by Cameron Scott

Created on: November 24, 2009

Outdoor activities in winter can be great fun. A long way toward keeping them fun is to dress appropriately for the season. No matter how warm it looks when the sun is shining through the window glass, the snow on the ground should be a dead giveaway that if you don't dress warmly, things are going to get cold and miserable in a hurry.

If you are going to be engaging in outdoor activity, you should always dress in layers. This is because your body will heat up quickly once you start getting active in the snow, and you will probably start sweating. However, once you stop moving, you're going to start feeling the cold again much more quickly than you might suspect. Without the right undergarments, you are also going to have a clammy layer right next to your skin. Few things feel more miserable.

Your innermost layer should be cotton or a similar material which can wick away sweat from your body. Newfoundlanders, who are expert in dressing for the cold, have developed longjohns to wear underneath everything for the really cold days. This bit of underclothing comes in two parts, a set of skin-tight sweatpants and a vest or long-sleeved undershirt, usually made of silk or cotton. Special thermal blends are also available. Together, they cover everything from the neck to the ankles.

Your next layer might be looser sweatpants along with a tee shirt or sweatshirt, depending on the type of activity. If a tee, combine it with a sweater. Make these two layers bulkier if you know you are going to be doing a lot of standing around in the cold, and make one of them acrylic or wool. The insulating qualities come from trapped air pockets. Bulkier clothing has more trapped air pockets than thinner clothing.

Your outermost layer should be an insulated jacket, coat, or parka. If you will be engaging in an activity such as skiing, you will also want snowpants. When the temperature is close to the freezing mark, you also want to make sure this outermost layer is water resistant. There are few things worse than being soaked through in freezing weather.

In really cold weather, especially if I know I am going to be standing around for awhile, I sometimes put on a parka on top of a lighter jacket. This makes a really great combination if you have to wait for a bus, since you can always pull off the parka inside the bus or while shopping inside a mall.

Warm socks and waterproof winter boots with good traction are a must when doing any winter outdoor activity, as are water-resistant Thinsulate gloves. Thermal inlays in your boots help keep the heat in. For really cold temperatures or if you are going to be doing a lot of standing around, put on two pairs of socks, one of them wool, and wear mittens over your gloves. If your feet or hands get cold, all of you gets cold.

In bitter cold, throw a scarf around your mouth, nose, and throat. Your lungs will thank you.

Don't skip the hat! No, you won't lose half your body heat through your head, but you will lose a lot. Your face and ears are highly vulnerable to frostbite. When your head is exposed to bitter cold, you can also get the kind of headache that makes migraines look mild. For all these reasons, always wear a hat that covers your ears. If it's really cold or windy, consider a balaclava as well as the touque.

When dressing, allow for the wind as well as the cold. Wind can steal your core body warmth from you even faster than just cold temperatures. Most winter weather forecasts include a wind chill value as well as just the temperature. Even if the temperature looks fairly warm, always dress for the wind chill instead.

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