by  Joshua B. Good

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, December 29, 2001
 

Bicycle messenger Mark Aldrich wears two pairs of gloves. Weather Channel reporter Kristin Dodd smears Vaseline on her face. Fire sprinkler installer Pete Couch drinks lots of hot coffee.

These professionals --- who are forced to do their jobs outside no matter what the temperature --- know how to stay warm in this frigid weather. And with winter cold predicted to return Sunday and stay through next week, with lows in the teens and 20s and highs in the upper 30s to low 40s, they're happy to give advice to those of us who get chilled dashing from work to our car.

Some of that advice comes from people who moved to Atlanta from colder climates.

"When they talk about cold here in Atlanta, I just shrug my shoulders, " says Dodd, who grew up in Terre Haute, Ind.

She devised the Vaseline trick after standing in front of a camera in cold, windy spots for the Marietta-based Weather Channel.
She still recalls shivering atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire five years ago when the 75 mph winds brought the wind chill factor down to minus 25 degrees.The Vaseline keeps her face from getting chapped and seems to be a good insulator.

"The experts might laugh, but it works for me," she says.

Aldrich learned the hard way about wind chill. The skin on his fingers has frozen twice during four years working as a bicycle messenger. Now he wears two pairs of gloves --- wool on the inside and leather on the outside.

"Even with my gloves, when the wind is coming at you, it's terrible, " he says.

Fire sprinkler installer Couch said that even bundling up in a sweat shirt, a camouflage hood tied down to protect his ears, blue jeans, insulated leather work boots and cotton jersey gloves can't always stave off the wind chill.

But whether you have to be outside or you want to enjoy some outdoor activities, here are some other tips on staying warm from Tim Black, who works for REI, an outdoor gear company:

• Wear several layers of clothes. The layer closest to your skin should be made of material that wicks away moisture. Cotton undergarments are the worst. They retain moisture, which speeds loss of heat. The second layer should be thick with insulation, like wool or a polyester fleece. The top layer should block the wind to prevent body heat from being swept away. Gore-Tex material works well.
• Remember to wear layers for your feet and hands and cover your head and ears. Up to 80 percent of your body heat is lost through your head and neck.

Of course, the best advice is Mom's. Come inside, get warm and have some hot soup.