Alaska is known to be cold, and we expect it to be so. But, this December has been the coldest in 25 years. The temperatures haven’t been crazy cold here at my house, but we’ve had below zero daytime and nighttime temperatures almost the entire month, averaging about -15 and getting as cold as -26, many places around me experiencing -30 or colder.

These temperatures aren’t unusual for Alaska, we can get much colder in January and February. But it’s not so common in December. This is the time of year we usually get the first foot or two of snow. It has been exceptionally dry, both outside and inside my house.

This summer I committed to walking my daughter’s dog most mornings, and I have had to question whether this was what I actually wanted to continue most of this month. I am glad to say I haven’t given up, but I definitely have to bundle up!

Today I thought I’d share the gear we use here in Alaska during the winter. For anyone living in very cold climates, feel free to add any clothing or gear that you find indispensable during the cold winter months.

Layers

You have to dress in layers here. When my kids were in school they had a couple of outdoor activities where they were taught about layers. The acronym they were taught was the 3 W’s, Wicking, Warmth, Weather. Base layer should wick the moisture away from your skin, middle layer should be warm, and the outside layer should guard against the weather: wind, rain, snow, etc. Plus, if you get too hot, you can take off one layer at a time.

Hats

Having some sort of head gear is critical, and if you can combine hats with face masks, even better. When the temperatures dip below zero, your cheeks can get frost bite increasingly quickly to exposed skin. I find that multilayer hats work best. I have a knit hat that is actually 2 hats sewn together, I love it and wear it until I need a face mask. Then I reach for something like a balaclava style hat and wear the hood of my coat over top of that.

Scarf

It doesn’t have to be a scarf, but protecting your neck will keep you much warmer. The balaclava has a built in neck lining, or you can zip your coat up so that it completely covers your neck. I like to tuck my balaclava in my coat and then zip my coat up to my chin, this adds an extra layer of warmth.

Gloves

This is a necessity when the temperatures drop. I wear Costco winter gloves for the most part, but when it gets really cold I opt for a mitten. I even have a pair of fur mittens for really cold weather. Bare hands have 2 problems: 1 – if your hands get damp or wet at all, they can stick to anything you touch. If there’s any ice on it, even wood and plastic, your fingers stick. 2 – You can get burns by grabbing hold of metal with bare skin. Door handles, car handles, grab anything metal too long and it’ll burn any exposed skin.

Snow Pants

This goes back to the layers. I have a couple of different snow pants, the regular ski pants that you see most places and then a pair of Carhart bib snow pants for working in and when it gets really cold. I usually wear leggings under my snow pants as that is a good wicking layer, and jeans tend to bunch up weirdly in snow pants. The warmth and weather layers are built into the snow pants so they aren’t separate layers.

Footwear

Both the socks and the boots make a difference. I usually wear wool socks all winter long, and when it gets really cold, I’ll double them up. Having a couple of different pairs of boots is good, one for kind of cold, and one for extreme cold is ideal. We have what’s called Bunny Boots here in Alaska if you really want something warm. They can be very expensive, and they are really clunky. I like the old Sorrels, and I bought a nice pair of Bogs that are rated for -60, although I think most boot companies are generous with their ratings. I think -40 would be about as cold as I’d wear them outside, then I’d switch to my bigger Sorrel’s. It’s nice to have a warm, yet lighter pair for running errands, and then a heavy boot for longer periods outside.

The cold is a funny thing here. My kids say that once it gets below 0 there is really no difference in how it feels when you walk out the door. The difference comes in how long you can spend outside. I’ve found that to be true. It also helps if you keep moving when you do go outside, the colder it gets, the less you just stand around.

Cold is not my favorite weather, in fact I really dislike being cold. But, there is beauty in the cold as well. The sky at sunrise and sunset here in Alaska is such beautiful pastel colors, pink, pale blue, and purple, all winter long, and the sunrises and sunsets last for close to an hour, way longer than anywhere else I’ve lived. Ice crystals build up on the trees and brush looking like mother nature sprinkled glitter on everything. And the snow, everything is white all winter, or at least most winters. The cold definitely has it’s own rare beauty.

And last, but definitely not least, the aurora. I know that this past year there has been a lot of aurora sightings down in the lower 48, but I have not seen pictures to compare with what we see on an almost nightly basis here in Alaska, at least when it’s clear. These photos were taken by my daughter here in Willow. You can check out her photography here.