Free layering tool

What to Wear Skiing

The temperature on your weather app is the village, not the summit. Enter it here with the wind and your resort, and we work out how cold it actually is at the top of the lift, then tell you what to put on.

Conditions today

Village

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At the summit

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Feels like up top

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What to put on

How this is worked out

Three published steps, no guesswork. You can check every number against its source.

1. Lift the temperature to the summit

Air cools as it rises. We use the resort's own base and top elevation, both of which sit on every resort page, and a lapse rate that depends on the weather:

  • Dry and sunny: 9.8 °C per 1,000 m, which is 5.4 °F per 1,000 ft
  • Cloudy: 6.5 °C per 1,000 m, the standard environmental lapse rate
  • Snowing: 6.0 °C per 1,000 m, which is 3.3 °F per 1,000 ft

Sources: OnTheSnow, Britannica on lapse rate.

2. Apply the official wind chill formula

We use Environment and Climate Change Canada's index, applied to the summit temperature rather than the village one: 

W = 13.12 + 0.6215·T − 11.37·V^0.16 + 0.3965·T·V^0.16

T is the air temperature in °C and V the wind in km/h at 10 m. The formula is only valid at or below 0 °C with wind of at least 5 km/h, so outside that range we show the plain air temperature instead of inventing a number.

Sources: Environment Canada, US National Weather Service.

3. Match layers to the felt temperature

Insulation weight comes from a published table with separate ranges for moving and standing still, which is exactly the difference between skiing laps and waiting through a lesson.

Synthetic fill Moving Standing
40 g35 to 55 °F45 to 60 °F
60 g25 to 45 °F35 to 50 °F
80 g15 to 35 °F25 to 45 °F
100 g10 to 30 °F20 to 40 °F
150 g0 to 20 °F10 to 30 °F
200 g−10 to 15 °F−20 to 20 °F

Source: OTTE Gear insulation guide. The table assumes a moisture-managing base layer underneath and a wind-blocking shell available. Anything above 150 g is generally too warm for active skiing.

The one case where this is backwards

Temperature inversions. On a still winter morning cold air sinks into the valley and the upper mountain can be considerably warmer than the village, sometimes by 30 to 40 °F. If the valley is grey and freezing while the summit webcam is in sunshine, ignore the number above and dress for the top being milder. More on inversions.

A worked example

The same three steps the calculator runs, with the numbers written out.

Your app says −5 °C in Val Thorens, with a 20 km/h wind and cloud over the mountain. The village sits at 2,300 m and the top lift at 3,230 m, a climb of 930 m. At 6.5 °C per 1,000 m that puts the summit at about −11.0 °C. Run the wind chill formula on that and it feels like −19.2 °C on exposed skin: a 14.2 °C gap between what your phone told you and what the top of the lift will actually feel like. Point the calculator above at your own resort and day to get your own version.

Where the summit is coldest

The longest climbs from village to summit in our database of 252 resorts that publish both elevations. The last column is the drop on a cloudy day at 6.5 °C per 1,000 m; on a dry, sunny day it is steeper still. The median resort in our data climbs 1,100 m, worth about 7.2 °C.

Ski resorts with the biggest vertical from village to summit, and how much colder the top is on a cloudy day.
Resort Country Village Summit Climb Colder up top
Chamonix France 1,035 m 3,842 m 2,807 m 18.2 °C
Les Deux Alpes France 1,300 m 3,600 m 2,300 m 15.0 °C
Zermatt Switzerland 1,620 m 3,883 m 2,263 m 14.7 °C
Kaprun Austria 768 m 3,029 m 2,261 m 14.7 °C
Alpe d’Huez France 1,120 m 3,330 m 2,210 m 14.4 °C
Vaujany France 1,250 m 3,330 m 2,080 m 13.5 °C
Cortina d’Ampezzo Italy 1,224 m 3,269 m 2,045 m 13.3 °C
Grindelwald Switzerland 944 m 2,970 m 2,026 m 13.2 °C
Les Arcs France 1,200 m 3,226 m 2,026 m 13.2 °C
Engelberg Switzerland 1,000 m 3,020 m 2,020 m 13.1 °C
La Plagne France 1,250 m 3,250 m 2,000 m 13.0 °C
Nendaz Switzerland 1,365 m 3,330 m 1,965 m 12.8 °C

Elevations are from the Intski resort database; the temperature column is calculated from them, not measured. Full elevation rankings are in the rankings hub.

Dressing for the cold, answered

How much colder is it at the top of a ski resort?
On a snowy or cloudy day, roughly 6 °C colder for every 1,000 m of ascent, which is about 3.3 °F per 1,000 ft. On a dry, sunny day the drop is steeper, up to 9.8 °C per 1,000 m or 5.4 °F per 1,000 ft. The exception is a temperature inversion, when cold air pools in the valley and the upper mountain can be far warmer than the village.
How is wind chill calculated?
Environment and Climate Change Canada uses W = 13.12 + 0.6215T − 11.37V^0.16 + 0.3965TV^0.16, where T is the air temperature in Celsius and V the wind speed in km/h measured at 10 m. It is only valid at or below 0 °C and at 5 km/h or more. The US National Weather Service uses the equivalent Fahrenheit form: at 0 °F with a 15 mph wind the wind chill is −19 °F.
How many layers should I wear skiing?
Three. A moisture-wicking base layer, an insulating mid layer and a waterproof, windproof outer shell. Around 0 °C that means a thermal base, an insulated or down mid layer and a waterproof insulated jacket. At −20 °C it becomes a heavyweight thermal base, a thick insulated mid layer and a heavy-duty shell, plus mittens, a neck buff and proper ski socks.
How much jacket insulation do I need?
Roughly 40 g of synthetic fill suits 35 to 55 °F while you are moving, 60 g suits 25 to 45 °F, 100 g suits 10 to 30 °F and 150 g suits 0 to 20 °F. Standing around in lift queues or a lesson shifts each band about 10 °F warmer. Anything above 150 g is generally too warm for active skiing.
How cold is too cold to ski?
There is no fixed cut-off. The commonly cited comfortable range is about 20 to 30 °F, which is −6.7 to −1.1 °C. Below 0 °F, or −18 °C, counts as extreme, and resorts may close lifts below about −20 °F or −29 °C. Wind matters as much as the thermometer: the same air temperature with a 30 km/h wind is a different day entirely.
Which ski resorts have the biggest temperature gap between village and summit?
In our data the longest climbs from village to summit are Chamonix at 2,807 m of vertical, Les Deux Alpes at 2,300 m and Zermatt at 2,263 m. On a cloudy day, at the standard 6.5 °C per 1,000 m, that is roughly 18 °C, 15 °C and 15 °C colder at the top than in the village. The median resort in our data climbs about 1,100 m, which is closer to 7 °C.
Does skiing fast make it feel colder?
Yes. Radar studies of recreational skiers measured average speeds of 44 to 48 km/h. Moving at that speed through still air chills exposed skin the same way a wind of the same speed would, which is why your cheeks sting on a long fast run even on a calm day.