How cold?

“So it's going to be around 15 degrees this weekend. Now thats fricken COLD!!
It will be the coldest I've ever backpacked in.

So whats the coldest you have ever Backpacked in?”

“I have been in -15 to -20.

8)”

“backpacked... i've walked into a site on lake of the woods, it got down to -22 degrees”

“I only car camped at -12.






Guess that makes me a wuss. :-(”

“72 today.......38 tonight........ahhhhh from Houston”

“-20 last winter. Woke up to find my sleeping bag wet where I was breathing most of the night. Is this normal?”

“I dont know but Im gonna find out this weekend :}, does add a new dimension to the term "morning breath".”

“I was just saying to Mrs Adventurist...

"Some People are going to learn a lot about winter camping this weekend!"

MOOHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!”

“Lower 50s/upper 30s here in Gawja this weekend. But we'll be in North Carolina. It should be mid-upper 30s/teens there this weekend. Woohooo!



Yes Gear Slut, that's normal.”

“I think zero to -5 was the coldest I've camped in for FYAO I. I alwasys carry one of those keyring thermometers on my pack zipper, just to torture myself.

Yes, this weekend will surely be a learning experience. It always is...every time. :o)

Maple, be sure to bring a good, insulating ground layer. Go foam! Thermarest is not the ideal in Winter (trust me, I learned the lad way). Also, bring lotsa layers and hand warmers for yourself, in case you need 'em. A short overnight hike like this weekend is perfect for your first time. ;o)

NO worries, mon!”

“-20F tent camping is the coldest I have been. Didn't backpack, but used my backpacking gear.”

“-13 for me and it never got above zero the whole weekend. Wind chills way below that. No fire either at these temps you'll have so many clothes on you won't feel it anyway. You just wind up burning your clothes.”

“Amy, Ive got both.
The one corp gave me and my (yes gear slut) cheapy that I have used for years.
So foam is the way to go?”

“What is the deal with the pad? Is the thermarest with the foam pad good, or will you be comfortable with just the foam pad on packed snow?”

“Spent 5 days at the McCormick Wilderness a few years back, all below zero. The coldest we saw on the thermometer was -18.

It was interesting. We broke a few plastic things due to the cold temps. I got minor frostbite on a few fingertips - that scared me.”

“My thermometer read 6 degrees f. My bag was rated to 15 deg. I was 3 months pregnant, and miserable. I'd always thought the temp rating of a bag meant comfort level. Nope! It means it will keep you alive at that temp. I want a warmer bag!”

“A foam pad will be OK if you have a bag that is warm enough. I used one in the winter for years in really cold temps before I had a thermarest and I didn't freeze.”

“I guesstimate my coldest night was 15 degrees. I aim to get it much lower. :-)”

“I think this winter you'll get your chance. If the long range forecast is correct there will be some cold temps in the next 15 days.”

“Yeah, but I'm heading over to New Mexico next week, d'oh!!! Hopefully the super-duper cold weather will hang around for Jan. 25-26 weekend.”

“Feb. can be pretty cold and with all the snow we have around it's looking like a cold winter.”

“Minus 7 in Yellowstone; but it was a dry cold!”

“Hmmm, I wonder why Artex is headed to New Mexico ...

I have no idea why!”

“The coldest I remember being out was -46°F in Winnipeg during the holidays of 1976. During the week from Christmas to New Year's Day the mercury never rose above -40°C/F.

The coldest I ever actually backpacked was Old Year's Night/New Year's Day 1999-2000. It went down to -27°F in Lake Placid and we were at treeline on Mt. Marcy. I've told the story here before, but I'll do it again. The wine froze in my much dented and dearly beloved aluminium wine flask (from France, of course) and it took about an hour in my sleeping bag to turn to slush. My buddy would stick his hand out of his bivy sack and I'd shake wine slush into it. That's how we drank the litre. He had a half-bottle of champagne in his pack, but we never even tried to thaw that baby.

BTW, my Slumberjack 600 and the thick, winter Thermorest were just fine, in fact I never closed the hood. I wore my polyproplene and fleece layers with liner gloves and fleece balaclava and made sure (Gearslut) that I never put my face into the bag. I used a VBL, of course. I did have frost at the opening of my non-breathable, mummy shaped bivy sack, but it shook right off.

Hey, Artex, want to set up an overnighter (or two-nighter) to do Couchsascraga, Santanoni and Panther some time this winter? I have to get them done to finish the 46 and winter is the best time to do these peaks. There is a lean-to. I'm not available on February 8 and 22 because I am course organiser for our alpine club's courses on ice climbing. Also, there's one week-end in January when I'll be on my Avalanche rescue refresher course.”

“The coldest I remember being out was -46°F in Winnipeg during the holidays of 1976. During the week from Christmas to New Year's Day the mercury never rose above -40°C/F.

The coldest I ever actually backpacked was Old Year's Night/New Year's Day 1999-2000. It went down to -27°F in Lake Placid and we were at treeline on Mt. Marcy. I've told the story here before, but I'll do it again. The wine froze in my much dented and dearly beloved aluminium wine flask (from France, of course) and it took about an hour in my sleeping bag to turn to slush. My buddy would stick his hand out of his bivy sack and I'd shake wine slush into it. That's how we drank the litre. He had a half-bottle of champagne in his pack, but we never even tried to thaw that baby.

BTW, my Slumberjack 600 and the thick, winter Thermorest were just fine, in fact I never closed the hood. I wore my polyproplene and fleece layers with liner gloves and fleece balaclava and made sure (Gearslut) that I never put my face into the bag. I used a VBL, of course. I did have frost at the opening of my non-breathable, mummy shaped bivy sack, but it shook right off.

Hey, Artex, want to set up an overnighter (or two-nighter) to do Couchsascraga, Santanoni and Panther some time this winter? I have to get them done to finish the 46 and winter is the best time to do these peaks. There is a lean-to. I'm not available on February 8 and 22 because I am course organiser for our alpine club's courses on ice climbing. Also, there's one week-end in January when I'll be on my Avalanche rescue refresher course.”

“Gremlin, I'd totally be game! Going to Maine in late May and doing the FYAO III trip in mid-Feb, I think that trip is Feb. 21-22 though, so if you become available, you should join us since it's in the 'Dacks.”

“Late May?!?! I meant February. Where'd that come from?”

“-35, on Denali..”

“well I think im going to be ok with the cold. Ive got a 0' bag, a fleece sleeping bag, micro fleece blanket, fleece booties, fleese long johns. fleece hat
and down Booties.
So do think I will be warm?”

“Its been a little warm here, but shouldn't last. Great part is that all you have to do is go up into the mountains to get cold.”

“Supposed to hit single digits at night by me this weekend.”

“Mapleleaf, you should be plenty warm with all of that!

Pathman - cool beans, I bet we'll just be doing a few dayhikes though, no overnighters unfortunately.”

“One of the guys had a temp guage that showed current temp and also lowest temp. So we had a measured -15F at the Avalanche lake lean-to.
A tent is about 10F warmer than a lean-to. I have been out when it seemed much colder but no readings and it could be wind chill and not temp.

About ground insulation. I have the 2 inch Thermarest which is very comfortable, but have read that the standard Thermarest has a slightly higher R value.
The Ridgerest has a 2.6. Thermarest standard ranges 3.0 to 4.6 and the LE ranges from 3.2-3.7.
I guess the variations are due to inflation levels.

A puncture or valve leak would be a problem in winter with an inflatable but I have not had a problem yet. I sort of put it with the do not get down wet precautions.

Mitts are much warmer than gloves, and fleece mitts with separate windproof shells are the way to go in cold weather.

I try and keep 2 liters of water with me all the time (2x one liter/quart bottles). Heating both before bed gives 2 hot water bottles for comfort, and keeps the water from freezing. Remember to keep a little liquid water at all times as a starter to melt snow.
Always heat the starter water before adding snow. Otherwise the snow will absorb the water and you will burn out the bottom of the pot.

Take a camp towel to bed and put like a napkin over the edge of the S/B where your mouth is. This will trap some of the moisture instead of it going on the S/B.”

“Mapleleaf, it also depends on tent size (open space to heat)... and what kind of sleeper you are. I've been cold in 17-degree temps with my 0-degree bag. Course, I have a 2-person tent... and was alone. Plus, I was on a Thermarest.

On the Buffalo River trip, overnight temps were not quite that low, but I was cold till Stikmon and the dog got in the tent. I typically wear thermal, wicking top and bottom, and socks... But haven't done much on hat/balaclava or gloves. They are highly recommended, also.

OK, I am just ordering a -15 degree Pulsar sleeping bag from Outdoor Outlet. Between 4 and 5 pounds. 600 down. Only $129 RIGHT NOW!!!”

“plus i will have my pepsi can stove + V8 can stove
gloves, hats, the usual things that you carry on an overnight.
plus a sleeping bag, tent, pad, camleback
and every warm thing you can this of.
I want to rent a pack, because i only have a 3600 cb in.
I'm going to need something a little bigger
so any ideas as to which one to rent?”

“Wow, that's an EXCELLENT deal!”

“You are going to look like the Pillsbury Doughboy with all those layers on!
Pixs, we will need pixs! :)”

“OK, tooooooooo bad. I think I just got the last bag at $129. heheheheee”

“It is a women's long, which I can deal with. Clothes in foot of it, etc. BUT, yeah, it is $100 off.

Oh yeah, I guess it's 650 down.

I see they just marked it "out of stock." ohhhhh sooooo sad for the rest of you. MOOOOOOOOOhahaha!!

Kelty Pulsar -15 women's bag at Outdoor Outlet”

“LOLOL!!

No wonder she lives out in the middle of no where, she would be lynched in no time, if she were within reach of these TT'ers.”

“No, Maple, I ain't lending it. LOL

OK, I'm all giddy now. New winter gear fix!!”

“well good for you lizs! New gear is alot of fun. But there would be no need for me to borrow your bag, i need to rent a pack.”

“Isn't that the bag one of the consumer sites rated rather low?
Something about the down smelling bad because it was plucked from around the birds butt?”

“Eeewww! LOL!”

“I did a little over two weeks of training a few years ago. I dont remember wow cold it was but I had minor frostbite in all of my fingers and toes. I was the last one in my platoon to get it, but I was also the only one who had backpacked before. It took almost a full year before all of the feeling came back to my toes.”

“It was -12 inside my tent up in the Catskills once. I have no idea how cold it got outside.

I use a thermarest ultralight on top of a z-rest.”

“One Jan. in GSMNP spent a night at Icewater Springs at -12 on my thermometer, wind chill was extreme. Whole trip didn't get above 0.Anything below 0 stops being fun.”

“Stovestomper, can you say bird butt "bacon ring???"

LOL!!!”

“snowboarding (-40 wind chill)”

“hay wolfman, are you coming this weekend??”