Who would do an overnighter in these temperatures?

[SherpaKroto]

Coldest for me was -21F at the Twins last winter (I was at Grey Knob at -28F on another night, but that doesn't count). We dug a deep fire pit (CB and Arm weren't convinced that it would work), gathered wood, and dodged smoke until 9:00PM. We were relatively comfortable around the fire. This was my first night in my new winter bag, rated at -30F. My wife was convinced (as were more than a few of my friends) that I was a) nuts, and b) having a death wish, but all went well. The funniest part of the night was me waking up, way too hot. I stripped off one layer, leaving me in polypro unders. I also needed to take my boot liners off as my feet were throbbing (note: loosen the liners completely as your feet will swell when you lie down). As I was taking them off, both thighs cramped up, half out of the bag, and I lied there half laughing and in pain. I was then so comfortable that I overslept! I remember another trip when I was in the BoyScouts. It wasn't as cold, but my bag wasn't nearly as warm!

Thursday night will likely get me a new low at the Gathering. Friday will be balmy (I hope) by comparison Someone should come by early in Friday with an ice chipper, just in case...

MichaelJ: 8F? I though we were talking about cold!

 

[Tim Seaver]

Foiled Arctic Traverse

In preparation for a climb of Denali, Keith Schumacher ( former Grey Knob caretaker) and I deliberately attempted a Presi traverse from the south as an Alberta Clipper came thru in mid-february of 1991. Our first harrowing night was spent attempting to erect our Kelty Windfoil in 60+mph winds and below zero temps at the Red Pond - the elastic in the tent poles doesn't function very well at those temps, so the tent was not fully erected - the winds were strong enough to flatten the tent intermittently onto our faces. Fortunately we had arctic gear: - 40 bags, altitude suits ,and One Sport boots. We slept with our boots on - it was that bad.

The forecast for the next night was something like -30, with higher winds expected. We had quite enough at the Red Pond, so we exited to Hermit Lake rather than spend a ferocious night at Sphinx Col. There we kept warm by stamping out an area of snow, (which we let age harden an hour while eating dinner) and then cutting our huge snow blocks which were used to wall off one of the lean-tos in an effort to keep the harsh winds at bay. Definitely the coldest night I have spent, far colder than what we saw in Alaska. We came back a month later to see our lean-to snow wall still in use

 

[dave.m]

-15f

that's my coldest. No real desire to go that low again.

Anybody else think that the cold complications sort of come in stages? Like, 30f down to 10f is one thing, 10f down to -5 is another, -5f down to -15f is yet another and so on. Seems that at each stage, a whole new set of problems pops up.

These days, I won't go if the lows are forecast below -5f. I'm getting soft in my old age. Or smart.

 

[Wanderer1]

I've done it a few times. -22F was the coldest. I'd been out a few days and had acclimatized some I guess plus I was sleeping in my Marmot CWM down bag rated to -45 deg so I was plenty warm sleeping. It's getting out in the morning that is hard. Knocking frost all over yourself from the tent walls making an interior snow storm. Everything is stiff and cold. The things you have to do with just glove liners on that make your fingers throb. I sleep light and the trees sounding like the crack of a rifle going off did awaken me several times during the night. It's amazing how loud they can be on a cold, calm night. I don't think I have ever seen as many stars as I have on a moonless, clear winter night. I once had seen a photo of someone throwing boiling water into the air and it instantly crystalizing. I had to try that and must say it does crystalize into a million sparkles before hitting the ground. Pretty neat. Have to entertain myself somehow on those long nights. That to me is probably the worst part of winter camping. Having it dark by 4:30 or 5:00 pm and lying in my tent alone for hours, staying warm and waiting for it to be time to go to sleep. It's usually to cold to keep my arms out and read and my pen always freezes so Im can't write in my journal. As some have said, alot of it is mental attitude. When I'm out for awhile and know I'll be out for a few days the cold doesn't seem to bother me. But somehow if I'm in the warm house and know it's below zero, I have a different attitude about going out in it. Somehow it just seems much colder.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Interesting to see that the colder it gets, the more precise the temp remembered: -10, -15, -20, -21, -22, etc. We all know that -22 is a lot colder than -21!

 

[sardog1]

Having it dark by 4:30 or 5:00 pm and lying in my tent alone for hours, staying warm and waiting for it to be time to go to sleep. [/B]

Or going into the tent in the early December evening with your wife on her first winter camping trip and the temp at -15F. (This is after she declines an offer for a ride into town from a friendly couple who were collecting spring water at the campground. They couldn't imagine that someone would voluntarily sleep outdoors that night.) I fall asleep fairly quickly and awaken a few hours later to the sounds of someone who is not having much fun and getting colder by the minute.

"Are you OK?"
"No."
"Do you want to go home?"
"Well, yes."

Just enough frost on things to make a good shower as I strike camp a little earlier than I had planned. We drive home to my parents' house, where we are staying for a few weeks waiting for an apartment to be ready, and arrive at 2:00 a.m. We are extra careful to be quiet because of the late hour. And my father meets us at the door with a baseball bat, ready for a burglar, because he just knows that I'd never come home in the middle of the night from a camping trip.

She's been a three-season camper since that night. Not counting one night in a Jeep Cherokee with our three dogs, at a closed campground on the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, with three feet of snow on the ground. (Well, it was May ........)

 

[Rick]

Sardog -
It's all in the approach.
My wife absolutely loves to sleep in after I leave the tent in the morning and snuggle up in 2 -20 degree down bags.
I make sure I pack in a couple of "Counry Living" or "Home and Garden" type mags and leave her a thermos of hot chamomile tea and shortbread cookies. She's good for the day.

 

[Dennis C.]

Like David M and Peakbagr, I've done some Northeast mountain trips with camping night temps of -20 deg F. I also got some frost nipped fingers that get cold very quickly now. Conclusion, as AlpineSummit noted, we learn from these young buck foolish manuevers, and now avoid climbing in arctic blast conditions.

 

[Michael M]

Chris


There were plenty of cars at the Sewerd winter trail head this past weekend
and it was at least 33 below zero!

Be safe and be prepared

Michael

 

[KenG]

The coldest time I ever spent in the woods was my (our) first time winter camping. My buddy and I left the Upper Works on snowshoes. The temp was 34F and snowing like hell, with three feet of fresh powder on the ground. We got half way to the FL's and met these two guys skiing out and were so happy to meet them that we sat down and had a snack with them before heading on. When we got to Flowed lands, my buddy built a snow wall in front of the lean to while I started a fire, got water, and cooked. About the time we finished dinner, I was feeling it getting considerably colder, and looked up at the night sky to see a line across it from the ENE to the WSW. On one side it was cloudy and snowing and on the other side it was clear as clear could be, and the stars were twinkling. It got down to -30 that night and the next, and Old Charlie & Pebbles saved our (lives) camping trip. Our stove froze up and he loaned us his. He also let us warm up by the stove drinking hot spiced tea and talking of his future trip to Alaska, while thumbing through Alaska magazines. I was surprised at the number of things that froze, including my feet. It took a walk from Calamity brook to Lake Colden to thaw them out. Every time we went back to Colden after that, we would bring Charlie his favorite cereal that we would pick up at a climbing store across the street from the Elm Tree Inn, in an old Victorian house. I beleive it (the cereal) was called Red River Valley, but that was back in the early seventies.
I'd really like to go to the 6.5 Gathering but I can't see where I'd have the time to do any hiking, with the time it takes to set up, cook, eat, clean up, etc. in those kind of temperatures. I think I'll wait for nicer weather before doing Esther and Whiteface!

 

[JimB]

My son and I spent our second winter overnight at Wallface leanto and it got down to about -20. My tights were hung on a line to dry and the next day I could have pounded nails with them. After our stove turned into a fireball and had to be thrown from the leanto it warmed itself up enough to actually burn. My son went over to the brook and broke a hole with his ice axe to get some water for breakfast. When he set the pot on top of the stove it already had a skin of ice forming on top of it. At the time I was using a US Army extreme condition bag(-40) and I was warm as toast as long as I stayed in it. They are awesome bags, but a little heavy at 10 lbs. We learned a lot on that trip.

 

[Maddy]

I spent a week last winter on dogsled/ski expedition in the Boundary Waters of Ely, MN with Outward Bound. IT was -36 on our first night out. We slept under tarps and had two sleeping bags each. We also placed "hot" water bottles between our thighs. I made a serious error the first night when I got up to pee. I did not jump up and down or go for a short fast walk before getting back into my bag. I also did not zip my bags all the way up mummy style because I was having difficulty with the zippers and was too tired to bother. BIG MISTAKE! I woke up approximately an hour later, very cold, legs numb from the knees down, and was completely uncoordinated.I could not get my boots or my down jacket on. I noticed I had a few irrational thoughts and knew I was in deep trouble. I crawled to the leader's megamid which was very close to ours and they aggresively warmed me up. One of the leaders fed me hot chocolate. They keep this for emergencies in a stainless steel thermos in their sleeping bags. They also fed me chocolate and one of them warmed my legs against her stomach. She massaged them until sensation returned and I could walk. The other leader built a fire in the wall tent stove (our cooking tent) and they finished warming me there. They also fed me lots of hot lime jello. I can only remember saying "hurry up, hurry up, help me...I'm so cold".
They had given us extensive teaching in what to look for with hypothermia and their last instruction before we went to sleep was "wake us up if we had
any problems". We all had whistles that we never removed so I could have used that if I could not have crawled.
Lessons learned. Doing the little dance to warm up before getting into your bags is very important and making certain that your body heat is not escaping as you sleep is critical. Having hot fluids available is also a must. Letting someone know before you are too far gone is highly recommended.
We slept all week in minus digit temps and this never happened again. Our leaders emphasized hydration and keeping our calorie intake up.
I had some experience winter camping but never in this kind of cold.
When all is said and done I would do it again in a heartbeat! A truly incredible experience, every minute of it!!!

 

[Viewfinder]

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Funny you should ask! Desperately in need of some solo time after a hellish work week, I headed out this past Friday night....up to lost Pond and the Nun-da-ga-o. Previously, I've camped at -30 F, and man was that cold. I didn't bring a thermometer along, but I had everything on, including my boot liners, in my -20 bag and just barely stayed warm enough. It was definately between -30 and -40 on Friday night. But as jrb and tim seaver note, I kinda consider it training for the bigger mountains. Regarding the solo style, its definately risky, but calculating risks and drawing your limits (like a third of the way across the ridge, trail nowhere to be found) is a skill too, and one that we don't always take time to develop. I reached my threshold and returned to my car by noon on Saturday. Man that coffee at the Cliffhanger is good!

 

[Buddur]

I'll be in the Cats this weekend on the W side of Hunter Mtn. It's supposed to be pretty cold by then. I just hope there's enough snow so I can sled my crap in rather than haul it on my back.

Last year a group of us spent a weekend in the Pharoah Lakes Wilderness. We were supposed to do 3 nights but it got down to -17F the first night and then -19F the second night and, well, noone stuck around for the third night.

 

[IndianChris]

Buddur - I'll be headed up Taylor Hollow to where it meets the Spruceton Trail. Maybe I'll see you.

 

[NYBRAD]

It was COLD

Our group did Whiteface via a Western side slide, over the weekend, and camped at WF Brook for 2 nights(Fri&Sat). We heard it was at least -30 most of the Day Sat. We couldn’t tell by our thermometers, as they all bottomed out. It was crazy cold, but an awesome trip, due to a strong and experienced group with the same crazy obsession. The route is highly recommended. I'll post a report soon with a pic

 

[Thunder Dan]

Does it get this cold out West?

Hmmm...just curious...Have any of you ever been in temperatures this cold in the western US, like the Rockies, Cascades, or Sierras? Or are -15 F temps more of a Northeastern US thing?

 

[sli74]

Actually the answer to the topic question is MANY of us VFTTers. I am sure there will be many new posts after Sunday/Monday when many of us will have braved the sub-zero temps to enjoy each other's company and the ADKs.

I have slept at -10 last winter in NH and I was cold but that was a backpacking trip so hopefully with this weekend being a car camping trip we will all find a way to be warm enough. See all you brave souls on Thursday.

sli74

 

[sardog1]

Re: Does it get this cold out West?

Hmmm...just curious...Have any of you ever been in temperatures this cold in the western US, like the Rockies, Cascades, or Sierras? Or are -15 F temps more of a Northeastern US thing?

Ah, before you make that Western trip, you might want to take the quiz at Baby, It's Cold Outside

Rockies are cold, way colder than the East. Cascades are wet everywhere on the western slopes, making for prime hypothermia conditions; eastern slopes are plenty cold but mostly dry; and it's genuinely cold on upper parts of the volcanoes -- Rainier, Baker, St. Helens (but not quite so high anymore ), Adams, Hood, etc. Biggest hazard in the Sierras, besides the cold, is the ravenous occupants of poorly-prepared wagon trains.

 

[sardog1]

Re: Call me stupid..........

Okay, you're stupid. But you're a fine human being for sharing your pics with us winter fans. Thanks!