Is it necessary to wear a bib/salopette and/or ski pants that can be removed without removing the skis when Nordic skiing

Question

Reading "Outdoors: the Scandinavian way, winter edition" by Lars Falt, he mentions that ideally one should wear an expedition bib that can be removed without having to take off one's skis. The activity I have in mind is hut-to-hut cross country skiing with a minimal pack on my back and no pulk in Scandinavia. On the one hand I feel I should abide by the advise of the experts on the other hand I can see plenty of examples of people who use regular ski pants, such as Erik Normark, in northern Sweden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW2tzyWvHMI

What are the trade-offs and why should one get a salopette/bib that can be removed without removing one's skis. Is it about ventilation, or getting changed with ease in deep snow?

Answer 1

I do not have any experience cross country skiing but ski touring should be sufficiently similar, at least the uphill part.

There is always this conflict in clothing that one wants something warm while standing still or not moving much while at the same time this is way too warm and sweaty as soon as one starts moving, especially uphill. Taking off a layer before starting is a usual measure against this problem, however with pants this can be difficult as regular pants require to take off your boots before removing the pants. This is unacceptable if there is only snow around. I once carried a long underpant up the mountain and down again because I did not find a way to put it on without getting wet feet.

Therefore many ski touring pants have ventilation zippers or even full zippers at the sides that allow to change pants without removing skis. Biggest drawbacks of these zippers are probably that they do not insulate as well against the cold when closed. Keeping zippers waterproof can also be a problem

Answer 2

I'm not a skier, but it could have something to do with being able to go to the toilet with your skis (or at least your boots) on. This is more likely in the wilderness than in well-travelled areas. Strictly speaking that would only require some degree of opening, rather than removal.