well, that would be the reason why. Cotton is BAD for breathing, and hence, why your feet are hot. They sort of soak up heat like there's no tomorrow. And when wet, they take the heat FROM your body rather than help retain it. Cotton is BAD when it comes to keeping warm or temperature sane in the winter.

What you need are a poly-propelene (???) wicking sock underneath wool socks or a poly-wool blend sock. They together tend to be thicker than your average cotton sock and therefore will also cut down on your blisters.

so sayeth the Arctic explorer. we climb more lava flows before 9 am than most people do all day