I think they should re-name this jacket the “Heli-Luv”.

We were told to meet up on Roger’s Pass (outside of Golden, B.C.) at 12:00pm to catch the helicopter ride into the Fairy Meadow Hut. All twenty of us head up with our heads full of exciting thoughts about helicopter rides, backcountry huts, enormous mountains, and endless powder.

Upon arrival at the heli-pad (more like a plowed out square off the highway), we began to unload all of our gear. Gear, food and beer for twenty people piled up fast. At this point the snow was coming down pretty hard. I already had been wearing the Mountain Hardwear Women’s Sub Zero SL Hooded Jacket for the past couple of days while we traveled up to Canada from Victor, Idaho. The down in this jacket is so warm and comfy so I always had it handy. It is a bit on the bulky side for long drives. I would remove it once the van temperature was comfortable.

Now, here, at where it was all to happen, I was glad to have this piece of gear. The Conduit SL proved it’s high performance by keeping me dry from the snow. Once we had all of our gear piled up the pilot gave us our instruction for loading the chopper, maneuvering around it (with the goal of keeping our heads on), and piling on top of the gear during take-off and landing to prevent items from flying around. Still…super warm and dry.

Now time to test the wind resistance properties of this jacket. My adrenaline was going through the roof as the pilot started up the blades. The sound was amazing. This was my first time in and around a helicopter. So exciting. After we had everything and part of the crew loaded we jump onto the remaining gear and the pilot takes off. The power that bird throws out is amazing. The Sub Zero SL performed like a champ as the chopper blades were throwing snow everywhere. Not to mention how great I looked in the beautiful Kingfisher color while holding all of our gear down. I know what is important.

All jokes aside this is quite the piece of gear. I used this jacket while we transported our gear in and out of the Fairy Meadow Hut. The detachable hood was amazing as protection from the swirling snow and also acted as earmuffs from the chopper sound. This was also a vital piece of gear at the hut. The middle of the night voyages out to the pit toilets required a bit of motivation. This jacket gave me that. I brought a pillowcase and actually used the Sub Zero as the filling at night. This made the jacket quite handy. After fumbling for the headlamp I would just throw on the jacket and put up the hood and head out to do my business. Sorry, did not mean to take you there. The hood on this jacket is detachable. A big down hood can sometimes just be in the way. I love that it easily zips on and off.

I did not take this jacket with me skiing during the days. I did find it a bit heavy for my pack insulation layer. If I were to be winter camping for days rather than holding up in a warm and cozy hut I would be sure to pack the extra weight of the Sub Zero. I did have some zipper issues, which at this point in my backcountry career seems to be a burden I am supposed to carry for all.