Winter School Personal Gear
Winter School participants:
To go on weekend outings, you can rent most technical gear directly from the outing clubs, but you do need your own winter clothing. And you will need a few pieces of gear: A compass, whistle, flashlight (headlamp preferred), and water bottles (at least 2 liters worth).
We will go overwinter clothing strategies and gear choices in the first week of lectures.
See the full personal clothing and gear list below, as well as a list of stores.
Gear you must personally own:
  • compass
  • whistle
  • flashlight (headlamp preferred)
  • water bottles (at least 2 1 liter)
Clothing (you must personally own):
Body:
  • non-cotton undershirt (wicking)
  • fleece/wool warming layer (warming)
  • water/wind-resistant shell (water/windproofing)
Legs:
  • non-cotton long underwear (wicking)
  • fleece/wool pants/shell (warm, wind/water-resistant top layer - insulation and shell can be combined or separate)
Hands:
  • liner gloves - non-cotton (wicking)
  • insulating gloves or mittens (warming, two pair recommended)
  • overmitts - wind/water-resistant - can be combined with insulating gloves (water/windproofing)
Face/Head:
  • warm hat
  • face mask or balaclava
  • goggles
Feet:
  • liner socks - non-cotton (wicking)
  • warm socks - wool, fleece or other synthetic insulating material (warming)
  • gaiters (duct tape can be a great substitute)
Other personal gear (you might want to own):
  • trail food
  • map(s)
  • space blanket (a good idea)
  • spare headlamp batteries
  • pocket knife
  • bandana
  • sun glasses
  • camera
  • chemical hand-warmers and toe-warmers
  • first aid kit
  • Tissues/TP
  • Book: Mountaineering; The Freedom of the Hills
Gear Sources
Local
  • Trailblazer – with the exception of a few sales, generally expensive and poor selection
  • Ascent – at Connecticut Rock Gym; growing technical mountaineering selection
Regional
  • EMS - look in the back corner of the store, where they have the returns. You can often find great deals. Locations: Fairfield, West Hartford, Manchester, Danbury
  • REI – West Hartford
  • Cabela’s – East Hartford
  • North Cove Outfitters – Old Saybrook
Less technical stores
Lots of stores that don't cater to rich outdoor types have clothing that can be perfectly useful for Winter School. Apply what you learn in lecture to select layering material. Long underwear often makes wonderful layers.
  • Eddie Bauer outlets (Westbrook, Danbury)
  • Sears
  • Target
  • K-Mart
  • Wal-Mart
Thrift
  • Salvation Army
  • Goodwill
Cheap online