Walking in Cold Weather

Clothing Consideration

Some general tips on clothing. It's essential that you wear appropriate clothing. If you get wet you will get cold. In cold weather  the greatest danger is hypothermia or exposure: this occurs where the body  temperature is chilled to a life-threatening level, and is aggravated by wind  chill. To avoid it make sure you have enough warm clothing and extra food and plenty of water.

Essential tip: Wear several layers rather than big individual layers. Even in cold weather it doesn't take long to get warm and you  need to be able to shed layers to avoid sweating too much. If you sweat a lot  and then stop moving you will chill very quickly.

Next to the skin Your base layer should wick sweat away from your body to keep your skin  dry. Cotton should not be used - save your t-shirts for other purposes. Good long underwear pieces are appropriate made from fabrics such as  Thermion, polypropylene, Thermax, Thinsulate, and silk. So borrow your bird's lingerie and you should be ok!

Insulating layer This layer will keep you warm and can be shed once you warm up. Wool, fleece, pile, down in a jacket, shirt or bodywarmer.

Outer layer To protect you from the elements, a windproof and water-resistant jacket. It should be worn loosely.

Trousers If the weather is frigid, long underwear bottoms or tights underneath another pair of pants will keep you warm. Cotton and denim should be avoided. Jeans soak up a lot of water when wet and become extremely heavy. They have a high wind-chill factor which means you can get very cold in them, especially if they get wet. Running pants or running tights made of synthetics that wick moisture will keep you more  comfortable in rain and snow.

Boots Sturdy walking boots are needed. These should be waterproof and have adequate ankle support. Trainers or sturdy shoes are not really an option as you need to  protect your ankles against twisting - especially on the way down as it is much  harder on the legs than the way up. During the course of a walk, your feet will take a lot of strain through the constant impact of your body weight against the  ground. The job of your walking boots is to help your feet (and ankles) to  support this force, and hopefully reduce the amount they ache afterwards.

Socks To guard against blisters you should ideally wear two pairs of socks - one thin and one thick (to keep your tootsies warm).

Gloves Goes without saying.

Hat Absolute  requirement in cold weather. Up to 40% of body heat loss is though the  head.

Scarf optional

Other Equipment

Backpack To  keep shed/extra clothing, water, snacks etc. in. Preferably a water proof one.  If in doubt put a bin liner inside to keep items dry.

Compass Although quite a few of us will have these it is a useful item to have in case  you get separated. According to many of the guides you need to take a compass  reading at the top of Scafell as there are many routes down and it is easy to  get disoriented coming down again.

Whistle For emergencies (cheap ones can be got). If a real emergency occurs, the  international distress signal is a group of six loud blasts of a whistle, to be  repeated at one minute intervals.

Water bottle You will need to hydrate yourself as you will be sweating a lot.

Food For energy.

Walking Pole Not required but handy.

First Aid Kit Not required for everyone to take but if someone has one then bring it along. I have a small kit I can bring.

Survival Baga heavy-duty bag for body insulation in an emergency, from outdoor shops

Torch We should  have at least a couple in the group.

Mobile Phone Not sure what the coverage is like in the Lakes but in case of emergency a phone  is very useful. Remember that batteries do not perform well in extreme cold so  its handy to keep the phone next to your body to keep warm. Love that  phone!

You don't want to carry too much but on the other had  you don't want to be caught short in an emergency.