That's quite the elaborate apres ski changing routine, isn't it?
- Snotty woman waiting for my parking spot at P10.
Ok, I'm pretty certain this was a rhetorical statement. The woman was obviously annoyed that I hadn't simply come back to the parking lot hopped in my car and driven away, leaving a spot free for her massive idling SUV that was blocking all the traffic while trying to guard all potential parking spots. This notion was reinforced by the way she constantly reved the engine as I cahnged my clothes.
But she should have realized that my apres-ski changing routine has a purpose. An important purpose that not even the toxic fumes she was spuing at me were incentive enough for me to skip. Had she stopped to chat, here's what I would have told her about the importance of my apres ski routine.
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Unlike regular ski areas there is no warm chalet to come back to after skiing in the Gatineau Park. There's just your cold car sitting in a parking lot. Plus, the parking lots are always at the bottoms of hills, so you cool off on the way back down the hill before you get to the car. This is especially true at P10 where you can be frozen by the bottom after a 2min. decent.
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Humans have 2-4 million sweat galands on their bodies, and a few of them are bound to still be working overtime after you finish your ski. This means that while you may not feel wet immediately after you stop skiing, if you continue to sweat as you cool off you will eventually feel wet and get cold.
- Even though you've skied at -20C, you're still going to sweat quite a bit. It's actually quite impressive an impressive feat and you can read the science behind it.**
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Sitting in wet or even just slightly damp clothes after a ski can cool you off quickly - long before the heater in your car is warm enough to help. Since you've stopped moving you aren't generating heat and it won't be long until you start to shiver. At the point where your teeth chatter you've probably undone all the good you did out there skiing. Especially if you get sick as a result.
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Always bring a change of: toque, shirt, socks to the park with you.
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It may take 2 minutes to put them on, and it might be cold to take off your wet clothes, but your ride home will be much better for it!
** I also found the components of sweat quite interesting - ammonia, calcium, chloride, copper, creatine, iodine, iron, lactic acid, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, urea and uric acid. Sodium and chloride are the predominate nutrients in sweat, with potassium, calcium and magnesium following, and all other nutrients accounting for trace amounts.
"Winning Moves"