Clothes for Mongolia in February
January 11, 2011 5:31 AM   Subscribe

I am likely headed to Ulaanbaatar, the World's Coldest Capital, in February. Can the Hive Mind help me pack the right clothes?

Looks like I need to go to Monoglia for 2-3 weeks in February for work, meeting mostly with government officials. Although I grew up in the Northeast U.S., the cold weather in Mongolia is a little beyond my usual work environment. The temperature range in February seems to be -30 to +5 Fahrenheit (-34 to -15 Celsius). What are the essentials I’ll need to take to stay warm while working and moving about the city? Male professional and I’ll be wearing a suit most weekdays, but hoping to see some of the city during my free time. Trying to pack as efficiently as possible, I’ll probably have laundry done at the hotel once or twice. Assistance in developing my packing list would be greatly appreciated.

Any other tips for a short stay in Ulaanbaatar are also welcome.
posted by flyingrock to Travel & Transportation around Mongolia (6 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Patagonia's capilene long underwear - thin enough to wear under most other clothes (including suits) and very warm. Pricey, but high quality and durable.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:16 AM on January 11, 2011 [5 favorites]


Speaking with a friend from Ulaanbaatar who delt with the government and business sectors extensively. It really depends on how much time you'll spending outside. If going for a walk (or waiting outside for anything) you'll want to dress very warm, i.e. layers, scarf over all skin on face except eyes, lambs wool gloves (regular ski gloves probably aren't enough), longjohns, etc. Otherwise, so long as your in the city, you'll just be going from warm building to warm car and back so a suit will do ok, with long johns if possible (depends on if you overheat normally inside). You should be good for 10 minutes outside if you're walking and don't mind cold ears and/or your nose. Don't stop, even if lost. Walk in circles if needed.

It's cold enough people park their cars inside so if you rent (not sure if you can) keep that in mind.

As for trips, it's outside of their very short tourist season so most stuff will be closed, but museums and such should be open. For trips outside the city, if you can find any, plan on dressing as warm as possible for time outside the car and buildings as there may be waits involved. My friend basically thought you'd be nuts to go out of the city in February but there you have it.

From a "I grew up camping in -20F Maine weather" perspective, if you take the cold route (bad idea), you basically want to layer everything but your underwear, head wear, and shoes (no joke). Two layers of socks (inside layer: the wicking kind used for hiking, outside: winter socks), pants & long johns, long john top & a shirt & a sweater & a wind/waterproof long coat, scarf covering all but your eyes, a hat, and gloves with mittens that fit over them (get thin enough gloves and you can do fine handwork without removing more than the mittens). If you start sweating stop and take the sweater off and/or unzip the jacket, and then continue on as moisture defeats insulation properties usually. For the same reason think twice about wool - it's useless wet. Other than that stay hydrated, well fed, and moving.
posted by jwells at 7:34 AM on January 11, 2011


The winter temperatures there are pretty much the same as the colder end of an Edmonton winter.

How I dress to get to work (nicer clothes) on public transit on a -25C or colder day:
- Suit with wool tights (I suppose long underwear would sub in for a guy - I prefer skirt suits specifically because they allow wool tights) and a thin sweater layer
- Knee length alpaca/wool coat
- Double layer alpaca muffler scarf
- Double layer alpaca hat
- Handknit wool socks over the tights, then nicer winter boots

If it's -30C or colder, or if I'll be walking somewhere, I say "screw it" to nicer clothes and default to a full snowsuit with fleece long underwear underneath and my suit carried in a bag to change to at work.

The thing is, though - you'll get used to the cold within about a week. Every winter, the first cold snap feels awful, but by the time spring comes you're so accustomed to it that you'll go bare-legged in -5C without even thinking about it.

You could even do a balaclava, but if you're a glasses wearer like myself, you won't want to, because your glasses will be to fogged up to see.
posted by Kurichina at 7:56 AM on January 11, 2011


Oh, and another tip: keep your nice shoes at the office to change into and have some good leather protector for anything you wear outside. I have no idea how Ulaanbaatar maintains it's roads and sidewalks, but if they use salt at all, your leather boots and shoes will be utterly destroyed.
posted by Kurichina at 8:00 AM on January 11, 2011


I've done research off and on in Mongolia for a decade. You are going to need serious protection that time of year, but it will depend some degree on your personal cold tolerance and how much you are going to be outside. A few pointers:

-Re: Long underwear. Many buildings are not heated well (it depends on their distance from the steam plant) so don't count on that - you may still want long underwear indoors.
I also use Patagonia's capilene underwear - there are 4 gradations - you are going to want the warmest.

-There is no snow removal in Ulaanbaatar. There is usually not much snow, but it becomes hardened and slick after hundreds of feet walk over it and is extremely slippery. You are going to want shoes with traction or you are going to be eating the sidewalk. You also want thick soles so the bottoms of your feet do not get chilled.

-At the same time, it is a sign of respect to dress nicely for business meetings in Mongolia, especially with government officials. It is not acceptable to just show up in camping gear. Foreigners get a little bit of slack in this regard, but you don't want to push it.

-Your outer clothes must be windproof. Bitter cold wind will take your warmth away faster than anything. Wind is even more of an issue outside of the city.

-Of course, super warm, windproof hat that covers your ears, scarf, keep hands in mittens in pockets

If you are trying to limit your suitcase size, I recommend not to skimp on the warm clothes, even though they tend to be bulky. It sounds like you have limited time in the capital and you probably don't want to spend it shopping once you realize that you should have brought warmer clothes. (And also, clothes for sale are mainly from China, and to a lesser degree Korea and Turkey, so if you have a body that is sized differently than the most common body type in those countries you will have problems finding things that fit.)
Instead, take less dress clothes and re-wear them.

If your hosts take you anywhere outside the city center this time of year, it will probably be to Zaisan and a small ger camp right outside of the city, where you would be served a meal of traditional foods. Inside the center, they may take you to Gandan Monastery and out to some fancy places to eat.

Air pollution in Ulaanbaatar this time of year is horrendous - this causes a lot of medical problems for residents. My lungs seize up with the first breath I take when I walk out of my building in the morning. If you have any kind of respiratory problems bring appropriate medication.
posted by scrambles at 9:29 AM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yes. Windstopper®.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 6:29 PM on January 11, 2011


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