Women's Alpine Start Hoody

Guides reach for the Alpine Start Hoody at the trailhead before the sun comes up, when you need just enough warmth to stay comfortable without overheating on the approach. It sits in a category of its own, not quite a fleece, not quite a shell, but it blocks wind better than either while still breathing well enough to wear on the move. It layers cleanly over a base or under a puffy when conditions shift, and on big objectives like Aconcagua and Denali, where you can be sweating on a glacier one hour and shivering in a breeze the next, that versatility is the whole game. Pair it with a vest for a little extra core warmth and you have covered a wide range of conditions without adding much weight. One honest note: the wind resistance does degrade over time with heavy use, so plan to replace it eventually.