I have bad circulation and suffer the cold fingers and toes. I went about trying to fix this and keeping warm when skiing. I read and tried all the solutions that the internet had to offer including ice conditioning (putting your hands in ice buckets for longer and longer periods of time). Do you know what the ultimate solution was? Extra thermal layers!?
Your extremities (fingers and toes) get cold when the blood goes from them to protect your core, so conversely, keep your core warm and your fingers and toes will be warm! If you too suffer from cold extremities try one extra layer on your core.
If you really suffer (like I do) then this helps too…
If you really suffer (like I do) then this helps too…
- 1 x extra thermal layer on your top
- Leg thermals
- Thin inner socks and inner gloves, ideally merino wool (they help stop your perspiration from freezing and give you an extra layer of protection)
- Mittens instead of gloves so your fingers warm one another
- Hand warmers in the mittens
- A buff or scarf as you lose more heat through your neck than your head.( The whole losing 40% of your heat through your head thing is a myth! Who knew!)
- Finally and iPhone power pack to stop the battery on your phone from freezing, one of the best under £10 purchases ever!
It was -16 here in Morzine this week so this has been fully road tested with no cold fingers. We really hope this is helpful for some of you. It is perhaps a little overkill, I was a kid who grew up skiing in the 80s with C&A Rodeo brand hand me downs and everything worked out just fine then too! However, if the cold has a negative impact on your ski day, give the layers method a try.
