What cold?
Patrick reflects on his winter trips to Russia and the French Alps
There is no such thing as bad weather, only a poor choice in gear. I missed the recent Beast from the East cold snap in the UK. I was on leave and no I was not on some sunny island enjoying cocktails while soaking up the rays. My wife Alison loves to ski and so we were in the French Alps, staying in a lovely old chalet that is managed by some good British friends of ours. As an African I am a little out of my depth when in skis and on the slopes. Still, I try.
My family and I were in the basement apartment which has its own outside entrance but with temperatures reaching minus 27 degrees during our visit, we instead took the shortcut through the garage when heading from the upstairs main dining area to our apartment. There was an old blue One Ten in the garage and it made me feel right at home despite the fact that it had not moved all winter. I must’ve walked past it about 100 times during our stay. In fact there are lots of Land Rovers zooting around the various ski resorts in the French Alps. When you have extreme cold and snow you obviously want a vehicle that won’t let you down. Sadly our rental Opel Astra only had regular tyres on and not snow tyres and so for the week of our stay we had to use the chalet shuttle bus to get to the ski lifts.
During my recent visit to Moscow (see April 2018 issue), the British outdoor kit company, Berghaus, kindly provided me with four pieces of kit for the cold adventure. They were: a Hudsonian Parka, Hillmaster II GTX Boots, Reversible Beanie and Touch Screen Gloves. Remember, I was shooting and driving in a Series II in the middle of the Moscow winter. If I was cold or my fingers frozen, then I would not be able to do my job properly. Thanks to my Berghaus gear this was definitely not the case, despite the temperatures reaching minus 10 degrees Celsius in Moscow. While in France and Russia I tested all four of these pieces of kit and I can honestly say that they all helped to keep me warm and comfy. Not only is the Hudsonian Parka fully waterproof, its Hydrodown technology has been treated with Nikwax, so the insulating duck down will stay dry for up to 16 hours. Fortunately I was never in the rain or snow for more than a couple of hours at a time. I wore a single base layer underneath the Parka and that was more than enough,
even when skiing in a blizzard. When the wind picked up I was able to use the waist drawcord to pull the parka close to my body for a snug fit. Another feature which I like are the four zipped pockets so carrying my passport and phone were never a security risk.
When on the ski slopes I used the Touch Screen Gloves as base gloves as I needed proper ski gloves to keep my hands warm. Though when in Moscow I only wore the touch screen gloves. Thanks to the conductive fingertip patches I was able to use my touchscreen phone without taking the gloves off. I’ve also worn them while running in the cold.
While Hillmaster II GTX Boots were designed with serious mountain hikes in mind, they did not disappoint in the urban setting of Moscow where slush and ice tend to reign in January. This is probably thanks to their VIBRAM rubber outer sole which tend to handle slippery surfaces rather well. I wore these boots when climbing Northern Ireland’s highest peak on Boxing Day and did end up on my butt once or twice thanks to the ice on the rocks. Best of all they are waterproof, so walking through puddles and streams should not result in wet socks. This is thanks to the breathable Gore Tex comfort membrane which keeps the water out. As a man with no hair on my head, a beanie is a must, and so the reversible Berghaus beanie has been my constant companion this winter.
People are quick to complain about the cold and weather but I think that often those are just excuses for laziness. There is no reason why you shouldn’t get out and enjoy winter, especially if you have the right gear and vehicle. Obviously there are extreme circumstances when you should exercise caution but storms like the Beast from the East are the exception and not the norm. So stop making excuses and get outside!
When I arrived back in the UK (a day late thanks to snow and traffic delays in France) I was happy to see my Defender on the driveway. I am the only one who looks forward to getting home to see their beloved Land Rover? Answers on a postcard please...