BROOKFIELD -- The REI store in Brookfield was hopping Monday night. When John Malan says wind chills are going to make double digit dips below zero, people notice. So, a lot of folks were looking for good, functional outdoor gear. Rene McCullough and her son Patrick were shopping for a good winter coat. “He has a coat that’s broken,” Rene explained as Patrick struggled to stuff his new coat into a small satchel that came with it. “The zipper is broken and he’s got to get a new one!” Patrick estimates his wait at the bus stop averages about ten minutes. But on a morning when wind chills are likely to be ten or fifteen degrees below zero, ten minutes is long enough to turn ears into icicles. Outdoorsman and mountain climber Michael Ganley advises customers at REI. The lean, 32 year old has climbed everything from Mount Hood to Mount McKinley. He knows what you need to wear to stay warm on cold winter nights and mornings. More importantly, he knows what not to wear. “Stay away from cotton,” he said firmly. “Our bodies try to warm us up using moisture. Cotton can’t handle moisture.” That might come as a big surprise who were raised by parents who dressed us in cotton long johns on chilly mornings. But Ganley is adamant. “Cotton clothes soak up the moisture and hold onto it and cool you down by continuously pulling your heat away from your body,” Ganley said. Ganley is also a big believer in eating spicy foods before going out in the cold. He is a big believer in hot peppers and Tabasco sauce. He even puts pepper mixtures in his socks when he is climbing ice-covered mountains. Javier Hernandez, the chef at Arriba in Butler, agrees. He maintains that habanero sauce in the belly is better than a good wool coat on the back. “The gas they got inside the peppers,” he said, pausing, and searching for words. “It gets in your body and keeps your whole body warm.”