Ski Apparel

[Cataboo]

I'm just totally against insulated pants or jackets for skiing and it's a personal preference really - too bulky and too limiting. I don't want to have to have a different pair of pants because I'm spring skiing on 35 degree sunny days vs. skiing at 10 degree days vs snowshoeing or cross country skiing. Different layers, sure.

I skied with the ibex backcountry pants + cloudveil run don't walk boxers + smartwool midweight or ibex woolie tights + rho ar pants the 2nd week of this december in Breckenridge when the temperatures were getting to 10 degrees fahrenheit as a high with 30 mph winds in town & 45-60 on the mountain...

LIft rides were cold, but I was fine skiing. I had my theta ar shell, my ibex tank bra thing, my ibex pico over that, with a smartwool synergy over that, an icebreaker sport rock zip over that + a down vest. What was getting cold was my fingers (fine if I switched to my mittens) and my toes - just wiggled them, but I only ski with a capilene liner sock + a smartwool glove over that.

I did have my down puffy with me & coulda just put it under my shell but didn't.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thank you all for the helpful posts (and PMs Catriona!). I am new to the shell/layer concept but I am going to give it a whirl, cuz I really need the versatility given that I don't even know yet if I will end up cross country or downhill, I did invest in a shell jacket last winter, and I do already own a lot of base and mid-layers.

So, scorpion pants are on the way....... (50% off right now at backcountry.com if anyone is interested, I've been watching this stuff for a while and its a good deal to find in non-extreme sizes).