Baselayer and Midlayer Combinations That Work for Winter Mountaineering, Hiking, and Backpacking
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This climbing stuff is hard. It’s just not an easy thing to move one’s way up a mountain by their own power, either when using ropes or not doing so. It’s a different kind of hard across those two options, but it’s still hard. Add in winter, which often means snowy conditions that keep me moving slower, shorter duration of daylight, and often not being able to access trailheads (adding distance on to my trips), and “hard” can get “truly difficult.”
So, I look for any edge I can get. And one of the ways I try to gain an edge is by making sure that I have the right equipment for the activity and conditions at hand. For winter, the start of that list has to be our clothing; it - without being hyperbolic - is literally the barrier between life and death.
Now, I’ve done a whole separate video and post on winter clothing layers, and I’m not looking to repeat myself. So, here’s where I am coming form on this one:
The reality is there are really only so many different down or synthetic jacket temperature ranges you can get: loosely, they divide into light insulation (think the ubiquitous Patagonia or North Face baffled puffy you see on everyone), medium insulation (now we are talking things that people who get up into the mountains use), and expedition insulation (the big parkas that come just shy of a full-on summit suit). And you can add to this the fact that, unless you are going to 6000m and up, you usually aren’t moving and climbing in your puffy; it’s for when you are stopped or not working very hard.
That leaves your baselayer and midlayer to do the work of insulating you (and wicking away moisture and heat) when you are on the move. In some ways, then, these two layers are more important to dial in to the weather than even the puffy. The puffy just needs to keep me warm when I have the potential to be coldest (not moving). I need the baselayer-midlayer combination to keep me warm, but not too warm. There is a balance that needs to be struck, here, in a way that the puffy doesn’t have to do. If I break a sweat, that freezes when I stop and has the potential to make me really darn cold, despite any big puffy I may throw on. And of course they need to keep me warm enough while moving to not freeze the whole time.
I’ve, therefore, spent quite a bit of time trying out different combinations of baselayers and midlayers, and - for me - this is where I am at right now with this current generation of available garments.
…Oh, and keep in mind this is assuming that I am doing some activity that generates body heat, keeping my pulse around 120 or above for prolonged periods of time (in my case, usually either mountaineering or alpine climbing):
Warm Winter Days
Simms SolarFlex Hoody
Eddie Bauer Cloud Layer Pro Full Zip Jacket
Women's (they don’t make a Cloud Layer, but do make a full zip grid fleece called the “High Route”)
Temperatures Around Freezing
Patagonia R1 Hoody Pullover
Eddie Bauer Cloud Layer Pro Full Zip Jacket
Women's (they don’t make a Cloud Layer, but do make a full zip grid fleece called the “High Route”)
Well Below Freezing
Patagonia R1 Hoody Pullover
Outdoor Vitals Ventus Active Hoodie
Expedition-Level Cold
Patagonia Capilene Air Crew
Patagonia R1 Hoody Pullover