What to Wear in Munich in January

Pack for two altitudes. NOAA's figures for Deutscher Wetterdienst's Nymphenburg station put Munich's January at 3.8°C / 39°F by day and −2.1°C / 28°F at night, and DWD's own normals give the city about 19 frost days and just 75 hours of sun for the month. Then take the train south. The Bayerische Zugspitzbahn's cogwheel railway leaves from beside Garmisch-Partenkirchen station, and at the top DWD's Zugspitze station, at 2,956 metres, averages −10.3°C for January, stays below zero on almost every day, and logs 138 hours of sun, almost twice the city's. The snow up there is the problem as much as the cold: WHO says fresh snow can reflect up to 80% of incoming UV. So the capsule has a merino base, a real parka, trousers that shed snow, and dark lenses.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Deep navy insulated hooded parka, thigh length

   One coat has to cover both climates, so it is insulated and waterproof rather than wool. In the city it takes about 13 days of rain, sleet or snow; on the glacier plateau at 2,600 metres it takes the wind, and the hood goes up over the toque. Thigh length covers you on a cold bench at the cogwheel station, and deep navy sets off the cream knit underneath.

2. 
   02

   Navy merino long-sleeve crew

   The base does the altitude work. At a summit averaging −10.3°C, merino next to the skin keeps warm when you sweat on the walk from the cogwheel platform, which cotton does not. Back in a Munich Wirtshaus heated to room temperature, the parka and the knit come off and the long-sleeve is enough on its own.

3. 
   03

   Cream wool sweater with a navy-and-red Fair Isle yoke

   A thick wool crew is the warm middle at both altitudes, and a patterned yoke belongs on a mountain terrace and in a beer hall alike. Cream with a navy and red snowflake band shows under the open navy parka, picks up the navy of the base, and is the one piece in the capsule that says Alpine without being costume.

4. 
   04

   Black softshell trousers, brushed lining

   Denim is the wrong fabric above the snowline: it soaks, then freezes, and at −10.3°C wet cotton stops insulating. A softshell trouser with a brushed lining sheds snow on the Zugspitze plateau, blocks the wind at the summit, and looks like ordinary black trousers at dinner in the Altstadt. A snow cuff inside the hem keeps powder out of the boots.

5. 
   05

   Tan waterproof lug-sole lace-up boots

   Deutscher Wetterdienst counts about 19 frost days in a Munich January, and the plateau under the Zugspitze is snow all month, so the sole needs real lugs and the upper has to keep water out. Laces pull the boot tight over a wool sock, and the padded collar keeps snow off the ankle. Tan leather reads as a city boot on the Viktualienmarkt, too.

6. 
   06

   Dark wraparound sunglasses with side shields

   The summit gets almost twice Munich's January sunshine, and the ground throws it back: WHO says fresh snow can reflect up to 80% of incident UV, which is how skiers and climbers get snow blindness. Wraparound frames with dark lenses and side shields block the glare that comes in from below and beside, which a fashion frame leaves open.

7. 
   07

   Tan insulated leather gloves, knit cuff

   DWD's normals give the Zugspitze about 30 ice days in 31: in January the summit almost never climbs above zero. Padded leather gloves keep your fingers working on a railing, a camera and a zip at that temperature, and a knit cuff tucks under the parka sleeve. They also cover the city's 8 or so ice days on a Munich pavement.

8. 
   08

   Heather-grey ribbed wool toque with a pompom

   Your head goes cold first at altitude, and a ribbed wool toque with a folded cuff doubles the knit over your ears under the parka hood. It rolls into a pocket in the cogwheel carriage. Grey sits between the navy parka and the cream knit, and the pompom is the one frivolous thing in a hard-working bag.

A suggested look — navy insulated hooded parka, cream fair isle sweater, navy merino base layer, black softshell trousers, tan lug-sole boots.

What to avoid

• Jeans on the Zugspitze — wet denim at −10.3°C stops insulating
• Fashion sunglasses above the snowline — fresh snow reflects up to 80% of UV
• Smooth soles — about 19 frost days in the city
• The Deutschland-Ticket to the summit — it covers only the valley section to Grainau
• Packing only for the grey city — the summit gets almost twice the sun