Dress right to stay warm.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday and hopefully students are enjoying their much needed time off.  In the past week or so, we've had a snowstorm, a ton of rain, some days in the 50's, more rain, back down to below 20, and now a couple of inches of snow again.  Now that's N.E. weather!  The weather we really care about is at the mountain and while they didn't get much during that last snowstorm, it has stayed very cold throughout the last few weeks.  How about this for a number - they have already pumped out over 40 million gallons of water converted to snow!  They have almost three feet of snow at the base which is pretty good at this time of year.
Onto the good stuff, this posting is all about how to dress at the mountain.  For you seasoned skiers/boarders, this may serve as a checklist to get all of your gear out if you haven't already.  The last few days, we've had temps in the 20's.  That's pretty much what the base temps are at the mountain...all the time!  Remember, we're night skiing so the temps are a little lower than when the sun is out.  It's all about layers.  The more layers you have on, the warmer and dryer you'll be.  My advice: wear a good thin base layer that stays fairly tight to your skin (thermals, Under Armor, etc.).  Follow this up with another loose layer up top (long sleeve or short sleeve shirt will do).  Finish the upper torso with something thick and loose (sweater, turtleneck, sweatshirt) and top it off with a good jacket that will keep you warm and not soak up any water.  Down on the lower torso, the ideal situation would be to have snow pants.  They have a thick layer and repel water better than any other pants you can wear.  If you have snow pants, throw on whatever pants you wear to school - something comfortable; jeans are fine, sweatpants are fine, "swishies" are probably too thin.  You can throw your snow pants over everything as we head up to the mountain or just before you get onto the bus if you'd like (there are locked bathrooms in the studio).  Just remember, the faster we get on the bus, the better.  If you can slide into two pairs of socks, I would.  ***Whether you do that or not, I'd bring an extra pair of socks!***  It's great to change into a pair of dry socks when you get onto the bus for the ride home, believe me.  Wear an old pair of shoes/boots to the mountain.  You're not guaranteed to get a locker by any means and if you have to put your shoes under a table or on a shoe rack, you don't want to place your brand new Uggs in a place for all to see.  Finally, I'm sure I don't have to tell you all to wear gloves - not the knitted type ladies - good gloves that will keep your hands warm and dry.  If you can keep your hands, feet and head warm, you'll be in good shape.  Wear something to keep your neck and ears covered and finally when you choose that crazy hat with the jester pompoms, you better remember...you have to wear a helmet!  I hope this covers everything but if I missed anything or you have any advice to offer, feel free to comment to this post in the blog or send me an e-mail.  Expect another handful of posts in the up and coming days as we move within a week of our first trip.  Talk soon!