Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Vancouver and the Rockies Feb what to wear

VANCOUVER

As tom22 indicated, Vancouver has mild winters. British people have told me that Vancouver's winter temperatures are similar to those of the UK. The difference is that Vancouver gets more rain than the UK. Vancouver's rainfall varies, depending on whether the suburb in question is close to or far from the Coast Mountains. However, British expats say that, on average, it gets about 25% more rain than the UK (which I realize is a generalization in itself -- since rainfall must vary within the UK too).

So it goes without saying that you'll need rain gear in Vancouver. Since you'll be attending a conference, I'm surmising that whichever one of you is the delegate will need reasonably business-like clothing. In addition to that, you may need a cocktail outfit for the conference's main banquet.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

According to the Weather Base website, February temperature statistics for Banff are as follows:

Average high : -2 deg C (27 deg F)

Average low : -14 deg C (6 deg F)

But knowing the averages, on their own, is not enough. There are wild swings of temperature in this area. So you also need to know:

Highest high (in 70 years) : 13 deg C (56 deg F)

Lowest low (in 70 years) : - 45 deg C (-49 deg F)

I personally have experienced temperatures down to about -35 deg C in the Lake Louise / Banff area in the winter months.

Our winters have tended to be quite a bit milder than usual in recent years. We attribute it to global warming. Yet, even during an otherwise mild winter, we have had a couple of days of really cold weather here and there. Unfortunately for planning purposes, it is extremely difficult, in fact impossible, to predict what the weather will do six months from now.

I don't know what tom22's definition of good winter shoes is. If it does get cold, even down to -25 deg C, then what I would call good winter shoes would be inadequate. Then you would need boots.

If I were you, I also would pack long underwear, wool slacks, long sleeved shirts, a sweater (jumper) and a parka that is filled with down or the modern synthetic equivalent of down. I also would pack gloves, a scarf or neck warmer, and a warm cap.

You'd be surprised how bright the sun can be when it reflects off snow, so you need good sunglasses. The air is extremely dry, so you also need mositurizing lotion and lip balm.

Moderately priced mountain restaurants are casual. That is, people have lunch and dinner in jeans, hiking boots, etc. However, tours tend to stay in fairly upscale hotels. There you will find casual dress at lunch time but smart casual attire in the evening. By smart casual attire I mean a pair of dressy wool slacks and a dressy shirt / blouse or sweater (jumper).

You don't have to overdo the warm clothes when you're indoors, because the interiors of Canadian buildings are well heated.

The final thing I recommend you pack is a good book or two. That will come in usefully if a blizzard or rock slide or avalanche blocks off the highway and you find yourself stuck in small British Columbia mountain town while road crews clear the road. That sort of thing happens relatively seldom, only once or twice a winter. The challenge is that, as is the case with cold weather, you cannot predict just when it'll happen. That's why I was amazed to discover that anyone ran tours through the Rockies in winter.