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Aknowledgement to R. Evans, Iriquois District, Theodore Roosevelt Council, who distributes this information at Coucil's annual Bluenose training event.
10 1 Hints on Winter
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Winter 10 1 BLUENOSE 101 HINTS ON WINTER Winter Camping Guide
EAT:The only way to keep warm in the Outdoors is to keep fueling your internal furnace. If you do not eat and drink fluids constantly, you will dehydrate, and get cold.
The Whole Story:
Since you are trying your best to stay warm in a constantly cold environment, the furnace bums and bums. If you are on a diet, consider going off of it. In the cold you will probably need upwards of 4,000 calories a day. In order to insure the proper intake mix of calories and water, the following advice can not be taken lightly:
·Drink two quarts of water a day.
*Best foods are soups and hot liquid meals like stews and pastas. These should be high in carbohydrates, some fat, some salts, and plenty of calories.
*Hot foods help the body absorb the energy, without draining body heat to aid digestion in the stomach.
*Eat some gorp and drink some water just before going to sleep at night. This is stoking the furnace for the next 8 hours. When people wake up in the middle of the night freezing, they did not provide enough energy for the entire night. Sample Menu:
Who wants to Cook? You have to, but cold is your enemy. Gourmets:
*Cook at home.
*Only re-warm foods cooked at home in camp.
*This saves fuel, and time, and everyone's patience. What you need to cook in Camp:
· Simplicity is your key. If it can be made with boiling water, it's done. 1. Breakfasts: Hot Tea; Hot Tang; Hot liquid; Jell-O (Very high energy!); Oatmeal mixed with brown sugar & raisins; Farina. 2. Lunches: Fast & Easy: Sandwiches; energy bars; GORP: Soup 3. Dinners: High Carbs: Spaghetti; Pastas; Stew; Soup; Chili; Bread
·Great super quick energy idea: Each person carries a GORP bag with them all day. Munch... Munch ... Munch...
·Keep a small supply of gorp in a heavy zip lock for energy gulp just before bed. This is your
overnight energy food
·Keep Gorping and drinking fluids.
· Graze all daylong. Important DONTS:
*Don't cook greasy foods. The grease is impossible to clean, and can go rancid in your stomach in the cold. More upset stomachs are caused by eating greasy foods.
*Eggs of any kind, unless they are cooked as an ingredient in another entree, cool faster than you can serve them and eat them.
·Don't plan on cooking over a wood fire, use a stove. The wood youmay find will be frozen to the
ground, wet through and through, and may even be buried under the snow. You can only cook on
the coals.The heat is impossible to regulate, as the fire lay will likely melt intothe snow and frozen
ground - losing all energy to the ground. You will likely melt away the support of the fire-grate and
lose the whole meal. Remember: No one "Plans to Fail"', we only "Fail to Plan!"
*Have a meal duties roster,, everyone needs to be busy in the cold while the food is cooking, and chores like getting water, are very important.
*Use Plastic Plates and utensils. They rob less heat from your food.
Hardware:
Tents: There is a real difference in tents. This is the time to seriously consider the merits of a true
winter tent. Or - fortify your three-season tent for winter. Winter tents have the ability, to close off
all airflow through the tent. Many tents have a lot of mesh screening that breathes the warmth right
out of it. A winter tent has mostly fabric walls and has fabric door panels that can be zipped up
completely. The doors on a winter tent tend to be a size smaller to prevent the great loss of heat
every time you get in and out of the tent.
Warmth: Closing the tent doors and having a tent rainfly that goes all he way to the ground deflects
the wind around the occupants inside. This allows the people inside the tent to retain heat. Most
heat inside a tent comes from body heat. Anything that you can do to insulate the tent to the ground
and to the air must be done to improve the heat retention within a tent.
A thick (5mm thick) plastic sheet, or ground tarp needs to go under the tent, which both insulates the tent from the ground, and also protects the bottom of the tent from melting snow and ground damage. Water that gets into the cloth, even if waterproofed, will eventually leak into the tent. If it freezes it will damage the fabric and the waterproofing.
Inside, the occupants should sleep on full closed cell foam mattresses, never on air mattresses. Air mattresses deflate in the cold. Setup: Setup the tent by packing the snow tightly flat using your snowshoes, skis, or boots. Create a packed area that is large enough to allow you to walk completely around the tent and it's guy-lines easily. Put colorful streamers on guy lines to make them visible in snow or wind.
Use crossed sticks to tie a "deadman" which you will bury into the snow as a tent anchor. Regular tent pegs will not work in the winter as the snow is never as tightly packed as dirt. Ice is brittle, and very difficult to get a peg into. "Deadmen" should not be tied directly to tent guys, but to another "throw-away" line that gets tied to the tent guy-lines. They will most likely freeze in the ground and will be impossible to dig up later.
"Burm" or build a wall of snow, like a fort, around the outside perimeter of your walkway around your tent. This bump of snow will help deflect the wind up and over your tent. A burm of snow parallel to the entrance can also act as a wind block to keep the cold air from blowing into your open door every time you get into or out of your tent.
Sleeping Bags:
Sleeping bags should be the full mummy style. Rectangular bags opening causes freezing of the head and shoulders making for very uncomfortable nights. Bags are rated for approximate minimum temperature. Get one rated for zero degrees or below zero to insure your margin of comfort. Synthetic is easier to launder than down, and will keep you warm even when they get wet. Down bags may be lighter in weight and smaller in bulk, but if they get wet, you lose temperature rating and get cold.
Chemical heaters are not recommended as they will bum your skin if slept on, or if kept on one spot too long. Flame heaters are just too dangerous to be used inside a tent. Today's nylon tents are firetraps that will bum quickly while they melt onto you. Nylon bums very hot.
Backpacks:
Internal Frame style makes for a more stable carry when on Snowshoes or Skis due to its closer center of gravity. The Internal Frame may cause you to bend slightly, which is a benefit to skiers.
External frame actually helps people with back problems by helping you stand upright. Frame forces you to stand straight, not bent over. Weight of both pack types is on Hips, in a properly fitted pack, not on your back or shoulders.
Either style: Pack and tie-on objects with an eye towards what might get caught on tree branches. Protect from rips and tares. Zipper Pulls: Need to put a pull tag on all zippers on packs and clothing. This allows easier grip to open / close zippers. Try pulling all zippers with a mittened hand to test your ability to work the zippers in sub-freezing weather.
Zippers, Strapping, Laces:
Use silicone or Bee's Wax to keep them from freezing up. Coat these gingerly, use just a little. Do not use WD40 or CRC5/56 type sprays as they contain petroleum products that may damage your boots, clothing, tents, or backpacks. Keep all sprays and gooey substances from Gore-Tex fabric.
Snowshoes / Skis:
You must know how to put them on and take them off. You must practice putting them on and taking them off with bulky clothes on and wearing your mittens or gloves. Rehearse so you know how they operate. The last place to have to learn equipment of any kind is in the wild in unpredictable weather. Get to know what on them can break and know how to repair them.
Ski poles need to be longer than ones used for downhill skiing. These should be measured to work while you are standing straight up. You will be pretty straight "walking" in skis or snowshoes. Practice getting about and lifting a pack onto your back while in skis or snowshoes. Practice getting down and up again. Use your ski polls to push you up, even on flat ground.
If you can walk, you can snowshoe. You just have to learn how to waddle with your legs far enough apart to prevent the snowshoes from stepping on one another. Skiing requires more balance and knowledge of how they slip through the snow. It becomes very easy to try and stand-up on skis, only to fall quickly back down again. Or, to have them take off with you on board! Practice!
Repair Kit:
Know how to repair anything that can get broken! Create and keep an up-to-date emergency repair
kit. These are a few of my favorite repair kit items:
6" Wire Ties, 6' Duct Tape, Spare buckles (two in each size used on pack, tent, snowshoes,,
etcetera.), straps, sew kit, small screw hose clamps, spare strap material, two pieces of 4" x 4"
spare tent and pack fabric, a spare tent pole, a tent pole repair sleeve made from aluminum
Duct Tape: "Fix-All" Supply:
Duct Tape can be used for all kinds of repairs; from tent tares to backpack repairs; from zipper closure fixes to water bottle leak repair.
Store duct tapes 2 or three turns around water bottles and fuel bottles. This acts as storage for the tape, and as insulation on your stove bottle. This will keep you from sticking your fingers to the bottle in sub-freezing conditions. Replace tape that is more than six months old. Also: Insulation extras: To aid in insulating Metal objects / and to keep water bottles from freezing; try using old wool socks to store and hold metal fuel bottles or metal / plastic water bottles.
Wool is resistant to burning. You can use it prevent burning when you grip hot pot handles, flasks, and cups.
Batteries: Most types will freeze and become useless. The worst types are Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, like those in a laptop computer. These actually freeze solid at 32 degrees and burst. Once they freeze they are garbage. The Best are Lithium Batteries, which actually give off heat when running. But they start off being very expensive.
A Good overall choice is alkaline batteries, which if kept warm in a headband or in an inside pocket, will work very well and are less expensive than Lithium. Expect about 1/2 the actual effective lifetime as during warm weather conditions. This translates into about two hours of continual use for fresh batteries.
* Keep extra batteries in an inside pocket. * Always use brand new batteries. * Always carry an extra bulb for your flashlight. Flashlights: As above: Batteries that last 4 hours in warm weather will last two hours in cold weather. Carry a spare bulb. Try to carry the flashlight in an inside pocket to prolong battery life.
Headlamps are excellent, best when battery case can be kept in an inside pocket for warmth. Second best, batteries are next to your head for warmth, maybe under a wool cap.
*DO NOT USE THE HALOGEN BULB: They drain batteries.
*Make use of natural night-lights, like the moon. Let your eyes adjust tothe darkness
Stoves:
LPGas or Butane; all compressed gas cartridges have one thing incommon: the gas settles or
collects at the bottom of the cylinder in the cold. Since the gas does not expand readily, it needs
pre-heating such as in an inside pocket or by pouring hot water onto the cylinder. Some people will
even place cylinders inside or under their sleeping bags at night to capture the use of their body
heat for pre-warming the cylinders.
WARNING: An explosion hazard exists with all types of fuel stoves due to the slowly expanding gas "pooling" or "puddling" at the base of stoves when turned on cold or when left on w
hen the flame has gone out.
Test all stoves before going out into the "wild". As with all outdoor equipment, it is best to make
sure they work, and you know how to use and service them before you commit to Mother Nature's
whims.
In cold weather valve and pumps can fail; gaskets shrink in the cold.
Have a repair kit and know how to use it. Learn secrets from others who use the same type stove
on what works in a pinch.
*The Windscreen will help direct heat.
*Cover your pots. This saves heat.
*Stove, when hot, will melt down into the snow, put down a barrier of a wood plank, shovel bottom, insulating pad, but not your sleeping pad.
*Handle with a wool or leather "hot glove", No Synthetics, they melt!
·For food, use plastic Mugs and utensils as metal ones freeze.
·Water may need to come from melted snow. This requires extra fuel. Best to bring extra fuel. Filter
water through a coffee filter or bandanna
Remember
I . Preheat the burner surface to get a quicker, more trouble-free flame
2. Use fresh fuel, and test the stoves at home where they are easier to repair and service if necessary.
3. Bring a minimum of two stoves. Bring two stoves for every four people if using backpack stoves. Backup stoves can save you if any fail and having extra burners shortens overall cook time for the group.
4. Insulate the stove to the snow. Use a wood board.
5. Have a thorough understanding of how to fix all equipment.
6. Bring spare repair parts.
7. Have supervision at all times.
8. Have the first aid kit at the ready for cooking and cutting chores.
First Aid Kit:
* Have a full understanding of how to use the first aid equipment.
* Have a full - inventoried first aid kit before the trip.
* Replace old or expired items.
* Paint it red, for visibility. Tie a whistle to it: Blow it when you use the kit. Clothing:
Clothing Layers:
Always dress by adding layers of clothing. This is much better then trying to get one garment to do all of the work of keeping you warm and dry. That one garment will either be on or off; wet or dry. These are not the only choices anyone should be caught between.
*First layer is a synthetic (non-cotton) layer to help moisture wick away from your skin. This leaves your skin always fairly dry.
*Second layer should be a fleece or sweater made from wool or acrylic synthetic, never cotton. This layer traps air, which will be warmed close to your body temperature. While a cotton layer here will absorb the moisture given off from your body, you will quickly saturate that layer, and once saturated, you will need to change into another garment of similar composition to maintain the trapped warmed air. Saturated, it will no longer be able to absorb moisture, and eventually your body will get wet and stay wet. Water evaporating from your clothing and body will cool you down. That is definitely not what you want to have happen.
·Third layer should be an easily removable wind proof / rain proof shell. Best would be a
breathable shell or vented shell that would allow warmed moisture to escape as a water vapor, but
not allow wind to carry away the warm air trapped close to your body. As long as you are moving,
you are generating moisture and heat. If you are generating a great deal of heat, remove the wind
proof outer layer to facilitate the rapid dispersal of warm moisture. When you stop moving, the
heat stops, so you have to put back on the wind proof jacket to trap the loss of the warmed air
near your body. Some moisture will also be trapped, but most will have escaped while you are
getting on your jacket. That's the trick.
The Truth about Gore Tex:
Warm Moist Air moves from close to your body to where it is colder, and less humidity exists. In
winter that works as designed, and Gore-Tex shines. In a hot summer rain when it is 95 OF outside
and 100% humidity and 98'F and 100% humid inside your coat; well it won't move as well.
Eye Glasses / Snow Goggles:
·Use guaranteed 100% UV protection only.
·Unrated Sunglasses (ie: cheep) make your eyes open wider, confusing them into thinking it is
darker than it really is.
*This wider opening allows in more UV than if you were not wearing any sunglasses at all.
*UV rated Ski goggles also prevent air from drying your eyes, and doubled with a balaclava. helps
protect your face from windburn.
Mittens and Gloves:
·Loss of heat through the hands and fingers occurs so rapidly that frostbite can quickly become a problem. Grabbing cold metal objects happens so easily (we do it all the time when it is not cold) that losing skin that sticks to metal poles, buildings, or fuel bottles happens on almost every camp out.
·Glove layering systems meet the same needs as body layering.
*A liner glove that has individual finger sockets allows for grabbing and handling things that bare skin might stick to.
·A Mitten over-glove allows the fingers underneath to share each other's warmth, which allows colder fingers to be rewarmed quicker than if they were again encased in a fingered over-glove.
·Gloves that have extended cuffs (called Gauntlets) can be pulled under or over jacket sleeves, which stop the intrusion of snow up into the glove or jacket. This keeps gloves and coats drier longer in snowy, wet conditions.
· All leather gloves (Dress Gloves or some Ski Gloves) quickly absorb moisture and become useless. Every year dozens of pairs of gloves are melted over stoves or campfires trying to dry them out. Look for waterproof nylon or even rubber coated gloves with a felt liner to do the job. 'heap Synthetic Gloves melt or disintegrate and become useless on every outing. Best to buy inexpensive wool gloves, or use wool socks over your hands.
Hats: Military and civilian tests have shown that typical heat loss of 50, 60 even as much as 70
percent of your body heat can be lost though your head and neck. The warm blood vessels carrying
oxygen to your brain as well as those that support most of your senses (sight, smell,hearing, and
taste) run close to the surface of your skin, and you also perspire from your head and neck while
exercising.
*Wool or synthetic "watch" or stocking style work best.
*Hoods on sweat shirts are in your way visually, and most sweat shirts are cotton. These hoods quickly blow off people's heads, and are only useful when sleeping as a sleeping shirt/hood.
*Many rain jackets used in the layering system mentioned before, have hoods that are meant to shut out rain, and they do an excellent job of shutting out wind while not blocking your vision.
*Other style hats may not cover your ears or neck, and may prove useless in a heavy wind.
Socks and sock systems:
Many prefer the old standard wool outer sock, placed on top of a liner sock (see clothing layering)
of a synthetic material. There are many varieties of wool and wool blends to choose from, so let the
wanrmth of the overall sock combination guide you.
*Do not use cotton socks under any circumstances. They get wet instantly, bunch up and cause blisters. When wet they can cause frostbite in your toes, and water saturated boots means that as soon as you put on another pair of socks, they get wet.
·Don't get your socks too tight as they can cut off circulation and cause cold feet that way.
*Wool socks can double as emergency gloves.
Skin: Wind and Sun Protection:
Exposed skin bums and freezes.
*Using UV sun creams can prevent wind and Sunburn.
*A facemask or Balaclava will prevent frostbite in your ears as well as cover your skin.
*Areas to watch for frostbite include ears, nose and eyebrows.
Underwear
· Select synthetic over natural fibers. - Wool works as the best natural fiber, but itches. - Silk absorbs about 14% its weight in moisture, not great, but it is also a very expensive alternative to the synthetics. - Polypropalyne is a plastic based fiber that works well, but because it absorbs body oils readily, it can quickly take on an unpleasant odor. - Spun Polyester is the latest in synthetics, which works very well, and does not have the odor problems of polypropylene.
*Select light weight over a heavy weave type of fabric, as you will be exercising heavily. The heavier weave types would quickly become too warm and not pass the moisture volumes needed to remain comfortable.
·A single heavy weight garment might be great around camp, or to wear to bed, when your lack of activity would require more trapped warm air to remain comfortable.
Remember:
I . Cotton Kills, Period. It robs you of heat while it provides no insulation value at all. It may work as an outer garment in environments where you can easily go inside and get warm.
2. Outdoor Clothing Synthetics may be expensive. Choose wool, or Orlon sweaters and socks, look for old wool clothes and some Army / Navy surplus. Even check out clothing recycle centers like Salvation Army. People turn in camping gear and wool clothing all the time.
3. Prepare a checklist. Pack for every day, including the first day in.
4. Pack an extra set of clothing as space and weight dictate.
5. Pack a dry set of clothing and boots for the ride home. This can be cotton, packed in a roll duffel bag and kept in the car.
6. Pack an emergency set of clothing and "Space Blanket" in the car just in case. Water & Sanitation: Water Filters / Water Treatment: WARNING Iodine Tablets: Wintertime does not change the need to treat the water obtained from a lake or stream. The safest way to treat water is with chemical Iodine pills or tablets, but only when the water is brought up to 50 or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In colder temps the pills do not dissolve, or work effectively. You can pre-warm water bottles by carrying them in an inside pocket.
Chlorine Drops:
An alternative to Iodine Pills is chlorine in liquid form. But be very careful. Liquid chlorine bleach poses a hazard to skin, clothes, and will even dissolve pack cloth. The temperature that chlorine freezes is close to that where water would freeze since the "liquid" that the chlorine is in is mostly water. Place Chlorine in a plastic bottle known not to corrode by chlorine: such as a small screw cap Nalgene bottle.
A plastic eyedropper is the way to go when administering the chlorine bleach to disinfect water.
* ONLY ONE DROP PER LITER OF WATER. This works very well, and quickly. Let stand for about 10 minutes, and it is ready to drink. Do Not Overdose
Boiling Water
To boil water for purification requires that you carry a lot of extra fuel. How long should you boil?
Once you bring the temperature to about 105 Fahrenheit you will start to see bubbles forming at the
bottom Fisheyes you have heated the water enough to kill all living organisms. You have not,
however, removed any debris or any of the chemicals that may be in the water. Some viruses may
also remain.
Water Filters and Pumps: Water Filters, especially pump type filters may freeze and burst their micro-pore filtration elements when not in use. For this reason they are not recommended in the winter.
When melting snow or ice, try to get the snow warmed or melted into a pot with a little water in it. If you put snow or ice into a pot that is dry and hot the water will actually bum or sear, and have an unpleasant taste.
You might be better filtering the water through a bandana or coffee filter to remove any debris that will accumulate from stream water, snow and ice.
Personal Medications:
Everyone taking medications must know what their side effects are going to be in the cold. Blood thinning medications, even aspirin, may make you very cold. The effect is just like that of alcohol consumption. The blood does not get enough mass to transport the heat to the extremities.
If you take medication that thickens your blood, or dehydrates you,, you might be causing another problem. All high altitude climbers will tell you about hypoxia, where the blood gets so thick that it can not transport enough oxygen to the extremities and the brain. The body actually starts to shut down protecting the vital organs, while your brain starts to fog. This is a prime cause of the severe frostbite experienced by almost 1/4 of all K2 and Mt. Everest climbers.
You must have a doctor's approval before you should consider the blend of any medications and severe winter weather. The level of exercise needed to maintain your existence, as well as the demands placed on your metabolism just to keep going can have a deadly effect if you are not in shape. The wrong mix of conditions and medications can prove deadly.
Make sure the leaders have full medical details on everyone in your group. It can make a big difference in treatment at a medical facility. Camp Sanitation: Layers of clothing can lead to embarrassing appendage entrapment. Prepare yourself well, for the trip to the Loo. Before going into your tent and sleeping bag, do not have any chores between peeing and sleeping. Make a bathroom stop your last stop before going into your sleeping bag. It will take some time to get into your bag. Set aside all of your sanitary items so that they are easy to find in your tent. A great suggestion here is to use a small but brightly colored stuff sack. Keep baby wipes warm in a zip-lock inside you sleeping bag. Things like Baby wipes make for easy clean up, but they have a nasty habit of freezing solid. Carry them in a zip-lock bag in an inside pocket, to keep them warm. Use a quart size zip-lock bag to pack-out your used toilet paper and baby wipes. Yes - Pack them out! Feces and urine will decompose better than the paper used to clean yourself Select a site that is off the trail and away from any water source or water run off. We do not want to pollute the drinking water of others. How far away is far enough? By law in New York State and New Hampshire: 200 feet from trail, lake, stream, or water runoff. This may not always be possible, opt for 200 feet from water areas, but definitely not right on trails or rite-of-ways. Go as far as you can. Do not forget to brush your teeth, and floss. Gum or tooth problems in the woods are difficult things to remedy. Especially if you are miles and days from civilized dentistry. Bandanas make great washcloths. A small amount of heated water and a drop or two of liquid soap in a bandanna can go a long way in freshening up. Carry a small flashlight with you. Best to keep a very small single battery flashlight in your toiletry bag. Know where your feet and snowshoes are at all times. It is best to create a marked single latrine site for your group, so that in normal wandering, no one is stepping in someone else's droppings. Conversely, who wants to camp surrounded by a latrine, a pit stop at every bush, tree, and clump of snow?
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