Stay Warm During Winter Outdoor Activities
Here are a few useful tips that will allow you to enjoy outdoor activities while maintaining a safe and comfortable body temperature during the winter season.
Steps
- Avoid wearing cotton! Cotton traps moisture against your skin. Through convection, cold air and moisture work together to replace the heat that your body generates with cold energy. Use polypropylene or another synthetic material that is advertised to wick the moisture away from your skin.
- Remember to layer up! This refers to the way you dress. Start with soft layers against the skin and finish with a nylon material that will challenge wind and rain, such as Gore-tex®. The idea is that as the temperature changes, you can add or remove clothing that will keep you just warm enough.
- Eat for the trip. Your body will generate heat as it burns the fuel you have fed it. Eat foods that are high in fat content and calories. Remember that a calorie is actually a unit of measure that measures heat! Warm foods and hot drinks will really warm the soul on a cold day.
- Drink liquids. when it is below freezing the air will draw moisture out of you. If you are dehydrated it is harder for you body to keep you warm
- Wear a Hat and Gloves. If your feet are cold put a hat on. Your body will close off circulation to your fingers and feet if you head gets cold. Your head will not feel cold but your feet will. By putting on a hat you will warm up your head and the circulation will return to your cold feet warming them up.
Tips
- In your layers, wear long johns or Under Armor®. This will help you keep the heat near your body
- If you are spending the night in the cold, try boiling water and putting it into a secure water bottle wrapped in a sock. Go ahead and throw the water bottle(s) in your sleeping bag while you sleep in the tent.
- Wear at hat! So much of your body heat can be lost from your head. Maybe you can find one with fuzzy ear flaps!
- If you are really having trouble staying warm and have chemical heat packs or warm water bottles, place them under your arm pits or on the inside of your upper thighs. These are areas where your arteries are close to the surface of your skin and your blood can gain a little extra heat to circulate.
- If you stop your aerobic activity for a break, go ahead and put another layer on immediately so that you don't get cold. Stay ahead of the game!
- If you can't seem to get your toes to stay warm and you aren't out for too long, try rubbing a little cayenne pepper on them. You feet will feel warm, but remember, they are actually cold and tissue damage (frostbite) may occur with prolonged exposure to cold conditions.
- Keep moving! As you body works, it generates heat as a by-product. Use those layers to keep the heat. Much of your body heat is circulated via the blood stream. Wiggle those toes and fingers to get heat there, too.
Warnings
- Do not consume alcohol in an attempt to "warm up". Alcohol lowers your body temperature.
- Know and become familiar with signs and symptoms or hypothermia. Know when to call it quits and go inside. The first sign of hypothermia is "stupidity" when your brain gets cold it doesn't work as well as normal. For example a person with mild hypothermia when asked if they will be warmer if they zip their coat up will say no, or if asked what 3 + 4 = will have to think hard about it. Some of the other signs of hypothermia are Confusion or sleepiness, slowed, slurred speech, shallow breathing, week pulse, low blood pressure, a change in behavior during cold weather, excess shivering or stopped shivering, stiffness in arms or legs, and poor coordination.
- If you are too warm, you will sweat. Sweating will add too much moisture and then you’ll get really cold!
- If you are in snowy conditions, remember to wear sunscreen. The white snow surface will reflect the sun's energy and provide more than you are used to. (Remember to apply UNDER your chin and IN your nose. Trust Me.)
- This guide is intended for individuals who plan on participating in activities that may be distant from warm areas or climate controlled facilities. If you have any doubts about your skill level in the outdoors by staying warm, safe, fed and alive, you should seek proper training from a skilled individual.
Things You'll Need
- Skiing
- Snow-shoeing
- Hiking
- Camping / Backpacking
- Pantyhose
