Learn how to dress for skiing in this free beginner video ski lesson on clothing.
Dave Smith has been skiing for more than 21 years. He lives in Wood Village, Ore., and has been working at Hillcrest Ski and Sports as a salesman and buyer for more than five years. He was an instructor with the Mt. Hood Meadows ski school. Despite working full time at Hillcrest, Smith manages to get 30 to 40 days on the snow each season.
Hi! This is Dave Smith with Hillcrest Ski and Sports in Gresham, Oregon on behalf of Expert Village. In this tutorial we will cover beginning skiing. In this clip we're going to cover how to dress appropriately. Before you even get to ski hill, you need to be prepared for the conditions, you're going to face at the hill. Conditions can vary. It could be very snowy to very dry, very sunny to very cloudy, and you want to be prepared for anything you might face at the mountain. To start with, you're going to need to think about a base layer, something directly against your skin. You want to have something that will move moisture away from your body instead of trapping it against your body. A good material for this polypropylene or polyester blend. Here's an example of a pair of polypropylene pants that you can wear right against your skin underneath the rest of your snow equipment. Here's an example of a polypropylene top. On colder days at the mountain, you might want to add a layer of fleece between you base layer and your outer garments. Here's an example of a pair of fleece pants. Fleece is a material that doesn't trap moisture. Also, it has a lot of warmth and it's still light weight. Here's a fleece top. For your outer garments, you're going to want something that's both waterproof and also breathable. You're going to want to think about how much insulation you need. People have personal preferences. Some stay warmer than others. A very thin garment might require many layers underneath, but is very versatile. A thicker garment is going add more warmth, but may not be quite at versatile. Here's a pair of waterproof of breathable pants. Waterproof ratings should be listed on garments. They start around 500 millimeters of waterproofing and can go up as high as 30,000. The higher the number, the more waterproof the garment. Here's an example of a waterproof breathable jacket. This is a little more of a shell meaning it's a little thinner and might require more layers underneath. If you had a thicker jacket such as down jacket, you might not require as many layers underneath. You're also going to need a pair of gloves and a hat to keep your head warm. Alternately, you might choose a helmet, which many people are doing now a days for safety. Last but not least, we have socks. You want to stay away from cotton and stick with a synthetic blend that will move moisture away from your foot instead of trapping it against your feet.
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