Gear we Love: Jewell Lund’s 7 Winter Apparel Picks

[This Gear we Love feature is part of our monthly series featuring the best season- and activity-specific gear picks from the highly inspiring female athlete ambassadors from Outdoor Research. They are runners, climbers, skiers, mountaineers, and more—all breaking down barriers and pushing the edge.]

Sponsored Love From

Outdoor Research Logo

Badass climber and coffee roaster extraordinaire, Jewell Lund, divulges her absolute fav early winter kit from Outdoor Research right here. Read on, too, to get the truly grounding details on her life-changing brush with mortality in the backcountry.

​1. ​Women’s Ceres L/S Shirt ($70)

I don’t know why they call this the Ceres—they should call it awesome-sauce flannel. Instead of stealing your boyfriend’s flannel, try this super comfortable button-up to throw on in between burns at the cliff. Plus it’s got a women’s cut. And doesn’t smell like a guy.

​2. Women’s Casia Jacket ($95)
​It’s like being wrapped up in a hug…only softer. This has been my apres go-to for chilly evenings this fall. It looks great and it’s so​oo soft.

90970_57C

3. Women’s Cathode Hooded Jacket ($199)
This is a lightweight primaloft insulation piece that is perfect for late fall rock climbing. Schoeller under-arm panels stretch and breathe really well, so if you’re dreading taking your jacket off to climb after a long, chilly belay, don’t worry—you can totally climb in this jacket. ​The Primaloft is water resistant too, so I’m not nervous to take it out when clouds are in the forecast. This won 2014 Outside Magazine Gear of the Year—not surprised!

97515_83B

4. Women’s Essence Tights ($60)
Have you already gone out searching for icicles to climb? ​Are you sharpening your tools (I can’t believe they got that dull) or starting to really wonder where the hell your ice boots got to? The Essence Tights are the base layer grab for early season ice climbing. They are lightweight, and with Drirelease Merino wool they breathe incredibly well.

5. Women’s Clearview Pants ($79)
​Have I talked about these in other seasons? Because I end up wearing them every season. Fall in Utah is desert tower season, and those sandstone cracks wear down everything that comes into contact with them—skin, clothing, and any sense of pride.​ The Clearview Pants are the OR version of Carports (but with a ladies’ cut). The cotton canvas means you won’t wear a hole in them the first squeeze chimney that you look at. Plus, since it’s cotton it’s super comfy. Love em!

6. Women’s Barrow Beanie ($25)
I know, I know, it’s not the dead of winter—yet. But if you’re out camping, this beanie is super cute and warm for those chilly evenings around the campfire.

83422_40B

7. Women’s Versaliner Gloves ($52)
I’m in grad school, and I wear these gloves biking to campus a lot. The Radiant Fleece is warm and soft, and then there is a Pertex Shield shell tucked in a zipper pocket inside the gloves in case it rains. Pretty nice to keep the fingers warm!

72193_001
Q+A with Jewell Lund
WM: Best adventure planned right now?
Jewell Lund: ​I’m headed down to Zion with my friend Kim after Thanksgiving. I love the climbing there; it always feels like a wild adventure with all different kinds of pitches. I’m sure the climbing there will cleanse any residual tryptophan from the holidays. Stoked! ​

WM: Best place you’ve ever skied?
Jewell: ​I grew up skiing at Alta Ski Resort at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. My mom managed some condos in between Alta and Snowbird, so daycare was at the ski resort. I still remember getting my legs and skis in a tangled mess while trying to hang on to the tow rope until I reached the top of the hill, probably at age 4. While I don’t ski too much at resorts these days, this place has a big chunk of my heart.​ Fam photo here (I’m the red head with the shit-eating grin).

WM: Most memorable backcountry experience?
Jewell: ​Oof. This one is definitely a big experience for me, and unfortunately it’s not about epic pow. ​Long story short:

In May 2011, I planned to ski the northwest couloir of the Pfeifferhorn in the Wasatch with my good friend Kim Hall. At a certain point skiing down the couloir, the pitch steepened and the snow sluffed off an old rain crust from a rain event back in January that year.

With a lot of clouds moving in and out, I didn’t notice the snow transitioning to rain crust until I was on top of it. I lost my edge and quickly cartwheeled, and fell down the entire couloir—I don’t know how far it was, but the news reported 1,000 ft. Because of the extraordinary efforts of my friend Kim and the truly amazing skiers in the area that day, I was quickly flown to the hospital.

Lucky to survive at all, I sustained an acute subdural hematoma, which totally severed my short-term memory for weeks and severely inhibited my cognitive abilities for months. For many months I slowly regained neural connections; this close brush with my own mortality palpably impressed upon me the simple gift of experiencing each day. I’m truly grateful, and I have tried my best to fully process this event, both mentally and emotionally—and I suppose spiritually, to be honest. It has certainly altered who I am, and the ways I approach being in the mountains.

WM: Fav apres activity right now?
​Jewell: Currently yoga is awesome for me! I just started a grad program studying glaciology, and—to say the least— I’m overwhelmed with all the work. The few times I’ve made been able to sneak in  a yoga class have been hugely helpful. ​

WM: Fav dish/recipe you’re cooking up this fall?
Jewell: We harvested a deer recently, and we are enjoying a lot of meals with venison sausage. Super tasty!​

WM: Song playing in your car/iPod right now?
Jewell: ​I’ve been grooving to a lot of Aesop Rock lately. Their album “Labor Days” is incredible—witty lyrics and good beats.

Streaked Wall, Zion National Park, Thanksgiving 2014. This is about hour 22, cleaning the last pitch on the Streaked Wall in Zion National Park. After climbing all night, we were incredibly grateful as sunrise lit up the wall, and even more grateful to know that we were within one pitch of flat rock—where we could finally lay down and take a nap. ​Photo Kyle Dempster

Streaked Wall, Zion National Park, Thanksgiving 2014.
This is about hour 22, cleaning the last pitch on the Streaked Wall in Zion National Park. After climbing all night, we were incredibly grateful as sunrise lit up the wall, and even more grateful to know that we were within one pitch of flat rock—where we could finally lay down and take a nap. ​Photo Kyle Dempster

Erinn Morgan

About

After a 10-year career as an award-winning New York City-based editor launching and redesigning urban, style-driven magazines, Erinn Morgan left her downtown Manhattan digs after September 11th, 2001, in search of a less encumbered, freelance lifestyle. A life-changing, two-year-long trek around the country in a motorhome eventually landed her in Durango, Colo., which she now calls home. Her writing has appeared in numerous— More about this author →