Discussion
Depends to an extent on where you are going, what time of year, and how high. All of those factors can make a big change to the temepratures you'll experience.
Thermals - it depends how much you sweat. Three pairs should be ample for a weeks skiing.
Good winter jacket and trousers are a must, as are good gloves. You might want to have a thicker pair and a thinner pair - personally I wear thin gloves in all but the worst of weather.
A good hat is useful if it's colder/ blowy. If it's really cold, a face guard of some sort will be useful (I like a neoprene face mask myself). March in Austria is fairly mild in my experience, so this probably won't be needed unless you are very averse to the cold or on an exposed piste.
Dark tint sunglasses/ goggles are advisable for when it's sunny, high contrast orange/yellow tint for when it's overcast.
Edit: also socks - bring lots of warm socks
Thermals - it depends how much you sweat. Three pairs should be ample for a weeks skiing.
Good winter jacket and trousers are a must, as are good gloves. You might want to have a thicker pair and a thinner pair - personally I wear thin gloves in all but the worst of weather.
A good hat is useful if it's colder/ blowy. If it's really cold, a face guard of some sort will be useful (I like a neoprene face mask myself). March in Austria is fairly mild in my experience, so this probably won't be needed unless you are very averse to the cold or on an exposed piste.
Dark tint sunglasses/ goggles are advisable for when it's sunny, high contrast orange/yellow tint for when it's overcast.
Edit: also socks - bring lots of warm socks
Edited by Codswallop on Thursday 22 November 19:48
Four rules
Layers layers layers, avoid cotton.
Cotton will hold sweat on your skin whereas man made fibers will wick it away. I have skied in -40 in Canada and even then didn't bother with thermals, just put on more layers/thicker fleece.
Get yourself a good (not nesasaraly expensive, TKMAX) ski jacket and trousers which will be water/wind proof, preferably a jacket with a fleece lining. you will want a scarf to keep the wind off you neck and stop it from going down your jacket, Gloves with separate glove liners can be a lot warmer than one piece ones. Don't go and buy thick woolly tube socks, get some thin ski socks with padding in the shins. The ski boots are pretty insulating so you shouldn't need thick socks, never double up on socks unless you want blisters.
If its sunny you may be ok with sunglasses but make sure they are UV400, preferably use ski goggles though and you will want them if its snowing.
As for you head, I skied in my PH beanie cap for many years until SWMBO had a big oops, she was lucky (10 stitches in her leg, lots of bruises, mcl etc) could have been much worse if she had hit her head in a bad way, It all went wrong very quick despite being on a shallow easy run at low speed, all we can figure was she caught an edge on someone else's track and the Vancouver snocreate shot her off the side of the run down a rocky embankment. Since then we have used ski helmets and whilst sceptical at first, they are as warm as a hat and probably more comfortable.
Layers layers layers, avoid cotton.
Cotton will hold sweat on your skin whereas man made fibers will wick it away. I have skied in -40 in Canada and even then didn't bother with thermals, just put on more layers/thicker fleece.
Get yourself a good (not nesasaraly expensive, TKMAX) ski jacket and trousers which will be water/wind proof, preferably a jacket with a fleece lining. you will want a scarf to keep the wind off you neck and stop it from going down your jacket, Gloves with separate glove liners can be a lot warmer than one piece ones. Don't go and buy thick woolly tube socks, get some thin ski socks with padding in the shins. The ski boots are pretty insulating so you shouldn't need thick socks, never double up on socks unless you want blisters.
If its sunny you may be ok with sunglasses but make sure they are UV400, preferably use ski goggles though and you will want them if its snowing.
As for you head, I skied in my PH beanie cap for many years until SWMBO had a big oops, she was lucky (10 stitches in her leg, lots of bruises, mcl etc) could have been much worse if she had hit her head in a bad way, It all went wrong very quick despite being on a shallow easy run at low speed, all we can figure was she caught an edge on someone else's track and the Vancouver snocreate shot her off the side of the run down a rocky embankment. Since then we have used ski helmets and whilst sceptical at first, they are as warm as a hat and probably more comfortable.
Edited by ViperDave on Thursday 22 November 20:38
Not been to the Montafon Valley myself, but 1000 metres is quite low, and March is nearing the end of the ski season. Upshot is, the weather will most likely be warmer and clearer. You might even get away with skiing without needing a hat or thermals under your ski jacket/ trousers (normal t shirt can be more than enough if you have the sun on your back in my experience).
Downside is, the snow will probably be slushy, which can be hard work. It is slower snow though, so might be good for a learner
Goggles tend to be large like this;
I wear glasses, and they fit fine under all the various goggles I have tried.
Also, don't forget sunblock - the UV levels are much higher at high altitude.
Hope you enjoy the experience (and get some lovely fresh powder fall the night before you go out).
Downside is, the snow will probably be slushy, which can be hard work. It is slower snow though, so might be good for a learner
Goggles tend to be large like this;
I wear glasses, and they fit fine under all the various goggles I have tried.
Also, don't forget sunblock - the UV levels are much higher at high altitude.
Hope you enjoy the experience (and get some lovely fresh powder fall the night before you go out).
RosscoPCole said:
Are there goggles for glasses wearers?
yep, you can get ones that are deeper to make room for glasses but it doesn't necessarily stop them from fogging up. If its dry and sunny I used to wear my prescription sun glasses, but in the snow/rain when goggle became a must it was a real pain with the fogging up to the point sometimes i would have been better off without the glasses. Nowadays i ski in contacts and goggles.Here's a tip, never put your goggle on you forehead if you don't want them on as you will fog them with your sweat. If possible keep then on your eyes or take them off completely in the dry.
RosscoPCole said:
Thanks for all the advice.
Have started looking round at gear.
Is Trespass OK?
They seem to have some bargains on their website at present. £140 5000mm waterproof & breathable jacket reduced to £47. Ski pants with the same spec for £30
ebay is your friend ....lots of new/used bargains to had there.Have started looking round at gear.
Is Trespass OK?
They seem to have some bargains on their website at present. £140 5000mm waterproof & breathable jacket reduced to £47. Ski pants with the same spec for £30
Not sure of that brand, Things to consider when looking at a jacket are, its nice to have a removable fleece liner, makes the jacket more useful as the shell is quite small on its own so can double up as a summer wind rain jacket etc and you can wear the fleece separately as well.
Consider how much crap you want to carry when skiing, I seem to have pockets full. Cheese roll, some biscuits/nuts, small bottle of drink, Walky talky, Emergency thermal blanket and whistle, wallet, phone running my tracks logging etc. Ski jackets tend to have nice big pockets so it all fits but think about where your going to put stuff, one of my jackets has the inside and outside pocket on the same side, I have a tendency to turn left when i wear that one lol.
You may also need a spare pocket for an RFID pass, they prefer you to have it in a pocket on its own away from metal and electronics, a small one on an arm or glove is best so you can wave you arm around at the scanner if its not picking it up.
More expensive jackets will likely be down to fashion and this season, but some do have better features such as armpit vents, rico transponders, etc. Are these features useful, depends if you have sweaty pits or are under 10ft of snow and don't want to wait till spring for them to find your body
Consider how much crap you want to carry when skiing, I seem to have pockets full. Cheese roll, some biscuits/nuts, small bottle of drink, Walky talky, Emergency thermal blanket and whistle, wallet, phone running my tracks logging etc. Ski jackets tend to have nice big pockets so it all fits but think about where your going to put stuff, one of my jackets has the inside and outside pocket on the same side, I have a tendency to turn left when i wear that one lol.
You may also need a spare pocket for an RFID pass, they prefer you to have it in a pocket on its own away from metal and electronics, a small one on an arm or glove is best so you can wave you arm around at the scanner if its not picking it up.
More expensive jackets will likely be down to fashion and this season, but some do have better features such as armpit vents, rico transponders, etc. Are these features useful, depends if you have sweaty pits or are under 10ft of snow and don't want to wait till spring for them to find your body
Edited by ViperDave on Thursday 22 November 21:28
March, Austria pack your swimming costume.
2 sets of thermals, 3 pairs of tube socks, 1 jacket, 1 pair of snow trousers, 1 hat, 1 pair of sun glasses, warm and water proof gloves, warm and waterproof boots. Aldi do some pretty good cheap ski gear, there website says its in store from 2nd December.
2 sets of thermals, 3 pairs of tube socks, 1 jacket, 1 pair of snow trousers, 1 hat, 1 pair of sun glasses, warm and water proof gloves, warm and waterproof boots. Aldi do some pretty good cheap ski gear, there website says its in store from 2nd December.
RosscoPCole said:
Is Trespass OK?
It's good for the price in my experience. I had some old Trespass ski wear that held up very well over the years. Not worth spending too much on kit until you decide if you like skiing after all.Some ski shops appear to have keenly priced ex display or ex rental clothing. Might be worth having a look out for this in a local store.
RosscoPCole said:
I've been given the opportunity to go on a free skiing holiday next March in Austria. Travel, equipment hire, lift passes, food, etc. all included.
What clothing will I need?
How many pairs of thermals to last me the week?
Jacket? Pants?
Suggestions from seasoned skiers please.
As others have said Ebay and TKM are your friends. Unless you have the cash to burn it's not really worth going out and buying premo gear. Went skiing in Austria for my stag do and one of the lads didn't have much gear or want to spend much and got kitted out using a combination of gear bought off Ebay, using stuff he had and lending stuff. In the latter part of March chances are it will spring conditions, you're still up in the mountains and things are very changeable still. I was also in Austria in April and there were 4 days of very cold white out weather. It's all about layers really so you can shed if necessary.What clothing will I need?
How many pairs of thermals to last me the week?
Jacket? Pants?
Suggestions from seasoned skiers please.
You can get away with one lot of thermals and one pair of socks if you so wish, Ok you may smell by the end of the week but I'd rather have one set of decent thermals than 2 or 3 cheap pairs. You also want to get some proper thin ski socks rather than thick walking type socks to aid in boot comfort/fit.
If you have a half decent winter jacket this should do, may lack a snow skirt to stop snow going up your back when you inevitably fall though
Goggles are really worth it when it's windy, snowing etc, plus if it's sunny you can get glare off the snow and if your sun glasses don't wrap around you could get glare from the snow and damage your eyes.One last thing if you can get to one of the indoor slopes dotted around the country and get a lesson or two. You really can learn allot indoors and then you don't have to waste time when you get abroad learning the very basics.
Hope you enjoy it anyhow, hopefully you'll wonder what you've been doing all your like before you found skiing...
and one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321024129582?_trksid=p51...
only joking
But a lot of people wear them throughout skill range so possibly something to consider.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321024129582?_trksid=p51...
only joking
But a lot of people wear them throughout skill range so possibly something to consider.
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