Learning to ski or snowboard is hard, I know. That’s especially true for snowboarding; few people are used to moving sideways and fewer still are comfortable flying downhill with their feet attached (not to mention immobilized) to a board.
I get that. I learned to snowboard by essentially sliding down the hill until I took a spectacular tumble which, ideally, was near the bottom of the hill, in the approximate area of where I intended to stop. It was rough (yes, I recommend lessons.)
But even now, as a proficient(ish) snowboarder, there’s still plenty of room to progress. It’s really easy to feel like you’ve hit a wall, though, as I have this year when trying to get comfortable in deep powder. Snow that’s two or three or more feet deep is hard to maneuver in. It’s heavy and weighs your board down and it takes more forceful movements to make turns, but you also have to stay loose in case you hit a bump you couldn’t see under the snow.
What that means is that you fall a lot when you’re getting used to deep snow, which is the worst! You get snow down your pants and in your layers, and boom, your clothes are soaked. Once snow is down your pants you’ll probably get cold and cranky, and it won’t help that you have to spend longer than you’d like digging your feet out out, digging your board out, and then piling up snow behind you into a hard enough pile to push off of so you can actually stand up.
It’s hard, and I wasn’t that good at it. But then I did something pretty wild that made a huge difference: I changed up my gear.
No, it didn’t instantly make me a pro. But it makes you more confident to know you’ve got the right, protective gear, and so many of us underestimate our skills and what we can do that confidence really may make all the difference.
I switched to waterproof backcountry layers, all of it from Mountain Hardware, a company known for making serious, technical gear. I picked up three pieces…
…and they’ve made me feel much more comfortable about going into challenging conditions and terrain.
Let’s start with the Bib. The key here is that it’s a BIB. It comes up to your chest and has comfortable suspenders, which means you can say goodbye to snow going down your pants, because there’s no break in the fabric. I’ve fallen on my butt in super deep snow and no matter how much I have to wiggle and dig to get out, I stay dry (and warm.) That makes me much less worried about trying to push myself, because it doesn’t matter if I take a spill. Oh, and it’s also loaded with pockets (unlike women’s ski pants normally, let’s be real) so if you want to bring a selfie stick or GoPro with you, just toss it in the chest pocket.
I also think the Cloudseeker Jacket is a great buy. Aside from the fact that it has more pockets than one women could ever wish for, it’s insanely waterproof, with three layers of protection. It’s made for backcountry skiing, which is usually much harder and sweatier than skiing at resorts, so it’s really professional level protection. It also has a built-in RECCO reflector, so if you get buried under snow people can find you fast (this is important). That helps justify the slightly higher cost of the jacket: it’s loaded with enough safety and technical features that once you become super good at skiing/riding you can keep wearing it – you won’t have to buy a new one for years and years. All Mountain Hardware gear has a lifetime warranty, so I’m serious when I say you won’t need to buy another jacket.
The Monkey Fleece Pullover isn’t something I wear skiing: it’s what I look forward to putting on when I get back to the car. It’s insanely soft; comparisons to puppy ears wouldn’t be wrong. It’s super soft and warm and feels so good to pull on when you’re cold or tired. Mine has become my go-to sweater I wear all winter long. Since I work from home, I pull it on when I get up and wear it on chilly mornings (though I wear it just about everywhere else, too.) It’s great with jeans and boots for a effortlessly cool mountain look and it’s pretty flattering for being fleece. It’s a little more expensive than a standard pull over – it’ll run about $150 when not on sale – but consider how long it’ll last it’s a pretty smart buy. Quality over quantity. It also comes as a zip-up if that’s more your style.
So the bottom line is: equip yourself for success. When you’re not worried about getting cold or wet, you’re more likely to push yourself a little harder. And you’re probably a better skier or rider than you think you are – you just need to feel a little more confident so you can worry less and enjoy yourself more.
Sidenote: I also like Mountain Hardware because they’re a sustainable company, both in materials and environmental impact as well as in terms of social responsibility. You can learn more about their initiatives here, but yeah – I always encourage supporting companies and spending a little bit more (if you can afford it, of course) on gear that supports businesses that are doing good. I’m 5’7″ and I wear a size M – I’ve found that a size M from Mountain Hardware always fits; their sizing is very easy to work with.
Mountain Hardware hooked me up with the gear for this post, but no one told me what to write or what to think about it. If I didn’t like it, you wouldn’t be seeing a post on it (I’m picky about gear.)
If you want more info on picking the right gear for your ski trip, no prob – just leave a comment or shoot me an email.
