When mountain climbing, the extremities, i.e. hands and feet, but also the face, are prone to suffer from frostbite.
For this reason, it is rather unwise to try and save money when buying gloves/mittens and alpine boots. We recommend using disposable hand warmers in your gloves, to have warm fingers in the morning. Additionally, try not to get wet fingers and try to move them around a bit continually. More information on gloves/ mittens can be found under «Down Items», «Equipment» and «Clothing».
Having warm extremities when you start for the mountain in the morning will reduce your chances to suffer from frostbite dramatically.
If your fingers and toes are starting to hurt, this is a sure sign that your getting into trouble. However, as long as you can still feel pain in your extremities, you do not yet have frostbite! Many people quickly get cold feet, accompanied by a feeling of numbness. This numb feeling per se is nothing to be worried about, but it has to be closely monitored nevertheless. If you lose feeling in your fingers and toes, this calls for immediate action: please inform the expediton/ tour guide, who will decide what has to be done (descending, etc.).
It is also important to regularly check your partner's face for white areas of skin, especially around the nose and cheeks to help to prevent frostbite.
Hand and feet warmers are indeed very useful, especially on summit days. They are available in big department stores or in specialised (online) shops. Look out for large size warmers (A5) that provide 20 hours of heat each. N.B.: In high altitudes, the warmers tend to take a little while longer until they reach their maximal thermal output. But once they are working, they will be highly treasured.
In high altitudes and in extreme cold, we recommend the following «warming procedure»:
Take the warmers and shake them vigorously until they start to give off heat about one hour before leaving camp. Place the warmers in your therma inner shoe and put your gloves/ mittens into the shoe with the opening pointing downwards to use the heat to get them warm as well.
Take care to always wear clean socks, since they, too, will keep your feet significantly warmer than pre-worn ones. Put on your expedition boots and the warmed-up inner shoes last before going out into the cold.
When starting to walk, be sure to constantly wiggle your toes and move your fingers a bit to keep them warm. Repeat this in a steady rhythm until it comes naturally to you.