Winter Camping...see details?

Question

Of those of you who have actually camped in the winter time (or in the snow), how was your experience? Will you do it again?

Answer 1

I've been camping in winter since 1987. Largely in the Northeast US. I absolutely LOVE it. I actually really don't like camping in the summer as much as I do in the fall and winter. Winter is the best.

Extended backcountry trips ARE a b!tch....yet strangely addicting. It's gotten easier in the past few years because gear has become a lot lighter and I've picked up a lot of tricks over the years.

Snow can be a friend and an enemy. It's great for building stuff. I've built snow walls to help keep wind off the tent. Used it a few times as my only shelter, and of course you can carve out a killer campsite if you have enough snow...complete with snow couches and end tables if you have enough time.
Snow, however is also rough to travel on, especially if you are the guy breaking trail. Snowshoes help but the going is still slow..usually. XC or BC skis can make the journey go a bit faster.

Winter camping will also produce more "Holy Crap!" moments. Like: "Holy Crap...the eggs are frozen!", or "Holy crap...it's now too cold to use a butane stove." Undoubtedly, winter camping makes for great stories.

The extended periods of darkness one encounters while winter camping never seem to bother me. A headlamp and a book are good companions. If you are camping with some buddies then bring a few airline bottles to spike your coffee. A hot toddy at the end of the day isn't a bad thing...just don't get wasted because then you can become numb to the cold and end up with frostbite.

I've also still yet to discover that I need a double walled winter tent. Maybe when I finally get to the Karakorum I might need it, but as of yet, every self-supporting tent I've ever used in the winter has held up fine to snow, sleet, and wind. A few extra stake-outs and some wind-blocking snow walls have been employed, but I can't see dropping $500 on a tent unless it was something I was going to use at Everest Base Camp for 10 weeks.

Footwear still seems to be the big thing I've yet to perfect for winter camping. The "Weight vs Warmth" battle still rages on. I'm currently using a pair of Limmer Standard full grain leather boots. These have been waterproofed up the wazoo and provide good traction and somewhat allow my foot to breathe. They are not insulated but I can wear multiple sock combinations depending on the weather. I'm pretty familiar with boots, I sold them for two years and still work a lot with gear and boots. Pack boots like Sorel are great for camp, but suck hiking in. Leather mountaineering boots usually are not insulated, plastic mountaineering boots are too clunky for average winter camping...the list goes on and on. So I really don't have anything to contribute about boots that is 100% surefire.

I also tell people who want to get good at winter camping to ease into it. Try sleeping outside in your backyard in January before you take to the woods. Next, try a state park or someplece you can drive to. That way you can always bail out if something foul happens. Once you know you can stay out for two nights in the park and not have to fire-up the car, then you are ready to tackle something out in the woods.

Oh yeah...take a friend, preferably one that likes to share sleeping bags.

Answer 2

My first experience of snow camping in a tent was in March of 1993. I was in the mountains of North Carolina and a few inches of snow was predicted. That few inches turned out to be 60 inches and the storm was named the "Blizzard of '93". I was unprepared and cut off from the outside world for 5 days. Although I was worried about my survival at the time I look back at it as a great experience. I learned a lot from my mistakes. I'm now better educated, have better gear and I love snow camping and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Answer 3

I used to do a lot of solo winter backpacking and then the stress of not being allowed to ever screw up just got to me and I gave it up for about 10 years-I may get back to it in a year or two.
Winter is a completely different reality
Your days are a lot shorter .
Your daily miles are a lot less
It takes longer to make and break camp
Your pack-weight can be 50% more than it is in summer
Your daily caloric requirements are like 6000
Navigation in snow conditions can be a real b**ch "Hmmm is that a small lake or a small meadow I can't tell bc it's alll white"
Water is a huge issue becuse it can be hard to keep liquid and a cold dry environment will dehydrate you faster than a hot dry environment will.
Water is also a problem because if you're snow shoeing w/ a heavy pack on despite the fact that it's 20 degrees out you will be working up a sweat so you're always playing the clothing game of keeping on enough clothing to keep warm but not so much that you overheat and not so little that you cool down too quickly
On the positive side being a couple of days out from the trailhead camped in deep woods and in deep snow is one of life's truly special experiences.
Deep woods in deep snow ,muffle sound and it just kind of adds to the whole magic of the experience-That is until some boy genius on a snowmobile ruins it for you.

Answer 4

I snow and winter camp all the time (sometimes I climb big mountains in the summer and camp in the snow). I really like it.

Bring a book...in the winter, when the sun sets early and it gets dark, it helps to pass the time.

Answer 5

I trailer camped in the winter once and will never do it again. I can't imagine what insanity would have to take over someones mind for them to sleep in a tent in the winter if they're not homeless.

I'm really sorry to all of those who love to "get closer to nature" but I just don't see any way to derive pleasure from that level of discomfort.