Have mentioned before that we live in the coldest part of Colorado at 9,000 feet? Yes. It’s a force.
If you aren’t willing to get outside when it’s below 20 degrees, you aren’t going outside for 50% of the year… And we must go outside. Those snow capped mountains still beckon in the cold.
Greg downhills skis.
We both nordic ski.
I will run in anything above -15 degrees Fahrenheit.
We take West hiking down valley and skiing in the trailer up valley as long as the temps exceed 10 degrees.
That’s all to say we have honed in on the best cold weather clothing. Clothing for walking around town and clothing for getting our hearts pumping in the snow.
The saying that “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing” is kind of true. I have run in the door from one of the -15 degree runs to tell Greg it wasn’t so bad. Not that it was so great. -15 kind of sucks, but ten layers of wool make it bearable.
And I joke, it wasn’t ten layers, just a few good ones. Below you will find the ones we can’t live without.
Kate’s “will run in ridiculous cold temperatures” clothing
- Darn Tough Socks- I run, hike, camp, ski, and drink cocktails in these socks. I have been through many brands of merino wool socks. These truly are darn tough and so cute! Socks should be fun and the woodland animals on some of these delight me.
- Patagonia R1 Hoody– My most critical piece of winter run gear. When it’s really cold, I layer this over a wool base layer, and under a soft shell jacket. The winning element for this hoodie is that it zips up so that your face gets some coverage. No exposed cheeks in -15 degrees!
- Smartwool Classic Thermal Merino Bottom– Again the emphasis here is on wool for the baselayer. I run with these under fleece lined running leggings when the going gets tough.
- Stoic Flannel Lined Venture Pant- My favorite discovery of the year. Flannel lined pants for around town. So cozy. This even helped make me a little hip and cast my millennial skinny jeans aside in favor of some relaxed legs.
West’s “will ride in the trailer for hot chocolate” layers
- Patagonia Hi-Loft Down Sweater Bunting– This is our go to outer layer for the coldest of the cold. When we take West in the ski trailer, we layer a Patagonia base layer, fleece over the top, and then this bunting.
- REI Co-op Fleece Trailsmith Pants– These serve many purposes. They go under the Patagonia bunting on outdoor expeditions. They go over his PJs in camp when we wake up. They go to preschool when it’s cold outside. A jack of all trades.
- Hestra Baby Long Zip Mittens– Polka dots! We choose warmth over fun, but prefer to have both. The long zip is critical for the annoying task of trying to get a little thumb in the thumb hole. These are very warm.
- North Face Toddler Alpenglow Boot– Form meets function, yet again. I find the classic look of these so sweet. The insulation seems to do the job with some wool socks and they are pretty easy to get on a squirming toddler.
.
