dress of Alaska... and how to enjoy without Alaska enjoying you

Aside from the discussion on jeans and dress code, I would like to offer some advice as how to dress in alaska for enjoyment and Safety....

Alaska is in a temperiate, humid rain forest environment. The fact that you have glaciers at sea level ought to tell you what the weather is likely to be like

Morning fog and evening /afternoon fog is common, so are low clouds and lite rain... ( which adds to the humidity) All that green did not just get there for no reason..

Starting in Seattle it gets colder and wetter every mile you go north. The arctic currents come down and keep things cool. June-July and August are the warmest... Someone said 90 degrees... Ok The average June-July_august temp in Juneau runs between 57 and 64 degrees. Skagway will be 62 in summer .One day out of 10 may get to the low 70's... ( thats 3 x a month avg) The sky can be blue but the temps dont change, except rarely. If you go expecting anything more you will be surprised... and not in a good way.. no balmy 80 degree days.... except by freaks of nature

This is prime weather for a condition called hypothermia and unprepared visitors each year die from it... the young the old and the very athletic are more prone ( athletic folks because of less body fat) The onset is caused by cool moist breezes and the conditions in Alaska are ideal to aquire the problem.... Visitors are most prone because they are not aware of the problem.

One type of clothing...cotton... contributes to the vast majority of problems, it has zero insulation when dry, is a body heat sponge when wet and has no wind protection... jeans, cotton underwear, shirts, tops, all absorb humidity even under clear sky.. and you should avoid them.

The ideal clothes in Alaska are layered, a synthetic base layer, an insulation layer and then a wind breaker layer..

You can pare these down as it gets warm or add as it gets cooler. I hat is important because you loose 80-80% of your body heat through your head. Best materials are silks, polypro, capraline for a base layer, Wool and pile synthetic material for insulation and Gortex nylon shells that are waterproof, wind proof and let moisture out but not in.

Because of Alaska's spring thaw... there will be starting end of may till the first frost in late August, lots of insects, Black Flies, Nosee-um, mosquitos and Deer Fly's by the score Yellow jackets too. and ticks Dont wear shorts or short sleve clothes... unless you want to please the bugs with a free meal.

Read up on Hypothermia... you can get it even in the ship on your veranda or after a few drinks in town. Go, not afraid but informed.... go Prepared for a fun time exploring... it aint Cancun or Disney.

Have a great time and be safe....

Outstanding advice! Our first cruise was to Alaska and we did a lot of study on how to dress and you hit it perfectly.

One small piece of advice I might add: I purchased a lightweight collapsible nylon backpack (about 3 inches X 6 inches folded up and less than 1 lb). It was used to either take extra layers, hat, gloves, etc. or to start out empty but be available to carry layers that you can shed at other times of the day. It was well worth the few dollars spent and took up a very tiny amount of packing space.

Spot on!!

Thank you, Hawaiidan.

Alaska is in a temperiate, humid rain forest environment.

 

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I hat is important because you loose 80-80% of your body heat through your head.

Since land tours are often part of the package for many people, it's worth noting that while coastal Alaska is a rain forest, interior Alaska is an artic desert.

As to losing most of your body heat through your head, that's a myth. Any exposed body part will radiate heat faster than a covered part. [emoji6]

Since land tours are often part of the package for many people, it's worth noting that while coastal Alaska is a rain forest, interior Alaska is an artic desert.

 

As to losing most of your body heat through your head, that's a myth. Any exposed body part will radiate heat faster than a covered part. [emoji6]

Its a medical/anatomical fact that because of high blood flow to the brain that the highest heat loss , or gain is through your head... Talk to a MD. And yes any exposed skin will radiate heat and so will any body part in contact with something cool....simple conduction.

Please, its no myth that the head is your biggest heat looser.

As the body cools surface blood flow gets shunted into the central core for the vital organs, limiting conduction and radiant loss.

However, the master control unit ,the brain and head, has to maintain high flow to coordinate operate the rest of the body. Since there is little fat, tissue on the skull it has little or no insulation to heat gain or loss. ( remember first aid, for heat stroke...high temp you apply cooling packs to the head and neck....right???)

So put on a hat when exposed to high or low temps....

And as my physics proff once said..."just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it wont kill you"

yes there are parts of Alaska which are, an arctic desert.... You wont get to those places as I know of no tour that will get you out of rain forest, and montane climates..... You gotta get way north of the arctic circle , in the interior to find these... a hundred miles from the coast.

I lived in Alaska for 10 years - Anchorage and Fairbanks - and visited Southeast Alaska (the cruise area) many times. A sunny day in the Southeast was an unexpected event and I expected and was ready for rain every day when there. The north is different but the cruise ships don't go there. Never had any ticks and don't remember yellow jackets there, but plenty of skeeters and no seeums. Shorts never made my wardrobe in Alaska and a good rain coat everywhere is essential. If one goes inland north in the summer it can get quite warm in June and July, but the bugs (as noted) don't make shorts worthwhile. Think cargo pants - that's where I started wearing them. And layers too.

Its a medical/anatomical fact that because of high blood flow to the brain that the highest heat loss , or gain is through your head... Talk to a MD. And yes any exposed skin will radiate heat and so will any body part in contact with something cool....simple conduction.

Actually, it's not. The exact opposite is the well documented medical fact. There are plenty of articles out there that address this myth.

Here are two: http://www.livescience.com/34411-body-heat-loss-head.html and http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/do-we-really-lose-most-of-our-heat-through-our-heads Feel free to search for more. They are readily available.

And no, you don't need to go above the Arctic Circle to leave the rain forest climate in Alaska, you only need to venture north of the Alaska Range, which many, many tours do indeed do. Princess, Royal Caribbean, etc. all have cruise-tours that visit these areas. I'm not referring to the excursions one takes at a port of call. These are multiple days long tours that you take either before or after your cruise.

Anyway, enjoy Alaska. It's a beautiful place to visit. I can't wait to go back again.

Read up on Hypothermia... you can get it even in the ship on your veranda or after a few drinks in town.

Now you’re just making stuff up.

Now you’re just making stuff up.

I have seen 4 cases, of people sitting on the aft deck in marinas and just cruising around in San Francisco bay no less, ...San Rafael and Tiburon to be exact.

Too, booze is a going to relax the system, allowing high blood flow to the surface which enables cooling..Alcohol and many drugs all promote this.

Normal body temp is 98.6 Hypothermia begins at 96 !!!

I will follow Hawaiidans advice for sure..

 

...The ideal clothes in Alaska are layered, a synthetic base layer, an insulation layer and then a wind breaker layer..

 

You can pare these down as it gets warm or add as it gets cooler. I hat is important because you loose 80-80% of your body heat through your head. Best materials are silks, polypro, capraline for a base layer, Wool and pile synthetic material for insulation and Gortex nylon shells that are waterproof, wind proof and let moisture out but not in.

 

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Thanks for the details Hawaiidan. It's perfect for someone like me who is tired of hearing the generic "dress in layers"... What layers?!?! Well, now I have a simple guide.

We will be sailing to Alaska in a few years. Like newbie60, I will be researching how to dress for that cruise. Their suggestion of a lightweight, collapsible pack (thanks!), and Hawaiidan's layer suggestions will be going in a "Tips for dressing in Alaska" document for future reference.

We've done two Alaskan cruises, both in July. I wore shorts, a hoodie, and flip flops (or tennis shoes) almost the entire time outside of the dining room. I was very comfortable and I never realized that I was dressing so inappropriately. YMMV.

BTW - I am a magnet for mosquitoes and other biting insects. I don't recall getting bitten on either trip.

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We've done two Alaskan cruises, both in July. I wore shorts, a hoodie, and flip flops (or tennis shoes) almost the entire time outside of the dining room. I was very comfortable and I never realized that I was dressing so inappropriately. YMMV.

 

BTW - I am a magnet for mosquitoes and other biting insects. I don't recall getting bitten on either trip.

 

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I was sunbathing and we had people in the outdoor pool in Glacier Bay at the end of May. Also no bugs. I laughed out loud at this thread. I thought it was a joke. Apparently not. Better not drink for fear of hypothermia :). And it was 75 in Juneau today, not bad for May

The last time I went to Alaska was in the middle of July. OMG, they had a heat wave. It was about 82 the entire time. Rained only in Ketchikan. Went all the way up to Fairbanks (train tour) and it was still warm. We are going again soon, and I am LAYERING! LOL...this time taking some short sleeve tees! The only time we were cold was on the glacier or on the ice field. Be prepared for anything!

Hawaiidan, thank you! We will be cruising Alaska for the first time in August and we appreciate your most helpful post.

Glad to help.

I worked for the NPS in the region and the reason for my posts were the result of observing a lot on non-alaska people ,( as in cruise passengers) who were day visitors. and the problems that they encountered which required medical intervention. The biggest problem was people just ignoring or being un aware of the climate and its critters. People who just rationalized that they were adults , on vacation and could think for themselves just fine. In truth some got by, but also others did not.

I read with amusement the attitudes some here expressed which was laughable, if it wasen't so painfully ignorant of reality. To say that there are no bugs in the region in the summer is hilarious, and coming from a person in the northwest .... I shake my head. Between the spring melt and the first freeze there is a robust local population of flying and biting critters most eager for some human contact.

Heat wave? No rain except Ketch? Expect 82 degrees? Well in 2010 there was a brief heat in Alaska... Hasen't been seen since. If you come expecting heat, you will be in for a education.. a learning experience

Well lets put it this way, the folks who record the weather, NOAA, and USCG, FAA, USFS, NPS etc ( those guys) somehow never were able to record similar weather as some described in their posts. It may have been , but in some 6 years, I never nor the others experienced anything like that...

I hope my comments will stimulate future visitors to take a moment and be better prepared to both the joys and risks of their future journey to the North West.

Don't let historical data get in the way of a good insult. :rolleyes:

https://weatherspark.com/history/32985/2013/Juneau-Alaska-United-States

I read with amusement the attitudes some here expressed which was laughable, if it wasen't so painfully ignorant of reality. To say that there are no bugs in the region in the summer is hilarious, and coming from a person in the northwest .... I shake my head. Between the spring melt and the first freeze there is a robust local population of flying and biting critters most eager for some human contact.

 

Heat wave? No rain except Ketch? Expect 82 degrees? Well in 2010 there was a brief heat in Alaska... Hasen't been seen since. If you come expecting heat, you will be in for a education.. a learning experience

It's seems you're berating those who posted on their actual experiences in Alaska. It may just be that they had different experiences than you.

From living in Alaska for over 35 years and with 8 Alaska cruises, so far, I've found very few bugs in port towns and only a fly or two on board the ship with no mosquitoes. There are certainly areas where they can be horrendous although most SE port towns don't have a lot in town. But again, this is based on my experience which appears to be different than yours.

I too have layers when needed but I live in jeans and a good ol' cotton t-shirt even when cruising and have been able to keep hypothermia at bay.

What's amusing is seeing the tourists in their brand new duds who thought Alaska was on another planet and they needed to dress or act differently than they would at home when it rains or gets cool.

Glad to help.

I worked for the NPS in the region and the reason for my posts were the result of observing a lot on non-alaska people ,( as in cruise passengers) who were day visitors. and the problems that they encountered which required medical intervention.

 

 

Heat wave? No rain except Ketch? Expect 82 degrees? Well in 2010 there was a brief heat in Alaska... Hasen't been seen since. If you come expecting heat, you will be in for a education.. a learning experience

 

Well lets put it this way, the folks who record the weather, NOAA, and USCG, FAA, USFS, NPS etc ( those guys) somehow never were able to record similar weather as some described in their posts. It may have been , but in some 6 years, I never nor the others experienced anything like that...

 

I hope my comments will stimulate future visitors to take a moment and be better prepared to both the joys and risks of their future journey to the North West.

Well, just to enter into this, I live in Alaska, north of Anchorage and spend time in the southeast...Where the cruising takes place. Alaska temps vary as much as ND and LA....and that is how big our state is. The highest temp ever recorded was 104 in Fort Yukon, which is above the Arctic circle. I was in Ketchikan last week and it was 77....and clear....This is unusual, but the last two years we have had some of the warmest weather ever and have set and broken records nearly weekly. Be prepared for anything. It was 75 in Denali and then it snowed....Be prepared for drop dead scenery, and fascinating wildlife. I would not worry much about mosquitos from a cruise stand point...but obviously, they are our state bird. We have NO ticks, fleas or snakes here...No dogs on heartworm preventative...This year, our leaves came out 3 weeks early, as did my spring flowers.....