Alaskans offer tips on surviving below-zero temps

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While people in the Lower 48 are shivering in Alaska-like temperatures this week, residents of the coldest state offer these five tips to help get you through until the climate warms.



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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaskans know a thing or two about handling day-to-day activities in freezing temperatures, where below-zero rarely means staying inside. While people in the Lower 48 are shivering in Alaska-like temperatures this week, residents of the coldest state offer these five tips:



1. LESS IS MORE, IF LAYERED



Piling on more clothes is not the best way to stay warm, said Staff Sgt. Zachary McGee, a Kentucky native who is a senior instructor at the U.S. Army's Northern Warfare Training Center in Fairbanks. More clothes cause a person to sweat, and once you stop moving the moisture freezes. Instead, the secret is to dress in layers.



And for your hands? "Mittens over gloves any day," McGee said, noting gloves separate fingers while mittens keep them together and warm.



Related: Polar freeze settles over US South, East



2. THE RIGHT MATERIAL



Cotton kills, or so goes the old Army cold weather instructors' saying. Cotton clothing soaks up sweat and moisture from snow and takes a long time to dry.



"It's like trying to keep your body warm wearing an icicle," McGee said.



Tim Doran, principal of Denali Elementary School in Fairbanks, runs outside all winter. He forgoes cotton underwear for "wind briefs," which include a synthetic panel. After that, he dresses in layers and then tops it off with fleece to trap body heat. He has no qualms about running 90 minutes at minus 40 to minus 50.





Alaska cold tips: Spc. Andrew James Bushong of Cleburne, Texas, at Fort Wainwright.AP Photo: US Army, Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy



Spc. Andrew James Bushong of Cleburne, Texas, drives a tent stake into the frozen Alaska ground at Fort Wainwright.



Related: Snow strands hundreds on Amtrak trains



3. DON'T MAKE CONTACT



At 15 below, touching metal of any kind, even a gasoline pump, with bare hand can cause damage. It's called contact frostbite. Shaun Kraska, principal of West Valley High School in Fairbanks, counsels her students to forget fashion and wear hats or hoods when winter arrives. Yes, a hat or hood will muss

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