How not to feel cold in sub-zero - a wimp's guide

This is based purely on my experience, and since I have never been in sub-zero temperatures before, it will probably seem a bit over the top and pathetic, particularly to people much hardier than me! But here it is anyway, the wimpy girl's guide to keeping warm!

Here's what I recommend as essentials:

• Thermals (at least two sets). Get the good stuff too, from a proper outdoor clothing provider. I had a mix of North Face and Lowe Alpine, and they were great.

• Socks (many, many pairs, make sure they are not too tight). Again, get the proper stuff. Smartwool was brilliant - you could re-wear the same socks, and they never smelled. I generally wore three pairs of socks each day, sometimes four when it was really cold.

• Balaclava. Try to get one with the full face if possible - mine didn't really cover my nose properly, which meant that my nostrils actually glued themselves together!

• Goggles, properly ventilated ones that won't steam up, if you're going dog sledding. Glasses were useless - they just steamed up in a few seconds.

• Fleeces - more layers of micro fleece are better than less layers of heavier fleece. Even under the arctic suit I wore a thermal top and two fleeces.

• Down mittens with a sticky grip or leather palm. Thermal liner gloves.

• Really good down coat

• Chemical hand and foot warmers. These really did work, and kept working for over ten hours. I got the ones that were single use: simply take them out of the packet, shake them and you got heat.

• Lithium batteries - lithium doesn't freeze below zero where alkaline does. I ran the same set of four Energiser Lithium AA batteries the entire week, and didn't ever need to keep them or the camera warm. Even when it was so cold that the lcd display packed up, the batteries were still going strong. They are more expensive, but definitely worth it. The only place I could find that stocked them was Boots (the chemist), oddly enough.

My packing list:

• Two pairs fleece trousers for wearing under the provided arctic suit.

• One pair fleece-lined winter trousers from Craghopper (ugliest things on earth, made me look like a tractor, but what do I care as long as I'm warm?)

• One pair ski trousers, fleece lined with snow gaiters. Very useful for tramping around in the snow.

• Thermal glove liners

• Two pairs polartec gloves (should have also bought some good mittens)

• 18 pairs of woollen ski socks, varying thickness

• 6 Fleeces, varying weights

• One down knee-length coat with hood

• Boots with vibram cold resistant sole. These were excellent - bought them a size bigger than usual to accommodate the multiple socks.

• Lithium batteries

• Tripod - essential for low light conditions