Wednesday
Mar212007
Gear (or How to Stay Warm in Outer Mongolia)
Bernie Anderson
This is one of those posts that the women in my family don't understand. However, one of the things that I was kind of excited about when preparing to move to Mongolia was the fact that I actually had a legitimate excuse to buy outdoor gear. It's not that I am the proverbial "gearhound" - but I have to confess that if I had unlimited financial resources and a less restrictive conscience, I really could be. Of course, we also used to live in Tennessee, where if it gets really cold you might have to put on a long sleeved shirt. I know that there are some who read this who will find this an absolute waste of blog-space. That's okay. You can stop reading now. However, I wanted to share a little about how we actually stay warm here - and I am telling you, I stay quite warm even when temperatures drop well below 0 degrees F.
Now, I will qualify this by letting you know that we have had a rather mild winter this year. The real bitterly cold temps (-40F or -50F) didn't really hit this year - we will see what happens next year. Nevertheless, we definitely saw -25F and -30F. I walk the dog every night at around 10:00 PM, and was never really cold.
I found the key to be removeable layers, particularly living in the city. The buildings here are really quite warm. If you aren't wearing clothes that can be easily removed, it's possible to suffer heat stroke in language class. I typically wore a tee shirt every day, with a fleece and a good coat. This method enabled me to stay comfortable with the summer time temperatures of my classroom and sub-freezing temperatures while waiting for the bus.
However, if I knew I was going to be outside for any length of time, this became a different matter ...
Layer 1 - A good set of synthetic (NOT Cotton!) long underwear. Cotton long underwear will absorb moisture and bring on hypothermia like flies on a yak (ummm... Mongolian metaphor?).
Layer 2 - Normal clothes
Layer 3 - A good fleece. I don't really find good synthetic fleece here. But that could be because they actually wear sheep wool (isn't that what fleece is supposed to be, as opposed to polyester?). I brought several fleeces from the States, and they have been fantastic.
Layer 4 - A good "shell". I have been using a shell jacket made by Nordica, that is intended to be used for skiing. There is a Gore-Tex coating and it has been quite sufficient to keep the Mongolian North Wind from slicing through my bones on cold winter nights. I was also given a pair of North Face ski pants that make a great outer shell for the legs, particularly if there is a lot of snow and my kids have intent of hitting Dad with snowballs...
Appendices - This is key. If feet, hands or head are cold -- then everything else is a wash. So...
Head: A good hat. I've been wearing a hat that used to belong to Renee's grandfather. It's warm with a fleeced lining, and an option to come over the ears, if necessary. It's warm and has some sentimental value.
Hands: I bought a good pair of North Face guantlet style ski gloves. They're perfect.
Feet: Here's the best. I like my Smart Wool socks. But the essentials are my Sorel Caribou's. Being waterproof and with a -40F rating, they are the best and most comfortable shoe for snowy and cold conditions.
It is now spring time. Temperatures have creeped back to above freezing several days this week. Night time temps are staying slightly above 0F. The lighter jacket has come out of the closet, and normal shoes are sufficient. Perhaps next winter will be colder than our first winter here - if so, I may have to get different gear. Too bad about that ...
Now, I will qualify this by letting you know that we have had a rather mild winter this year. The real bitterly cold temps (-40F or -50F) didn't really hit this year - we will see what happens next year. Nevertheless, we definitely saw -25F and -30F. I walk the dog every night at around 10:00 PM, and was never really cold.
I found the key to be removeable layers, particularly living in the city. The buildings here are really quite warm. If you aren't wearing clothes that can be easily removed, it's possible to suffer heat stroke in language class. I typically wore a tee shirt every day, with a fleece and a good coat. This method enabled me to stay comfortable with the summer time temperatures of my classroom and sub-freezing temperatures while waiting for the bus.
However, if I knew I was going to be outside for any length of time, this became a different matter ...
Layer 1 - A good set of synthetic (NOT Cotton!) long underwear. Cotton long underwear will absorb moisture and bring on hypothermia like flies on a yak (ummm... Mongolian metaphor?).
Layer 2 - Normal clothes
Layer 3 - A good fleece. I don't really find good synthetic fleece here. But that could be because they actually wear sheep wool (isn't that what fleece is supposed to be, as opposed to polyester?). I brought several fleeces from the States, and they have been fantastic.
Layer 4 - A good "shell". I have been using a shell jacket made by Nordica, that is intended to be used for skiing. There is a Gore-Tex coating and it has been quite sufficient to keep the Mongolian North Wind from slicing through my bones on cold winter nights. I was also given a pair of North Face ski pants that make a great outer shell for the legs, particularly if there is a lot of snow and my kids have intent of hitting Dad with snowballs...
Appendices - This is key. If feet, hands or head are cold -- then everything else is a wash. So...
Head: A good hat. I've been wearing a hat that used to belong to Renee's grandfather. It's warm with a fleeced lining, and an option to come over the ears, if necessary. It's warm and has some sentimental value.
Hands: I bought a good pair of North Face guantlet style ski gloves. They're perfect.
Feet: Here's the best. I like my Smart Wool socks. But the essentials are my Sorel Caribou's. Being waterproof and with a -40F rating, they are the best and most comfortable shoe for snowy and cold conditions.
It is now spring time. Temperatures have creeped back to above freezing several days this week. Night time temps are staying slightly above 0F. The lighter jacket has come out of the closet, and normal shoes are sufficient. Perhaps next winter will be colder than our first winter here - if so, I may have to get different gear. Too bad about that ...
Reader Comments (6)
Great post Bernie . . . I remember those cold days from Regina (SASK) and Russia. And boy are you ever right about cotton! lol! D
This is an interesting post, and don't apologize, Blogs should be about real life and not necessarily always contain words like "emergent" or "missional." :-) It doesn't get that cold here in Colorado but I like to stay cozy, and what's not to like reading about clothing, even if it is for outdoors?
Hmmmm ... perhaps I should have entitled this post "Emergent Gear For the Missional Lifestyle" ... Maybe not. That sounds like I'm coming out of the closet about something or other.
I found this post very informative and quite helpful, as I take the bus to work and am always looking for ideas on how to stay warm outside on those cold winter mornings. The coldest temps I remember since I've been here in Colorado Springs have been between 2F for a low and about 5Fa high, but that's pretty rare. Thermal snow boots, long underwear and fleece mittens make a big difference on such days! I didn't know that about cotton so thanks for the tip.
Hey! Remember the e-baying of long underwear! Who knew...
It was 86 here yesterday and it's March. I'm melting already. I'm not ready for this.
Miss you guys!
Lisa
How can anyone forget long underware on Ebay? It got us to Russia and back! You and Joel need to find something else to Ebay that might get you to Mongolia and back!
We miss you guys, too. A lot.
Although I must confess that we don't miss 86 degrees in March. :) It might crack that for a day or two in July here.