last time we were there, and it was frickin' lovely. We took a multi-use XC, snowshoe, and alpine ski trail, pictured right, to cut over to another trail and had the entire run to ourselves. It was really flat and would be boring to anyone seeking an adrenaline rush, but it was beautiful and quiet. As I glided peacefully along the fresh snow, I realized how long it had been since we went on a hike and how different the experience would be on snow shoes. It would have been equally as beautiful but at least 10x harder than standing on skis and going on a bonafide conveyor belt ride. I looked at Adam and said, "This is just so much easier." Of course then you hit a slight uphill and have to skate ski when you lose your momentum and your legs start burning because you've been skiing for three hours... but it IS so much easier. Nothing wrong with that, though, right?

Not only was our cabin adorable, but it was close to the mountains. This may sound obvious, but it was SO. DAMN. NICE. to not have to drive 2.5 hours back to Boston after a day of skiing. Even better, it was 10 minutes down the road from Loon, our final destination. I woke up on the morning of day 3 with a sore back. I tweaked at some point the day before and it made me ski with more caution. I already ski with a decent amount of caution, so I was basically a grandma at Loon. Despite my sore back I was excited to get back to Loon. 364 days earlier I was there getting my first and only ski lesson. I'm no expert, but hey at least I graduated from those pizza turns I was doing a year ago. 

View from the top

The grey, snowy sky finally cleared and we had awesome views from the top of the mountain. We quickly realized that Loon doesn't have nearly as many trails for me. There's a few greens here and there but it's mostly blues and blacks. I skied my first blue a few weeks ago at Wachusett and loved it, but not all blues are created equal. I have the skill to get down just fine, but my confidence isn't great and my sore back made me more apprehensive. All the same, I skied my narrowest, steepest run yet with no mishaps. 

It was steeper than it looks!

Though I successfully did a handful of blue runs and was proud of it, I was mentally exhausted. I had to give myself mental pep talks the whole way to stave off the fear of the steep slope, but as Adam said, "that's good, that means you're more confident". True, more confident, but also tired, and sore. But also happy. Yeah, my lower back sometimes felt like it was exploding, but what better way to spend the day? I took it easy for the last half of the day and stuck to easier stuff. On our last run together Adam went rogue and made his own path off trail for a few feet, which ended with him snapping a branch off a tree and face planting in the snow. That's when I knew we were nearing the end of our day.

I indulged in a Tuckerman's Pale Ale and watched people come down the half pipe (right) while Adam skied two more runs. We finished our day with a steam engine train ride back to our side of the mountain. It only last about 3 minutes, but it was the coolest thing ever. 

Now it's back to reality. We considered asking the owners of Pemi Cabins if we could upgrade to a lifetime rental, but sadly we had to trade in the cabin for our apartment in Newton. Now it's back to the 9-5, back to the shitty commute, back to the slushy sidewalks... blegh. Is it the field season yet?