Beginners Guide to Winter Camping

Solitude, beauty and yes, even comfort, await - if you go about it right.

Yo campers!
Hangin' with my relatives for the holidays has me fat, happy...and constantly looking out the window thinking about nights in the winter-silenced woods. So here's a checklist for those of you who've thought about camping in the chill season, but haven't tried it yet.

Preparation:
[] For your first camp-out, pick a scenic and sheltered destination that's not far from retreat. You don't need to go any farther than land management regulations or road noise require. If things go wrong, you can bail.

[] Choose a location with available firewood. You may not want a fire, but that way one is available if needed.

[] Camp near open water if possible, so you don't have to spend all your time melting snow. If you'll need to melt snow, plan on using three times the fuel you would for normal summer camping.

[] Know the weather forecast before you go. Don't get surprised by sudden cold, storm, wind, or even a thaw that will make for soaking wet conditions.

Gear:
[] Dress in layers, and have the gear to overdress. You'll need more clothes than you would for day-long activities like skiing.

[] Make sure your sleeping bag will suffice for long, cold nights. If you don't have a winter bag, take two 3-season bags and nest one inside the other. Check the combination at home for fit and interior space.

[] Your boots need to be warm and waterproof. If you just own light hikers, go buy a cheap pair of snowmobile/moon boots. Support is less important than warmth here. Make sure they fit well and are durable enough for your trip.

[] Don't cram extra socks into your boots unless there's plenty of room for them. Tight-fitting boots will cut off circulation rather than keeping your feet warm.

[] Many three-season tents are perfectly adequate unless you expect heavy snow or high winds.

[] White gas stoves are best for winter, but in most conditions alcohol or canister stoves work fine. For cartridge stoves, avoid 80/20 butane/propane canisters (use isobutane), and warm cartridges in your sleeping bag or parka before firing up.

[] Hats and handwear are important. Choose a thick, warm hat. Mittens are more versatile than gloves, just pull them off briefly for dexterity needs.

[] Don't forget sunglasses and sunscreen. Reflective snow can cook you, especially from late February on.

[] Bring a good headlamp with fresh batteries. You'll want lots of light to deal with long nighttime hours.

On Your Hike:
[] If the snow is shallower than about one foot, don't worry about skis or snowshoes. Keep it simple. You'll want gaiters though.

[] Turn around frequently to survey your route, so you'll recognize it more easily on the way out, should snow or wind obscure your tracks. (A good idea in all seasons).

[] It's easier to stay warm than it is to re-warm. Don't let yourself get chilled, or sweaty. Anticipate upcoming temperature and layering changes to stay ahead of them. For example, it's smarter to layer up just before reaching a windy ridge top than it is to top out, get chilled, and then fight against the wind while layering up.

[] Don't forget to drink. It's easy to get dehydrated in winter.

[] You need calories to stay warm, so don't let yourself get hungry, but don't overdo it either.

At Camp:
[] Put on all your warm clothes immediately upon arrival. Preserve the heat you generated on the hike in.

[] When camping on snow, stomp out a tent platform immediately using skis, snowshoes or just boots and a shovel. Make it larger than you think you'll need, and be fanatic about packing it flat. Then let it set up hard before trying to pitch your tent.

[] Set up camp so you can cook food and drinks from your sleeping bag. If you cook in a vestibule, prime your stove outside the tent, then bring it in. Allow for plenty of ventilation.

[] Plan to spend lots of bag time, so have an activity to pass the dark hours, like a book, good conversation, games, or simple but multi-course meals.

[] If you start to chill, don't just sit there in misery. Go on a walk, do sit-ups or deep knee bends. Generate metabolic heat.

[] Hot water bottles also work miracles for chilled campers. Placed close to your body underneath clothes or bag, they'll pump heat for about six hours.

[] Mornings are the toughest time for winter camping. Temps are usually coldest just before dawn, and you'll emerge from your bag inactive and easily chilled. Get up and go for a walk. Then come back and break camp once you've warmed up.

Got your own favorite winter camping tips? Cough 'em up in the comments section.

--Steve Howe

(Photo by Mark Carroll)

PRINT THIS PAGE EMAIL THIS PAGE RSS FEED

Digg Delicious Yahoo Facebook Reddit StumbleUpon Google Newsvine Facebook Twitter

READERS COMMENTS

http://wintercampinggear.org has name brand winter gear at reasonable prices
Posted: May 22, 2010 Anonymous

Great winter camping gear is available at http://wintercampinggear.org
Posted: May 16, 2010 hans

The biggest problem I've experienced with winter camping is that good gear sometimes gets pretty expensive. Is <a href="http://wintercampinggear.org">discount camping gear</a> or used gear as good as the new stuff?
Posted: May 07, 2010 Anonymous

Avoid 80/20 canisters? I don't get it. Most 80/20 canisters are 80% isobutane and 20% propane. An 80/20 mix is going to burn better than 100% isobutane. Now, if the 80/20 is just regular butane then what you're saying would make sense, but most of the canisters I've seen are pro-iso (MSR, Jetboil, Snowpeak).
Posted: Nov 03, 2009 Hikin' Jim

sleep on the stove cook ur self dumb good eatin
Posted: Feb 12, 2009 jumper cable 21

well ur not retarted durdurudururur. Camp in sleepig bag stupid bleep head
Posted: Feb 12, 2009 ilyunuyhbbth

great site need improvement tho
Posted: Feb 12, 2009 dfgdf

"Cook from your sleeping bag are you serious? First, if you're in bear country this is beyond ridiculous and second, if your stove falls over in your tent good luck"

You do realize bears hibernate in the winter? Many people put the stove in the vestibule and their body in their bag, in the tent while they cook. If the stove falls over all you did was melt/season some snow.
Posted: Jan 26, 2009 Brad

When doing winter day hikes (no snow or precip) from a campground with electricity, I have run a extension cord to the tent with a heating pad in the foot of a 35 degree sleeping bag. Slept comfortable and toasty. Tossed in a water bottle at the bottom and had water for the morning as well. Pee bottle is a must in cold weather.
Posted: Jan 24, 2009 MC

Cook from your sleeping bag are you serious? First, if you're in bear country this is beyond ridiculous and second, if your stove falls over in your tent good luck
Posted: Jan 23, 2009 Matt

Want liquid H2o in the morning? Dig a hole in the snow, put in a pot/bottle of water (Cold is good) and cover with a snow block. Yer mini snowcave keeps it from freezing. Also Camp higher above the stream. Temps down by the water can be 10 degrees lower than higher up. Are you having trouble getting folks motivated to break camp in the morning? Stamp out the camp fire.

Posted: Jan 12, 2009 Kevin Hansen

Nothing but winter camping - love it.
Many great suggestions.

Even alcohol stove fuel needs to be pre-warmed. 0 F it will have trouble lighting cold. Pre-warm in armpit.

Change into new clothes before setting up camp, and don't sweat in them so you are dry in bed. Put any old moist items across belly while sleeping to dry out. Put moist socks in armpits during camp setup for same effect.
Don't want much moisture in bag, or it will freeze on its way out of the bag and make insulation ineffective. So don't breath into the bag. Cinch hood over eyes even. Practice with cap at home pulled over eyes if it feels weird.

If your foot punches through ice into a creek, you can dry your leg out by continuing to walk another few hrs, as long as nothing was cotton. Even if it's 0 F.

If sleeping bag chest baffle is not stopping air movement or you don't have one, put your fleece coat just around your neck bunched up around your shoulders.
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 HeyBales

When setting up camp, take down camp, or building a fire make sure you are careful not to kneel to long. When you kneel you cut of the blood flow to your toes. You want to keep all blood flow going to all parts of your body so if you can try to squat more instead of kneeling.
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 Marcus Refsland

Test everything in the back yard before you go winter camping. Out in the bush is not the time to find out details like what it's really going to take to keep your toes warm so you can get some sleep. Snow shelters are fun, give you something to do and are very warm. Bring that packable shovel and go for it.
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 dearnold

At night, put your boots inside stuff sacks and place them between your thighs/legs in your sleeping bag. Putting them at the bottom of your bag near your feet crowds your feet and forces your feet to keep the boots warm. Result: cold feet.

The femoral artery running down your thigh carries a lot of blood, so this is also a great place to also put that water bottle filled with boiled water � only if it�s in an insulated carrier. It will release the heat more slowly and actually be a bit warm in the morning giving you your first warm drink of the day.

When hiking, keep your water bottle in the insulated carrier and keep it upside down. Any ice that forms will be at the top, which is now the bottom. So, the mouthpiece will not freeze. Only use wide mouth bottles rated for temperatures of 100 C or 212 F or more so that you can pour boiling water into them.

I use two sleeping pads even now that I �upgraded� to a Stevensen down/air mattress (DAM). The DAM is the most comfortable sleeping pad I have ever used and for winter, it has the most insulation you can get from a single pad. But, it still gets blown up and I want a regular closed cell as an extra. While I either wear or put my insulation layers (down jacket and microfilm pants) in the sleeping bag, I put my hardshell jacket and softshell pants between the two pads for even more insulation.

Have one stuff sak to keep all of your �keep warm� stuff in. Toothpaste, contact lenses and solution, camera, gps, etc. That bags goes in the sleeping bag also. As another post noted, lithium ion batteries perform much better in the cold that alkaline or NiM rechargeables. An added benefit is that they weigh less. Four Li weigh 2.2 oz versus 4 alkies at 3.6 oz. It may not seem like much, but it adds up and every oz counts when you fit out at 30 to 50 lbs base weight.

Posted: Jan 09, 2009 Snowman

I'm from northern MN-Everything freezes.
A lot of great suggestions. What i would add:
Duct tape a lighter on lanyard and wear inside your shirt - this keeps it functional. Invest in a water bottle cozy or two (frozen water bottles are useless and usually get the dreaded hole in the side from trying to defrost them by the fire). Insulation sack for dehydrated meals (don't want it to turn to ice before it rehydrates). High calorie candies to suck on throughout the day (I like Riesen - 43C a piece). Drink lots of water (the air is completely dry and you loose more water than you are aware of - leading to fatigue and cramps). Alcohol widens your pores and allows more heat to escape. Cotton clothes KILL � stay away, look up convection. If favorable landscape, get the weight off your back and on a sled with stays (make one out of a kids sled). Bring lots of people � more help, fun and community. Count on doing anything (setting up tent, cooking, moving) taking at least three times as long. Bring an inflatable palm tree or pink flamingos � makes the experience ridiculous and funny. Gear the trip to the lowest level of experience. Pee every chance you get. Oversized mittens with gloves as liners. Read Stephen Gorman's Winter Camping every year/trip. Most importantly, make sure your car has a good battery, antifreeze, functionally sound and will start at a remote trail head/entrance. My guilty pleasure: Steger Mukluks in double extra wide � It�s like wearing slippers and they have the room to layer socks. The lightest warmest boot there is. Do it! It's a rewarding experience.

Posted: Jan 09, 2009 Andre Leroux

Along with eating before bedtime, it also helps to go for a short walk to get your body heat up before getting in your sleeping bag. (Which will be made much more welcoming by the addition of a hot water bottle prior to the walk.)

And to Ray, if you can go on a canoe trip where you live, you don't have an actual winter.
Posted: Jan 08, 2009 Brian in ME

ditto on Koda's post. i bring a snickers in my bag and gnaw on it around 2am. as soon as we get to camp, the boots and socks come off, fleece socks go on and covered up with booties and over booties for setting up camp. before settling in the bag for the evening a snickers bar melted in hot choc is great. layer up when you stop. shed layers before you start to move. do not sweat. sleep w/ fleece socks and booties and a hot water bottle down by your feet if your cold natured. bring socks, gloves, and first layer in the sleeping bag with you and sleep with them. use a closed cell foam pad to insulated from the snow.
Posted: Jan 08, 2009 jerome