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What gloves do you wear for ski touring uphill in the backcountry?

What gloves or mittens do you prefer to wear for ski touring / skinning uphill in the backcountry?



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For uphill ski touring, I really like the Black Diamond Mont Blanc liner gloves. They are grippy, very thin (no insulation), inexpensive, lightweight, dry quickly and will block wind. They are also great driving gloves due to the grippy palm and fingers. They won't keep your hands warm skiing down though, but that's not what they are meant for. In my opionion, there's often no need to wear a super warm glove on the uphill only to wet them out. I can usually just wear these when temps are 20 degrees or higher, but can sometimes wear these at lower temps (just depends how I'm feeling).

I'm also a huge fan of the versatile Outdoor Research Mount Baker Shell Mitts when you need more warmth and protection from the elements.  They are an excellent complement to the BD liner gloves or any downhill ski gloves. Use a small carabiner to clip them to the front of your backpack for easy access on the uphill skin track when your hands get too cold (or too hot). 

If your hands have a tendency to get really cold, and want an extremely warm mitt, the Outdoor Research Alti Mitts are some of the warmest mitts out there. I highly recommend these mitts for anyone ski touring in zero degree weather.

Lastly, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't mention Kinko's... So if you don't want to spend a lot of money, Kinko gloves can certainly be used, although I've found that if you wear Kinkos on the uphill they tend to wet out, and that will often lead to cold, wet hands on the downhill. But having a leather glove that can take some abuse like Kinko's in your pack is certainly a good option, especially if you're going to be doing any kind of rope work.

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