Layering for the cold: the layers named, and what the bodies publish.

The layers, named only

Four recreational layers are commonly named, and this guide only names them:

• a base layer next to the skin;
• a mid layer;
• an insulated jacket;
• a shell.

The research behind this site found no standards-body source specific to ski clothing. So there are no warmth ratings, waterproofing figures or fabric comparisons on this page: what a garment does in the cold is its maker's claim. This guide does not say which combination suits a given day.

What the medical bodies say about the cold

These conditions are named here only. Each needs medical care, and nothing on this page is first aid or treatment.

• Hypothermia: the NHS describes it as a dangerous drop in body temperature below 35C, against a normal temperature of around 37C, and says it needs to be treated in hospital (page reviewed 9 June 2023). A search summary of the US CDC's winter-weather pages, which were not opened, gives 95F (35C) as the threshold for getting medical attention immediately.
• Frostbite: the NHS says frostbite happens when skin freezes after time in very cold temperatures, most often affecting the fingers, toes, nose and ears, that it can come with hypothermia, and that anyone who may have it should get medical help (page reviewed 9 June 2025).
• Altitude: NHS 111 Wales says altitude sickness usually occurs above 2,500 metres and can sometimes be life-threatening and need treatment.

More is on cold and altitude. No figures for cold injuries among skiers were found.

A body that does name layers: the ISMF

The only body in the research that sets out layers by name is the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, for its own races. Its Rules and Guidelines 2025-26 (in force 30 October 2025) require a long-sleeved suit or layer covering the arms to the wrist, and allow an optional base layer A, a body-hugging top (a sports bra does not count), and an optional outer layer B, a long-sleeved windbreaker, as the Technical Jury decides. Below the waist, full-length ski pants or a suit form the lower base layer, with optional windbreaker pants. Depending on the race format, its compulsory and supplementary lists also name a survival blanket of at least 1.80 square metres, a ski cap or headband, a second pair of gloves and a second pair of eyewear. These are race rules for one discipline, decided race by race, not general advice on what to wear.

Gloves in the racing rules

FIS treats gloves differently by discipline. They are "urgently recommended" in alpine racing, where they may not reach past the elbow (alpine specifications 2026/27, 3.8); strongly recommended in freestyle and ski cross; the only thing snowboarders may wear on their hands (snowboard specifications 2026/27, C.5); and compulsory in ski jumping (cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined specifications 2026/27, C.12; read from a marked-up copy: needs confirming against a clean copy). None of these rules is a claim that a glove prevents a cold injury.

Goggles and the cold

The goggle standard ISO 18527-1 covers protection against ultraviolet and visible solar radiation, rain, snow and wind. DIN's listing of the changes from the older EN 174 says photochromic lenses are now also measured at 5C, and that low-temperature resistance testing became optional. See goggles and back protectors.

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