Pixabay photo

When the temperature drops and the wind starts to blow, it can be a real challenge to keep warm while skiing. It is no fun to be out there when you are freezing. To understand how to keep warm, it is helpful to know why you get cold. That is, how heat is transferred from your core to your extremities. It is also important to note that there is a considerable difference between men and women when it comes to body heat regulation.

Body temperature is controlled by a sort of thermostat in a section of the brain called the hypothalamus. Through a complex set of information receptors, the brain tries to analyze what is happening and send out orders to adjust body functions to compensate. It keeps your core temperature within a narrow, safe range even when the external climate changes.

When you feel hot, the blood vessels in your skin dilate to release heat through the skin. This causes the skin to sweat and appear flushed.

When you feel cold, the blood vessels in your skin contract to conserve heat. Your muscles often spasm (shiver) to produce heat and keep body temperature within a safe range. This thermo-regulation is a dynamic process that balances heat generation (through metabolism and muscle activity) and heat loss to the environment, to maintain core temperatures.

The average human has a normal body temperature of 98.6, although this can vary. The core temperature of women, on average, is slightly higher than that of men. In 1851 Carl Wunderlich studied 25,000 people and found that adult women were a bit warmer at their core, perhaps Nature’s way of protecting the reproductive organs. Scuba diving research has long noted that the core temperature of women divers is higher than that of men. Women actually are better able to resist the effects of hypothermia because their essential organs stay warmer longer.

This female heating system for the core means that less blood flows to their hands and feet and as a result they feel cold. This has been largely attributed to the very obvious difference in body structure, limb proportions, surface area, insulating muscle and fat mass, thickness and distribution between men and women, which results in women maintaining a lower skin blood flow and, consequently, lower skin temperatures. Or stated another way, women are typically smaller and have a higher ratio of surface area to volume, which causes a rapid loss of heat.

Women also have thinner skin (okay…I thought of several comments as well.) It is also true that as you get older, both men and women, your skin gets thinner. The skin on the feet of women is thinner and has less subcutaneous fat than men’s. The thinner the skin the less you are protected from the cold.

Studies show there can be as much as a five degree difference in the temperature of a woman’s hand at the same outdoor temperature as a man’s hand. According to an article published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, men have a metabolic rate about 23 percent higher than women’s. Your metabolism is the rate at which you burn food to fuel the body, and as a by-product of that process, you heat up the body. So, women’s bodies are colder than men’s because their metabolisms are slower.

Knowing all of this, how do we keep our body warm when it gets really cold. The human body generates heat, which warms the air around our bodies. The trick is keeping that warmed air next to the skin. This is where layers kick in.  Each layer traps air. The more layers, the more trapped air. The body also sweats. That moisture needs to be wicked away from the skin. Again, layers help.

Keeping Hands and Feet Warm

Socks are really important. Never use cotton socks, which absorb and hold moisture. Use only socks specifically for skiing or riding, which often include padding at the shins for comfort more than warmth.

Bring an extra pair and trade them out at lunch time so any moisture that has built up can be eliminated. Spend the money for good ski socks – you will be glad you did.

Mittens tend to be warmer than gloves. Gloves separate the fingers. Mittens keep them together. I use a very warm soft glove as an inner layer and a lined leather outer mitten. Those little hand packs work well, or get battery operated gloves to keep your fingers toasty.

Wear a soft gaiter around your neck. This will trap the heat from your core from escaping upward and will keep your throat and the back of your neck warm.

Your ears also need protection as there is very little circulation there. Earmuffs are great, especially when your hat covers them as well. A helmet also traps in the heat from your head. Some folks have a hood on their jacket that comes up over the helmet. Others have a liner that goes under the helmet.

Your core area is the easiest to keep warm. Start with a base layer of breathable material. Over that you can add a second layer, making sure it is not cotton. Modern ski pants and jackets are wonderful creations. I like the bib-type pants that come up in the back and front so that when you bend the heat stays in the body.

When it gets cold outside, just layer up and keep moving.

Credit: Levi Ski Resort

If you’re an alpine skier, you are familiar with snowmaking and know it is vital for resorts and surrounding communities in order to sell tickets and meals and beverages, fill beds, provide jobs, generate taxes and so much more.

Snowmaking is less of a given at cross country areas in the U.S. and Canada, although it present at roughly 70 sites, with the number increasing each year. The most extensive XC systems are generally at venues hosting World Cup and Olympic races, such as  Soldier Hollow, UT; Canmore, AB; Mt. Van Hoevenberg, NY; Whistler Olympic Park, BC.

But there are other Nordic operations which have made major investments in snowmaking, including Ariens Nordic, MadNorSki and the Birkebeiner trails in Wisconsin; Forbush Corner, MI; Tahoe Donner, CA; several private schools and colleges with XC teams in New England; and clubs like Caledonia Nordic inBC; Bridger Ski Foundation, MT; and Nakkertok Nordic, QC.

Curiously, few XC operations owned by alpine ski areas have added substantial snowmaking.

Evolution of XC Snowfarming

Once upon a time, “snow farming” in the cross country ski world meant doing what you could to keep whatever falls from the sky. Back in the early 1970s, when I got in the business of designing and maintaining trails, that often meant simple, logical, ongoing, but time-consuming measures. These generally included routing trails to optimize snowfall; removing protruding rocks; trimming overhanging conifers; cleaning up debris after a storm, etc.

A few sophisticated venues would improve surfaces with grass or wood chips; snowfencing to take advantage of wind-created drifts for later re-distribution; mitigation and re-routing for wet areas where melt and ice were concerns, using culverts, adding fill when possible; bridges with railing and kickboards to prevent “bleeding” off edges and allow melt to drain off; removing encroaching brush, etc.

Not elaborate measures, but manpower-intensive. And of course, we would shovel snow onto the trails. So we learned the value of packing and “age-hardening” through machine-grooming snow from the moment it fell.

In the West, the drought winter of 1976/77 and another miserable season in 1980/81 made us more conscious of weather vulnerability. By then, Eastern and Midwestern operations in the U.S. and Canada were well aware that once-predictable winters would be interspersed with periods of melt.

XC Snowmaking

Over the years, XC snow-saving technology has evolved to include man-made snow. The earliest snowmaking I can recall was Weston Ski Track in the mid-1970s (they are still going strong), on a golf course near Boston.

There were some additional areas, but Nordic snowmaking has become relatively frequent only in the past dozen years or so. Olympic sites seem to be the primary exception, with Canmore Nordic Centre probably the earliest, around 1988, and Soldier Hollow in 2002.

Several of these sites include professionally designed trails with snowmaking. Trail planner John Morton of Morton Trails in Vermont has often combined the two. Some of Morty’s projects are Ariens Nordic; Rikert Ski Touring Center, VT (Middlebury College); Oak Hill, NH (Dartmouth College); Dublin School, NH; and Kents Hill School, ME.

Snowmaking companies increasingly see XC as a significant if smaller-than-alpine market.

The Next Step: Keeping What You Get

The basic principle is that when you have enough snow (preferably man-made stuff because of its density/longevity), your priority is to coddle it. Rain, sunshine, warm temperatures, and especially wind can wreak havoc on piles of snow that could otherwise prolong the ski season.

Roughly 20 years ago, XC operators in Europe – especially those involved with early season high-level races – started using wood chips and sawdust to preserve snow throughout the summer. This often meant that you could open some trails when your neighbors were still sighing about the weather.

Craftsbury Nordic in Vermont, Canmore Nordic Centre in Alberta, and Whistler Olympic Park, BC, have used wood products to protect piled man-made snow between closing in the spring and opening in the fall.

The three goals of starting operations on an early, predicted date are hosting events, providing on-snow training opportunities for individuals and teams, plus drawing recreational skiers. This timing can be vital to both ski operations and their local economies.

Most Federation International du Ski (FIS) and International Biathlon Union (IBU) XC race venues already use woodchips and/or sawdust. Chips a couple of feet deep insulate very well (summer loss is as little as 12%), but they have a number of drawbacks – growing cost, longevity, disposal, dust and debris rising to the surface, separation from snow in the fall, acidifying soil, leaching runoff, etc.

A Finnish company, Snow Secure, has developed white extruded polystyrene blankets that are now being used in Europe for both alpine and XC and has been honored for its resilience and sustainability. (Full disclosure: Snow Secure is one of my clients and we are introducing it to XC areas in both the U.S. and Canada, with Soldier Hollow, UT, our first customer.) Currently, they are working with four alpine resorts in North America, including Sun Peaks, BC and Bogus Basin, ID.

Shapes for snow piles are tailored to the site. Ideally, the snow piles are made when temperatures are coldest in winter, providing dramatic savings in water and energy usage as opposed to snowmaking in the fall; packed into layers; and covered with foam mats. At XC World Cup venue Ruka in Finland, there are three piles configured like bread loafs, each about the size of a football field – around 220’ x 110’ x 25’ high and pretty formidable looking. That’s about 14,000 cubic meters of snow when produced in the winter.

It generally becomes a lot more dense while stored, say 10,000 cubic meters by the time it’s uncovered in autumn. When spread out in the fall, this can translate into roughly 3 kilometers of trails covered by snow 1’ deep by 20’ wide. These synthetics provide effective insulation in temperatures as warm as 100 °F, even when venues such as Ruka have perpetual summer daylight.

Their stored snow is good quality for spreading, grooming, and skiing, although the system is not quite as efficient as wood chips for preserving snow. The materials are durable and long-lived (10+ years). Installation and uncovering the snow is swift and simple, then it’s spread. Instead of eventually heading to a landfill, like wood products, the materials can eventually be collected, then can be routed to recycling or energy recovery.

The Future of Snow Storage

Complexities include cost, finding a convenient summer location for the piled snow, and winter storage of the insulating materials. But the word is getting out that there’s an option to losing vital parts of early season operations. I predict that in the next few years, we’ll see at least a half-dozen more North American XC areas – more and sooner for alpine resorts – that adopt snow storage as a case of “Can’t live without it.”

For the last two ski seasons my right shoulder has been giving me increased trouble when poling, especially in the flats. I visited my orthopedist, and x-rays revealed my shoulder had inoperable bone spurs. I needed a total shoulder joint replacement. This would be my 11^th surgery in 20 years. Mentally, I wasn’t ready for another surgical procedure and stint at rehab. I inquired what my options were short of surgery. For the next two years I received quarterly cortisone shots in the shoulder. While effective over that period, last season the shots were no longer providing much pain relief, as predicted by my physician. It was time for the replacement surgery.

When I told my surgeon I was ready for the surgery at last, he asked me when I wanted it. I told him July. Knowing I’m an avid skier he laughed and said, “David, nobody on Cape Cod wants surgery in July except you. Pick any date you want.”  Of course, I backed into a date I thought would provide plenty of time to be strong on-snow in December. On July 14^th I had my right shoulder joint totally replaced.

Frankly, the actual procedure was an ordeal to be endured. The first three-or-four-weeks post-op were almost as tough as my triple by-pass several years ago. It was mostly a pattern of cold therapy, pain pills and sleep during the day. Even though I was fortunate to have an adjustable bed; the most difficult aspect of sleeping at night was always being on my back. You’re strapped into a harness, that’s part sling and part waist band, designed to ensure minimal movement. It’s a lot like how sleeping in a strait jacket must be. Regarding cold therapy, here’s a tip: If you ever have major joint surgery consider buying or renting a Breg Polar Care Wave. The device pumps cold water into a shoulder or knee pad at a rate and temperature that doesn’t harm your skin or other tissue. No twenty minutes on per hour. I had days when I wore it for six or more hours at a time. It provided extended pain relief, which allowed me to take fewer pain meds, and reduced swelling faster which accelerated healing. Depending upon where you live you can buy the unit for $300 or rent it for $100 a week. It’s well worth it.

The new reverse joint replacement

This Berg Polar Care Wave made the healing a little bit easier.

Make no mistake. The most important aspect of recovering from major joint replacement surgery is the post-op physical therapy. I’ve had the good fortune to find a talented physical therapist named Arron. Over the course of about two decades, he has gotten me through two hip replacement surgeries, three shoulder surgeries, a knee surgery, and a lumbar surgery.  The regimen generally consists of an hour or so of light weight training and a lot of stretching two times a week. The fact that I’m still making turns at all is a testament to his work. I titled this article “If it Doesn’t Hurt, You’re Not Doing It Right!” because that’s pretty much Arron’s therapy philosophy. He says the #1 reason many patients don’t do well in post-op PT is they don’t (and in some cases can’t) work through the pain. I can certainly testify that while our sessions often push my pain tolerance to the limit at the time, the result is less pain and more range of motion immediately after each workout. During the course of a few weeks, I went from not being able to lift my arm to my chest to becoming able to scratch my nose and the top of my head. That may not sound like much but it’s huge progress when you can’t even cut your own meat or hold a glass of water due to the pain.

Heaven forbid you should ever need joint replacement surgery but if you do, find a physical therapist that will invest in your recovery. If you indicate you’re serious about doing the work it takes to make a full recovery (and getting back on the hill) they’ll respond and push you to heal, recover, and reach your goals.

Flats ahead? Who cares!

There’s intense anticipation for this winter in the Southern Appalachians. Early signs were hopeful with several regional resorts being among the East’s earliest openers thanks to pre-Thanksgiving cold, snow, and solid snowmaking into December.

Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene still haunts us. Ongoing news stories about struggling businesses closing and politicized federal recovery money not meeting expectations in amount and speed are real and really affect tourism. Luckily, last year’s ski season breathed post-hurricane vibrance into southern snow sports while energizing tourism in rural mountain resorts among the hardest hit by Helene.

That said, our southernmost mountain resorts, restaurants, hotels and occupancy tax dependent municipalities are hoping for a good season.

The Southern Alps, once isolated,  are increasingly interstate accessible. Case in point Asheville, still recovering and in need of skiers’ good will, is a vibrant city surrounded by a jagged 6,000-foot skyline and a fast 30 minute I-26 drive from Hatley Pointe ski area. It’s easy to focus on AVL’s classic hotels and diverse and create rarefied ski memories. The Omni Grove Park Inn and new Flat Iron Hotel are top choices.

Here’s a state-by-state guide to what’s new in the Southeast

North Carolina

In the northwestern “High Country” corner of North Carolina, Appalachian Ski Mtn. has refined its automated snowmaking system, added a new snow groomer, and expanded snow making capacity and night ski lighting on main slopes. It’s also broken ground on a major new skier services center and a snow groomer garage, both to open next winter.

A few miles away, the “Hallmark Channel” town of Blowing Rock, regularly touted as the region’s quaintest mountain burg, has added new dining and lodging to slopeside options.

Beech Mountain Resort, the East’s highest ski area and town has rebuilt the mountaintop 5,506 Sky Bar pub and dining spot. The vista includes the nearly 7,000-foot spine of the Black Mountains, NC’s and the East’s very highest peaks, as well as Virginia’s highest summits.

Sugar Mountain Resort is North Carolina’s biggest ski area, with a mile-and-a-half run to the lodge and1,200 feet of vertical from a 5,300-foot summit. This season debuts new LED slope lights on the Lower Flying Mile run to the base lodge and new snowmaking Sugar also has a tubing park, ice skating, and guided snowshoe tours.

Sugar Mountain (submitted by Randy Johnson)

Farther south, just west of Asheville, below snowy Big Bald Mountain and the Appalachian Trail, boutique Hatley Pointe Resort follows its buzzworthy debut last winter with widened and expanded existing slopes and new gladed runs and new snowmaking.

That permitted Hatley to gift its used snow guns to Cloudmont Ski Area, Alabama’s only ski slope, and southernmost in the East.

Cataloochee Ski Area’s diverse slope system clings to the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park southwest of Asheville. This winter’s big news is the Omigosh Quad chairlift, a $4-miliion Doppelmayr Alpenstar lift, named after an adjacent black diamond. Cataloochee director of marketing and public relations Sarah Worrell, calls it “thelargest single capital improvement in Cataloochee’s history.”

Most Cataloochee lodging and dining is in the town of Maggie Valley, but classic Cataloochee Ranch, a landmark summer equestrian lodge from 1933, has memorable luxury accommodations close to the slopes.

Diminutive Sapphire Valley ski area near Cashiers, NC, gets a new magic carpet lift at its Frozen Falls tubing park. Other tubing options include North Carolina’s, and one of the East’s biggest tubing resorts, Hawksnest Snow Tubing, near Boone in the town of Seven Devils.

This winter, 6,300 foot Roan Mountain reopens after two winters of Forest Service infrastructure improvements and Helene repairs.

Virginia

Bryce Resort, just west of the Shenandoah Valley in Basye, Virginia, boasts a significant slope expansion this year. The resort has four new slopes, all joining existing runs like Bootlegger and White Lightning, names reminiscent of Prohibition or “Appalachian ‘craft’ alcohol.” New names include Speakeasy and 80 Proof, and the new Prost, recall the founding Locher family’s European roots with the German word for “cheers.”

Two new green slopes and one intermediate reflect Bryce's traditional beginner emphasis. The sole new black run, Randy’s Remedy, will appeal to better skiers who value the area’s long reputation for a quality ski racing program.

Atop the Blue Ridge near Charlottesville, Wintergreen has a massive multiyear effort rethink its entire snowmaking strategy and infrastructure, starting with the replacement of all snowmaking on the Dobie slopes and central mountain area, the busy easier terrain that links the resort’s two most flanking trail layouts.

Massanutten takes a breather this winter from the last several seasons of major slope expansion. The diverse new runs, including a third from the summit with 1,000 feet of vertical, simply reinvented the Massanutten ski experience. This winter, the region’s only employee-owned ski resort adds more snowmaking for its tubing runs and a Saturday night comedy club joins the season’s events lineup.

West Virginia

Canaan Valley, in northern West Virginia near Davis, is home to two major downhill ski areas, Canaan Valley Resorts’s State Park Ski Area and privately-owned Timberline Mountain Resort. Both crest beside the Monongahela National Forest’s lofty Dolly Sods Federal Wilderness, with 150 or so inches of annual snow.

Canaan Valley Resort’s state park ski area is winding up a $6 million investment by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Related improvements expected to get more of the mountain open sooner and extend late season operation.

Timberline Mountain Resort has expanded snowmaking on Salamander, the two-mile longest run in the region. The added snow will extend this long cruiser’s season, good news for both beginners and backcountry fans. The slope heads left from the summit along the Dolly Sods Wilderness boundary occasionally offering tele-tourers access into the scenic alpine-like area.

Many of the backcountry Nordic folks slipping off into those woods will be heading to White Grass Ski Touring Center, simply the best Nordic resort in theMid-Atlantic and South. Situated between Canaan Valley Ski Area and Timberline, hip, happenin’ White Grass and its historic 80-year old ski lodge is like noother cross country resort out there. With connections to the high elevation lifts at adjacent  slopes, a massive system of set track trails in between, and valley flat-tracking on the “snow farm,”

Snowshoe Mountain Resort, an Alterra Resort under the Ikon Pass program, is the biggest snow sports resort in the Middle Atlantic and southern states. Last year “the Shoe” celebrated its 50th anniversary and this ski season reaches back to its roots for the biggest single upgrade in recent years.

The half- century-old, landmark resort hub, Shavers Center, is being replaced and should open in January. Also new this winter—uphill skiing. West Virginia’s region-leading snowfall (150 to 180 or more annual inches) has always inspired the backcountry ski crowd and attracted Nordic skiers to a handful of reliable cross country centers. This winter taps that spirit by opening parts of Snowshoe’s considerable downhill terrain to alpine touring and split board uphill travel, including for headlamp-illuminated night skiing.

Winterplace Resort’s major changes this year are completion of a $2-million improvement program for new snowmaking more slope lights for night skiing, including in the Terrain Park.

Publishers Note: It is with great sadness that we learned of the recent passing of one of our most popular contributors, Harriet Wallis. This is one of her many important articles we are republishing this season.

“Stop! Don’t do that. Don’t move him”, I screamed.

My husband had misjudged the slope, crashed, and landed in a heap in the middle of the trail. He was also out cold.

We were skiing with his good buddy Lars when it happened. Lars skied to him and dragged him by his right arm until his body flattened out. Meanwhile, I was screaming at Lars to stop. But he didn’t stop.

By the time I side-stepped up the hill to the scene, Lars said, “I had to straighten him out. He looked so uncomfortable.”

Unconscious skiers are not uncomfortable – they are unconscious, and anybody who moves them before Ski Patrol arrives can make an injury worse.  That’s likely what happened to my husband.

X-rays showed his shoulder was broken. Surgery and hardware repaired the bone, but fragile nerves might have snapped when he was dragged by his arm. We’ll never know.

The bone healed, but the nerve damage was complete. My husband has never again had use of his right arm. It was dead.

If Lars had some basic knowledge about what to do, it might have turned out better.

I talked with Mark Pollish, a career patroller and 40 year veteran of the Alta Ski Patrol, for some guidelines that we recreational skiers should heed in case of an accident.

Do No Harm

First of all, he said, when you come upon an accident, “Do no harm.”

When somebody crashes, “Don’t rush into the situation and become part of the problem. Whether it’s a ski crash or an accident on the highway, think extreme safety. People are quick to want to help, but don’t do anything that might jeopardize their safety or yours.”

The next guideline logically follows “Do no harm.”

Do Not Move the Person

“Do not move the person. That includes do not remove their skis. You don’t know what the injuries might be. There could be spinal injuries and moving the person could make it worse,” he said.

It doesn’t matter whether the skier or snowboarder is awake or unconscious. Don’t move them.

Just last year, I listened to two skiers awarding themselves kudos because they thought they were heroes. They saw someone fall and not budge, so they rolled him around and propped him up because he looked “so uncomfortable” He was unconscious through it all, and he was still unconscious when Ski Patrol arrived. Moving him could have caused serious damage. We’ll never know.

The first two guidelines focus on what you should not do.  These next three are what you should do, Pollish said.

Make an X with your skis.

Take off your own skis and drive the tails into the snow forming an X well above the accident.  Or, if you ride, plant your board upright in the snow. It warns others to stay clear of the area and also marks the location of the incident.

Call the patrol and stay on the phone with them.

Whether you are at your home mountain or visiting a resort across the country, it’s a good idea to have the patrol’s emergency number in your phone so you can reach them quickly, Pollish said.

At some ski areas, the main number is the best way to get connected to the patrol. At others, the patrol might be reached through 911. It varies from resort to resort, so it’s best to find out before you need to call for help.

Then be sure to “stay on the phone with the patrol” Pollish said, and give them “as much information as possible: location, description of the person, and what you know about the.situation.”

Finally, stay with the downed skier until the patrol arrives. You might be able to provide additional information that they need, he said.

Think safety. Ski safely.

Now, are your ready for a pop quiz? What are the 5 things you should know and do when a skier crashes?