Spring weather is always variable. It can snow one day and be sunny the next. The mornings are cold but we're in T-shirts by the afternoon. All this change makes it hard to know what to pack for an outdoor adventure, so聽I called several outdoor pros and asked about the gear they use.
Ultrarunner聽Stephanie Howe Violett
Use Arm Warmers: Violett lives in Bend, Oregon, which had a solid winter this year. Things are warming up聽but still fluctuating, so she always heads out the door with arm warmers under her running T-shirt. The sleeves聽offer a thermal bump on colder starts and are easy to tear off once she breaks a sweat. “I like to be warm, but I聽claustrophobic with all these layers on,”聽Violett says. “My core is where the heat is generated鈥攊t鈥檚 just my arms and legs that get chilled. Once you start to heat up, that's the first place you want to take stuff off.”
Thru-Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis
Eat Food to Keep Your Core Warm鈥:聽Pharr Davis, who once held the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail and has lots of tips on how to layer, says the key to staying warm is to fuel up before you head out. She always makes sure to consume a bunch of calories before a cold start.聽“If you鈥檙e not eating, even if you have fantastic layers you're going to get cold and find it hard to warm up,”聽Pharr Davis says. “Your body聽is your first layer.” Just in case you needed an excuse to get that breakfast burrito鈥
Pro Skier Cody Townsend
Bring a Variety of Lightweight Layers: “You end up needing a lot of gear with all the temperature fluctuations in聽spring, so I use聽lightweight stuff,”聽Townsend says.聽He leaves his three-layer shell at home and instead goes with a thinner Gore-Tex jacket that isn鈥檛 as warm but takes up less space in his bag. He also brings a thin soft聽shell聽and聽insulated layer, and mixes and matches until he finds the right combo. He isn鈥檛 worried about weight, since everything is feathery compared with his winter gear. Besides, the real danger isn't being too cold鈥攊t's being聽sweaty and wet, which can be dangerous when temperatures dip in late afternoon.
Ski Mountaineer Hilaree O鈥橬eill
Always Carry a Buff: O鈥橬eill lives in Telluride, Colorado, where it was minus聽five degrees last week and in the forties this week. To deal with those swings, O鈥橬eill always packs a Buff. She聽pulls it over her ears and wears it under a trucker hat for warmth聽while going up. She also uses it as sun protection on warmer days. “I don鈥檛 like sunscreen,”聽she says. “When you鈥檙e climbing hard and the temperatures get聽hot, sweat gets聽in your eyes. It鈥檚 more effective to have a Buff and a good hat.”聽On cold descents, she wears the Buff beneath her helmet and pulls it over her face to protect her nose and chin.