You may have noticed that British Columbia can set record breaking low temperatures. This translates to even colder temperatures at higher elevations on ski hills. There are a few tools that you can add to your parenting bag of tricks to keep all our young skiers warm and safe.
* 80% of our heat loss goes out the top of our heads - if we have cold feet it can be caused by heat loss from our heads.
* Wear a helmet, it’s much warmer than a hat.
* Wear a full face cover or partial face cover.
* Exposed skin will burn - make sure all the little parts that typically get exposed like beside the helmet ear flaps and just under the goggles, are covered.
* Layer up - with many layers!
* Wool absorbs moisture - it is good to have it close to your skin. Outer layer must block all wind.
* Zip up all zippers and main zipper up the neck.
* Wear a neck tube.
* Wear leather mitts, it cuts the wind (mittens are warmer than gloves).
* Buy hand warmers - they last up to 8 hours.
* Most race boots have thin liners for performance, plastic is a very poor insulator.
* Make sure the boot liner is completely dry, after each ski day, and make sure your boots fit well.
* When you put your ski boots on, make sure your socks are DRY! Bring extra socks!
* Buy electric boot heaters ( I recommend this as the best fix).
* Buy ski boot overlays made from thin high dense foam (these work quite well).
* Buy foot warmers (like the hand ones) and place them on the top of your feet just in front of your toes.
A couple of other things to do...
Ski slower keeping the wind down (work on short radius turns). Stay out of the wind if possible. Watch each other for white skin, when you see it DON'T RUB IT just place your glove or hand and warm it up gently. Ski for shorter periods of time and go in to warm up even if you don't feel cold.
If any part of your body, especially your feet just feel a little numb, go in right away - you may have frost bite. Warm them up slowly, they may be painful as they thaw out.
DON'T TAKE YOUNG CHILDREN SKIING - the negative experience may turn them into video players, not skiers!
Written by John Huddart, Past President, VSC
