Dress like an onion
I am back from Naryn. Yes, it was a flying visit – it often is. It’s a five hour journey each way, and we usually start work as soon as we arrive and continue until late into the evening. Tatiana, (my accountant from Bishkek) and Asya, (the accountant from Naryn), work on the monthly accounts whilst I walk round the property making an inspection and discuss other matters, (routine or otherwise), with the manager, Marat.
This month, as well as the usual monthly reports, because it is December, there was also the matter of preparing the annual summaries. Normally that is a major task and it takes the two accountants in Bishkek, (both of them called Tatiana), a couple of months to complete. That’s partly because the Bishkek operation is so much larger and partly because it has to be interspersed with other routine work.
In Naryn it is much easier, partly because it is a smaller operation, but also because at this time of year things are very quiet. Very few people travel to, or through, Naryn in the “dead of winter”. This is not all that surprising when you remember that Naryn is known as the coldest town in Kyrgyzstan – where the temperature has been known to fall to -40 degrees Celsius.
Fortunately, it wasn’t that cold this time, although at nine o’clock this morning as we gathered to leave, the thermometer revealed why there was a distinct chill in the morning air: it was -22.
However, the boiler had been stoked and although the radiators were not exactly ‘hot to the touch’ they generated enough heat to take the bite out of the cold and inside the guesthouse it was snug and warm. I did feel the cold, however, when I went outside to walk around the building. It was bright and sunny and although there was still snow on the ground, it wasn’t thick and in places much of it had melted. There was, however, a bitter wind which sent a biting sensation through my legs. As usual, I was dressed like and onion, (or as they say here – like a cabbage), and around my body I had donned several different layers as protection against the cold, (a T–shirt, shirt, pullover and leather jacket). There were, however, fewer layers around my legs and the wind found it easier to penetrate through them and my legs felt the full impact.
I really ought to have known better. Each year, one of the newsletters that I subscribe to, this one is about ‘Health and Safety at Work’, includes articles on working in extreme temperatures: heat in summer and cold in winter, with advice to pass onto employees in training sessions.
Then again, last month I had managed to catch a chill on my trip to Naryn and this month, I could feel another one coming on. Also, in my first year out here I had two encounters with the extremes of climate that we experience in Central Asia … the very hot summers and very cold winters.
Back in the UK, extremes of temperatures never really worried me – but then we don’t really get ‘extremes’, or at least we didn’t until recent years. During the winter, I would don several layers as I do here, and only my bodily extremities, (ears, nose fingers and toes), ever felt the cold.
During the summer, I was often seen wearing a pullover – albeit a sleeveless one. Here, on the other hand, the summer is so hot that wearing a pullover during the in summer, even a light sleeveless one, is not just a sign of eccentricity, it is tantamount to stupidity. (Unless, that is, one is high in the mountains where it can get distinctly chilly. Indeed, in the evenings and at night it can be distinctly cold and as a result we always advise clients to bring a pullover, just in case.)
Well, back in 1995, I hadn’t been here for long and started to feel unwell, faint and weak. I was taken to a doctor who told me that is was a simple case of not having properly acclimatised. I was no longer on an island with an equitable climate where there were newspaper headlines of “Phew, what a scorcher!” if the temperature went into the mid-twenties or higher. I just had to look after myself. She was right, and apart from the odd case of getting a bad touch of sunburn, I have always tried to do so.
The following winter I experienced the extremes of cold. It was only about -18, (something I don’t think I had ever experienced before but which I tend to take in my stride these days), but the wind chill factor made it feel more like -24. I wrapped up warm and went for a walk to the shops. I forget what it was that I wanted to buy, but it involved a visit to a shop about two kilometres from the apartment. There was snow underfoot but the weather was fine and it was bright and sunny, very inviting for a brisk walk, so I decided against taking a taxi and set off. Having made my purchases I walked back as well.
All was well until that night when I got undressed to go to bed. As I took off my trousers I was shocked to see that my legs were a bright red. Well, not all the way up. The shins and thighs and then there was a clear line where the red disappeared and the usual pale fleshy colour appeared. I sat and worried about what it could signify – a rash?, a skin disease?, scarlet fever? The clear and distinct line, however, suggested something different. It was as if I had been sunbathing in shorts. As I sat thought about it, I realised, that’s where my coat, a short Anorak, had finished. My torso had been well and truly protected from the elements with several layers, but around my legs the only protection had been the thin material of a pair of suit trousers. It took some time for the red to disappear. I vowed to myself never to let it happen again.
Now I do have pairs of ‘long johns’ and I do take the trouble to wear them. Sometimes, on my trips to Naryn in winter, I even wear two pairs of trousers, one over the other, as well as the ‘long johns’. I have even been known to don a pair of tracksuit trousers as well!
It’s just a matter of being sensible and, in the words of scout motto, being prepared.
The locals, of course, are always well prepared. They may often look like Santa Clause or Humpty Dumpty, but that doesn’t mean that they are all fat or obese. Underneath their thick coats are layer upon layer of thick clothing.
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For the record: Here is the advice we give to clients regarding Dressing for Cold Weather.
“When dressing for the cold, dress like an onion.”
Three lighter layers of clothing are much better than one heavy layer. Multiple layers, like the layers of an onion, allow you to control how much body heat and moisture you retain near your skin . Staying dry means staying warm, and staying warm means staying comfortable. Note that you may need larger sizes in outer garments in order to have them fit over underneath layers.
Don’t forget : hat and gloves.
Cold Weather Clothing List : Long undergarment top, Long undergarment bottom, Vest, Sweater(s), Shell garment top, Shell garment bottom, Trousers, Stocking cap, Gloves, Mittens
How to Wear Cold Weather Clothing
It’s not simply the fact that you’re wearing layers that protects you – you must ventilate the layers to allow the escape of moisture as you feel sweat being produced on your skin. Peel off layers when you feel yourself sweating. The layers, of course, are added back on when you feel a chill creeping in. It is better to start out feeling slightly cold. You’ll “break a sweat” with a rush of perspiration, and you may soak your inner layers before you realize it. If the trail begins to grow steeper, and you detect the wet warmth of sweat, then open an outer layer or two. If the trail rises even more, then take off an outer layer or two. At the top of the ridge stop for a rest, and there you should replace a layer before all the heat you’ve produced has been lost. If you lose heat, your body will have to generate more heat. You’re balancing body heat and sweat production with body heat and sweat loss in order to stay dry. Instead of thinking, “How can I stay warm?,” think, “How can I stay dry?”
COLD Clothing Tips
C – Clean clothes insulate better than soiled clothes. Clean fibres create more dead air space. Start with clean clothes and keep them as clean as possible.
O – Overheating means more sweat to dampen clothes. Pace yourself and shed outer layers to prevent overheating.
L – Layers of clothing are best. They provide better insulation and better ventilation.
D – Dry clothes insulate better than damp clothes. Keep your clothes as dry as possible.
Bishkek