[Closed] Ski clothing advice

I won’t have a snow skirt or dedicated pass pocket but does this really matter for 4 days?

No

Not having a pass pocket can be a PITa fiddling around for your pass in a busy and pushy queue with gloves on, trying to hold your skis and poles while some pushy eejit who has no queue manners pushing you in the back and if you start to hold things up then people will soon start to try to push around you. You don’t want to be fannying about in the queue rummaging around for your pass.

Not worth buying a jacket for, but maybe use one of those elastic arm pass holders which you can get from decathlon, or something similar - a mobile phone arm holder for when out running.

No pass poker shouldn’t be a problem.

Just put the pass in your trouser side pocket. The machines will still detect it.

I often use a biking waterproof jacket on hot days which doesn’t have the pass holder. So I just stick the pass in my trouser pocket and get by fine. You might have nudge your hip against the detector a bit

Layers are good. I use my biking base, mid and top layers for skiing. Good call on the elasticated arm pass holder.

Have fun 😁

Won't damage gore tex - designed to be used with rucsacs. Gore tex membrane is inside anyway, it's just a face fabric that you see on the outside.

Cheapest option if you want a dedicated pass pocket is find a cheap fleece with one and wear that under your shell. I've got a few different thin fleece layers that have them. Or as others have said, put it in a trouser pocket.

If you ski hot then get shell trousers and jacket. You'll melt in insulated sallies if you genuinely ski hot.

I wear a thin pair of bouldering trousers and a thermal under shell trousers and jacket. I'm still usually too hot. The thought of wearing a fleece as well brings me put in hot flushes.

Caveat: this advice does of course not apply to Scotland. If you're skiing in the UK then thick fleecey trousers and a warm jacket are indeed good/essential

I find most ski jackets bulky and heavy and just use a lightweight padded jacket with waterproof over it. It was so hot last week I was just in base layer and waterproof. Pass in left (sensor side) pocket works fine.

You absolutely don't need dedicated ski jacket/trousers. I live in Chamonix and ski a lot and I just wear a mountaineering gore-tex jacket. As others have said the RFID ski passes work fine from in your chest or trouser pocket. Put them on the left side and not in the same pocket as another card or a moblie phone.

I have gloves with a pocket on the back of the hand. Theoretically for a hand warmer but always used as a pass pocket.

Just back from that area and the bottom lift at Samoens was 22 degrees at 9am!! Skied in Goretex shell and helly hansen base layer all week bar last weds when it snowed like hell!! Not much snow below 1600m!!

I agree with the generalist - I ski in shell trousers (make sure they are wide enough to fit over your boots) and a shell top. Often with just a thick base layer on the top. On cold days I will add a buff, then another thin layer on the top and thermal leggings under the trousers. I’ve pretty much been doing this since helmets became normal - as that pushed my temp too high. If it’s very wet or particularly cold I will scrap the jacket for a proper ski one.

I have occasionally felt cold on an exposed lift, never when actually skiing. Psychologically I don’t mind being cold - better half would find that horrific. Only thing to be aware of is if you spend a lot of time standing around waiting for friends/other skiers, or lying in the snow waiting for a blood wagon I think you could get cold very quick.

You’ll only need a snow skirt if you crash a lot or are lucky enough to be skiing waste deep powder!

Do you really need a camelback? You’ll probably get made to remove it for lifts which adds to the faff (but having seen someone dangling 4ft off the ground from a rucksack strap is understandable)

I have gloves with a pocket on the back of the hand. Theoretically for a hand warmer but always used as a pass pocket.

Aaah, that's what the pocket is for. I'd assumed it was for a lift pass, but hand warmer makes much more sense. 🙂

And +1 for the don't take the camelbak. I get cold sweats just watching folk with strappy backpacks getting onto a chair - especially the dedicated dakine models. If you really must take a pack, take one with no straps or pockets on the back that has a slim form factor. But unless your going off piste, you really don't need one.

Do you really need a camelback?

I fit anything I want to carry in pockets, but if it's hot I have a small camelback, just big enough for the water bladder, and wear it high up underneath my jacket (above chairlift back height).

shell trousers and jacket for me with a thermal top and t-shirt underneath, if it's really cold I put on a fleece as well.
Pass is in inside left pocket, just need to turn slightly to get it to active the gate

Nothing wrong with wearing a shell and layering.

My main Westbeach snowboarding jacket is just a Goretex waterproof shell with no insulation. It has snow specific features (skirt, arm gaiters, lift pass pocket, goggle pocket, storm hood etc) but nothing essential and nothing that would bother you on a short Spring trip.

I was wearing it in Scotland last week in 60mph winds and sleet on Nevis!
Thermal base + thermal t-shirt + thick hoodie + jacket. I was fine.

If you are going to invest in anything snow-specific then gloves are a higher priority. (But not a huge issue for Spring skiing)

And +1 for the don’t take the camelbak. I get cold sweats just watching folk with strappy backpacks getting onto a chair – especially the dedicated dakine models. If you really must take a pack, take one with no straps

Ah yes. The stupid Italian habit of telling people they must take off backpacks on the lift. Drives me mental. Just leave the damn things on your back, all strapped up like they're supposed to be.

Sit on chair, immediately shift forward to check bag is not hooked on, I carry water, extra sun cream, sun glasses and a hat for lunch usually in a bag, plus snacks. I do like riding without one too though. Biggest problem I had this year was not having space to leave the chair as the lifty was picking up a snowboarder and no one slowed the chair down, had to jump off in the end!

As for jackets, I generally go in Jan and when on a cold lift I prefer a thick jacket with a high neck and chin cover. With some degree of pit vents for warmer days. But if you have a jacket you think will do the job I'm sure it will be fine.

I've sworn by a Buffalo Mountain Shirt for pretty much all winter outdoor activities for the past 15 years. Best £100 I ever spent (bit more now though with inflation). They work well for skiing as they have a large comfortable temperature range. Why have many layers when you can just have one for pretty much all conditions?

Just leave the damn things on your back, all strapped up like they’re supposed to be

Problem with this is that packs (especially big ones) often shift people's body & weight forward, which can make lowering the safety bar and getting off the lift problematic for other people on the lift especially at busy periods.

Up to the individual and how they roll, but personally, if I'm riding in resort then I won't take a bag - suncream, toque/beanie etc can all fit in the pockets.

I saw quite a few lift incidents in Baquira a couple of weeks ago with bag straps getting snagged - one was only seconds away from being serious.

The low profile camelbag type thing under the jacket sounds like a good idea for those hot spring shred days when you need fluids. Also a number of brands have made really low profile 'stab-vest' type things that can take shovel and probe but don't have loads of unnecessary straps etc, which makes them ideal for slack-country days

Regarding the OP - personally I over-heat quite quickly so I like being able to layer according to the days weather. This makes a mountain shell type jacket ideal.

I'd go with most of the comments above -
- lift pass works best from a trouser pocket anyway.
- shell gore tex much better than insulated jacket in Europe where it can be warm. Base layer, vary thickness of mid layer from nothing to thick fleece or even down jacket depending on temp
- try and get everything in your pockets. Get a tiny flat tube of suncream you can refill from a bigger bottle (we've been reusing ours for about a decade - your only exposed skin is your face so you don't need much)
- Try to avoid a rucksack. If you're in a resort you don't need a big bladder of water and the tube inevitably freezes. Take a Platypus soft bottle or of the fold up silicon water bottles that you can fill up from a lift toilet sink when you need it and carry in your pocket the rest of the time. Only time we take a rucksack now is if we're doing a packed lunch (and then it's empty after you've eaten and can go under coat.)

Problem with this is that packs (especially big ones) often shift people’s body & weight forward, which can make lowering the safety bar and getting off the lift problematic for other people on the lift especially at busy periods.

Yep it takes a bit of getting used to, but still a hell of a lot easier than having the ****ing ruksack on your front or in your hand

I saw quite a few lift incidents in Baquira a couple of weeks ago with bag straps getting snagged – one was only seconds away from being serious.

I don't think I've seen any problems with the ruksack on, but definitely seem problems with it off.....last weekend the lifty told the guy in front of me to take off his avibag and put it on his front. He did so, with waist straps, crotch belts etc all dangling to shit everywhere. Lo and behold, as he got off the lift the airbag triggering caught in the chair and the kin thing inflated there and then jammed under the chair.

Fair enough, the bloke should have done a better job of controlling his accouttements, but the whole thing could have been easily avoided by just keeping the ruksack on, right way up, with the waist belt and wedgie strap all tied up like they should be.

Also a number of brands have made really low profile ‘stab-vest’ type things that can take shovel and probe

I have a Black Diamond Bandit.

It's an avalung pack that takes my shovel and probe - but more relevantly it's pretty low profile and doesn't have straps and netting etc across the back that could get caught on lifts.

These days it mostly contains stuff for kids! Extra beanie, spare gloves, sun cream, snacks, drink, etc. 😁 Though I often take the shovel in it just so I'm used to carrying it (and it's always handy to make a little kicker).

(Edit: that was pretty off topic. Not relevant to the OP at all. Sorry)

I don’t think I’ve seen any problems with the ruksack on,

I've seen someone hook the pack over the back of the seat (while wearing it) so that their back was against the back of the seat. Fine until they tipped forward to get off and stayed hooked on the chair....

I have a Black Diamond Bandit.

I was thinking more along the lines of the Volcom Iguchi Slack Vest or the Dakine Heli Vest but yeah ... the smaller the profile of the pack the better I reckon when in resort - and of course spare supplies with the little rippers is required

Problem with big packs is there is a tendancy to fill them ... (I know this only too well as my touring pack is 40 litre ... )

I don’t think I’ve seen any problems with the ruksack on,

I think the issue is if a strap gets caught when someone is wearing it, they could easily be dragged round and over a big drop. If the bag is held in the hand and then gets caught then all that is required is for the owner to let go. Never heard of someone being told to wear it on their front ... that sounds a daft rule ...

lift pass works best from a trouser pocket anyway.

People say stuff like this as if it is a bone fide fact without thinking that others through real life experience have proved this wrong and make suggestions contrary to this, not out of pure fabrication, but out of their own personal experiences. If your trouser pocket is lower than the receiver then it isn't going to be detected. The receivers have a very short range of detection. My experience in over 20 years of ski holidays is that the receivers are set at different heights from lift to lift and the sensitivity of the receivers varies alot - some are just the right height for whatever pocket you happen to have your pass in, some are not and you will have to lower or raise your pass pocket for your pass to be detected.

If you're experience is different and 100% of times your pass in your trouser pocket has been detected first time every time without fial, then great...good for you. But you are in the minority. It might be pure coincidence that your hip height is just the right height for every single receiver ever installed in any ski resort anywhere in the world. You're lucky. Most of the rest of us with non-optimal leg lengths are not so lucky. I've held up queues before when my pass wasn't detected and have been stuck behind others countless times who have similarly been stuck with passes that are not detected immediately. The best place I've found is an arm pocket as that is the easiest part of your body to raise or lower to offer the pass upto the receiver whatever height it might be.

think the issue is if a strap gets caught when someone is wearing it, they could easily be dragged round and over a big drop

Yes, this is the logic and it happens. I've seen it with my own eyes and have seen plenty of video's of it happening. But then I've seen people have issues faffing about with their bags trying to take them off too late as the chair lift is bearing down on them getting all tangled up in the straps as the lift is coming through. A chap in our party got smacked in the head by the lift when he was too busy faffing about with his rucksack and didn't see the lift come round. Luckily he had a helmet on so was knocked to the floor and was dazed a bit for a few minutes but if he had no helmet on it could have been quite a nasty injury. I never bother with a rucksack. If you're just hooning about on resort there are so many places to stop if you want a drink or something to eat then no point for a rucksack. Everything else I carry with me - sun screen, glasses or goggles, a buff or even another base layer, easily fits in the pockets of my jacket. If I'm venturing off piste then clearly you need more gear with you.

they could easily be dragged round and over a big drop

Raises hand in an embarrassed fashion... 😬

DD +1

A long time ago on my first week long trip.

lift pass works best from a trouser pocket anyway.

People say stuff like this as if it is a bone fide fact

True. The resorts I've been to in recent years it's worked well for me but I'm 6'5" so mine is pretty high - normally the worst I have to do is squat slightly. Not going to work for everyone - using the forearm pocket of course far too high for me.

Of course, anyone with a really old jacket from the days of photo passes will have a clear plastic pocket on their shoulder. No use at all with modern lift gates.