Winter Camping Expeditions

This coming season I would like to try out winter camping. I am an experienced winter hiker and summer packpacker but I have never camped in the winter and would like to give it a shot. Even if I acquire the right equipment I won't feel confident to go out unless I am accompanied with someone with some experience. If there is anyone out there planning such an adventure, please consider extending me an invitation. Thanks.

One or two nights at a time in the Whites over a few weekends I'd be good for.
Friends and I are planning some ice climbing.
Maybe we'll combine some camping and hiking and climbing. You wouldn't need to climb.
Tent or shelter. PM me here with what you're thinking of trying.

A good resource is the AMC Winter Hiking Program - http://www.hbbostonamc.org/index.php/Table/Winter/

You can learn the skills you need, and go on trips that let you build up the experience levels.

Probably the most valuable initial winter expedition is one in the backyard. Sure you may get some interesting comments from spouses/friends but there is no substitute for testing out gear and techniques than doing a test. Feel free to run a TV out on an extension cord, but just plan on setting up, cooking supper, sleeping overnight and then cooking breakfast without heading inside. Many folks than graduate to car camping at Barnes or any of the WMNF or Lafayette place. Folks who skip the night at home inevitably end up making the local gear shops happy as missing or inadequate gear is replaced.

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm definitely planning to practice in the back yard before I head up into the mountains.
Also, I looked at the AMC winter hiking program link. I would definitely do that if the times and location were a little more convenient for me. But I'm sure the AMC has guided outings and I will look into signing up for one.

One can also get useful info from books* such as the AMC Guide to Winter Hiking & Camping http://amcstore.outdoors.org/amcsto...&+Camping&pf_id=PACOIDJLJBKDOMGG&dept_id=3020

* For those who may not remember, books are a traditional method of transferring information. They use printed words on paper, are portable, and do not require batteries or recharging.

Doug

DougPaul said:

* For those who may not remember, books are a traditional method of transferring information. They use printed words on paper, are portable, and do not require batteries or recharging.

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Unless, of course, you prefer the Kindle Edition

Dehydrator said:

But I'm sure the AMC has guided outings and I will look into signing up for one.

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The volunteer lead trips aren't really guided - they're typically not skills teaching workshops unless designated as such. There are a series of instructional hikes associated with the Boston Chapter winter hiking program, but spots are given to folks in the course first, and only open to the world if there are empty spots.

The NH chapter does a similar weekend at Cardigan, that might work better for your schedule.

I will be doing some winter camping this year since it's really enjoyable. A lot of the time on the trails we'll just bring bivy sacks and rack out where we want, but obviously the conditions have to warrant it. If you want someone else to go with, let me know.

We camped at Festiglace a few years ago and it was -40° at night, which was freaky because all the trees were snapping due to the sap freezing. Propane doesn't flow from bottles, water freezes almost instantly, liquids can freeze while cooking on the stove, and your breath creates snow when you sleep.

Camping above 0°F is much different. I often bring several outfits (sleeping bags, tents, etc) to a local park and test my gear there rather than just outside the house. I don't know why but it always feels different when I'm not setting up a tent in the yard. Just bring enough stuff the you can 'bail' from the experience if you want, but leave it in the car.

Chip said:

One or two nights at a time in the Whites over a few weekends I'd be good for.
Friends and I are planning some ice climbing.
Maybe we'll combine some camping and hiking and climbing. You wouldn't need to climb.
Tent or shelter. PM me here with what you're thinking of trying.

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Chip, if you don't mind can you keep me updated on some of those weekends, thanks.

coldfeet said:

Chip, if you don't mind can you keep me updated on some of those weekends, thanks.

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Definitely. I'll start looking at the calendar at PM'ing out dates that I'll be there.

IMHO: It's not the sleeping in the cold, it's the getting to the point that you can sleep after back packing all day that's critical.
Anybody that wants to practice should hike all day and then try to set up camp, get your water boiled and a meal cooked.
The crawling into the bag after that is the easy part.

Winter camping is experiential. Books are good place to start, but until you can relate the experience to what is printed, I think you will only have opinions and unproven beliefs.

Try car camping in the dead of winter somewhere. If something goes wrong or your equipment is not right, you can bail. I car camped to test a new Big Agnes bag just to see if I could trust it at -20 deg---- good thing I did this.

Also keep a good eye on the forecasted overnight lows. The difficulty increases faster than the temperaure drop. So if your set-up and skills are good for camping in the teens, it doesn't mean they are good enough for single digits.

I have fair amount of experience down to about -5 F. I got surprised by a much colder night & it was a little scary. Aborted the trip the next morning.

I did the same but had more than one bag with me. I didn't need it, but was more comfortable with it.

A park is a good idea because you can hike all day then come back to your site next to the car and setup camp. Then you'll have an idea of how much time it takes to do certain tasks, how to do them in the actual conditions, but still have the safety net as a backup. This way you can build your confidence and fine tune your gear. I often have pencil and a small notebook on which I'll make notes on every backpacking excursion, so I'll know what to bring or what to leave for the next time. I've made some mistakes and been glad to not be in the middle of nowhere when I did so.

Just to update: I have purchased all my gear, slept a couple of nights in the backyard, and practiced squeezing all my stuff in my pack. I'm about ready to give sleeping in the mountains a shot. Please send me an invite if you are heading up there for a Saturday night.

Thanks!

Tom_Murphy said:

Also keep a good eye on the forecasted overnight lows. The difficulty increases faster than the temperaure drop. So if your set-up and skills are good for camping in the teens, it doesn't mean they are good enough for single digits.

I have fair amount of experience down to about -5 F. I got surprised by a much colder night & it was a little scary. Aborted the trip the next morning.

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Wait a minute Tom, wasn't the official temperature up in the "unrestricted" area near Black Pond -7 that night?

Chip said:

Definitely. I'll start looking at the calendar at PM'ing out dates that I'll be there.

IMHO: It's not the sleeping in the cold, it's the getting to the point that you can sleep after back packing all day that's critical.
Anybody that wants to practice should hike all day and then try to set up camp, get your water boiled and a meal cooked.
The crawling into the bag after that is the easy part.

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+1 This bears repeating. There is a huge difference between setting up a camp and making dinner, etc. after a 10-12 mile hike when you are tired, hungry, low energy, and susceptible to cold when compared to setting up camp after being inside all day. I agree the latter is the place to practice. I also agree with other posts that hiking all day and returning to a campsite near a road gives the added safety net to bail if needed. You don't want to practice 4 miles from a road.

The first hour after reaching camp is vitally important for getting dry, getting calories and hot drinks, and maintaining heat before getting into a bag.

It should be fun.

I'm camping out tonight in my yard..temps here on Long Island low single digits with real feel app -10F..I'm guessing staying in the tent will get rid of the real feel tent...I understand about hiking all day then making a meal then trying to sleep...did it the other day at Harriman St Pk, temps were app 15F...but might as well see how I do here with the low temps...my feet are already cold, waaaa..will report back tomorrow...hope to go to NH in Feb..check out the VFTT gathering I posted a while back..

I'm with Raven on this one. On my Yosemite trips, I left the parking lot at Badger Pass pretty early, hiked/snowshoed/skied (depending on the trip) just a couple of miles down the road (Glacier Point Road is closed to cars in winter at the ski lodge) and had plenty of time to dig my tent platform, set it up, get my gear set out and make dinner. I was by myself on several trips, so hiking way the heck out into the boonies was not on my agenda. Even so, once the day hikers went home, I was by myself, so choosing how far you want to go is important to having an easy day as opposed to some epic where you are rushing to beat the darkness.

Is anyone interested in camping with me somewhere in the Whites next Saturday night (the 18th)?