Snow Camping (AP article

“Be prepared
Winter camping is like no other when done right


Published Wednesday, December 15, 2004

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- Pitch a tent in the snow and call it fun? Most people would say you\'re crazy. But for 77-year-old Ruby Edwards and others like her, camping in the snow is a high point of this time of year.

\"It\'s so beautiful (and) the stars are so bright,\" said Edwards, a Butte Falls, Ore., resident and Grants Pass Nordic Club member who has spent the last 15 cold seasons pulling out her tent and sleeping bag just as most people are putting theirs away.

Fans of winter camping are rare compared to the summer set, but they are passionate in its praises, speaking of the vast silence and unearthly beauty of the snow-draped backcountry, a wilderness unrecognizable from its summer look.

\"You totally get away from people,\" said Ashland snow camper Dan Passadore. \"That\'s good medicine, to be removed from humanity, music, all the inputs. You just hear nature.\"

These gifts have to be earned, snow campers say, by constant trekking and strategizing against the relentless elements of cold and the chilling moisture generated by your body. You move all day, single-file, on cross-country skis or snowshoes, and you snuggle up tight at night in four-season sleeping bags and tents, making sure to keep your metabolism going with regular meals, snacks and teas.

It\'s critical that you wear the right clothes, said Medford resident Mike Reinert, 25, also a snow camper.

\"Breatheability of clothing is the No. 1 must. Perspiration has to go somewhere or you wet out and start having condensation instead of evaporation. Then you\'re in trouble.\"

To keep skin warm and dry, snow campers layer clothing, starting with synthetic (nylon, polypropylene or polyester) long johns, which wick sweat outward.

\"The body then can be like a furnace, pushing the moisture away,\" said Reinert, who works at McKenzie Outfitters, a Medford outdoor store.

Cotton clothing is a no-no: it\'s \"hydrophilic,\" meaning it loves to hold water. In short, said Reinert, \"cotton kills.\"

The outer layers -- turtlenecks, ski pants, sweaters, vests, socks, gloves -- should be synthetic fabrics or a wool blend, winter campers say. A waterproof, wind-breaking shell is needed for weather. ::: Advertisement :::


Have a down jacket handy to put on when you stop and your body isn\'t producing as much heat, and always carry a set of clothes to change into when you get wet.

The sleeping bag must be a four-season model, rated to at least zero degrees and maybe to 20 or even 40 below, Passadore said.

As the light fades each day, snow campers begin to look for the right place to camp -- the leeward side of a slope or forest, so they won\'t be fighting the cooling and impacting force of wind all night, said Charles Gehr, an Ashland snow camper.

They make sure their protecting slope isn\'t loaded with snow that might become an avalanche. The closer the slope is to 35 degrees, the more likely it is to dump on them. The steepest slopes already have dumped their snow and shallow ones won\'t.

Snow campers stomp out a platform and pitch their tent, using ski poles for line anchors. Snow campers usually put several people in one tent for warmth, but factor in the reality that more people means more condensation from breath moisture.

Winter tents, costing around $300, have venting at top and bottom to carry out moisture and usually do the job well, Gehr said.

Sleeping bags should be down-filled, campers say. Synthetic bags weigh more, and campers work hard in snow and carry doubles of many things in case one fails or gets wet, said Bill Gilliam, owner of Ashland Mountain Supply, an outdoor store.

\"You want to err on the side of caution and have a backup plan for everything,\" Gilliam said. \"Safety is so much more critical in winter.\"

Food is simpler in snow camping than you might think. Just carry plenty of it, enough for a couple of extra days, Edwards said.

\"Do not, repeat, do not let yourself get hungry,\" said Andy Dungan, a Southern Oregon University business professor who has snow camped in Alaska\'s challenging Denali National Park for weeks.

\"If you\'re hungry, your metabolism has already dropped, and you\'re starting to cool. That can\'t be allowed to happen.\"

Some campers take energy bars into the sleeping bag with them, eating them through the night to keep metabolism optimal. Another bedtime trick is to heat water for the drinking bottle and toss it into the foot of the sleeping bag for warmth.

Water during winter camping is just as critical as in desert camping. Because they don\'t feel themselves perspiring in winter, inexperienced snow campers might not realize how much water they\'re losing, Gilliam said. A lot of water also is lost in exhaling.

Snow campers take frequent breaks to make hot tea, which both warms and hydrates the body and keeps the metabolism ticking along.

While you can get lost in summer with relative safety, it can rapidly become life-threatening in winter, making compass and map skills vital, Reinert said.

Locate yourself at the start and keep locating yourself, know how to report your position and realize that while global positioning system indicators are good, their batteries can die in the cold. Ditto for cell phone batteries.

Another handy tool is a barometer, Gehr said, which, if dropping, warns of storms you likely won\'t see coming.

Beginners, Gilliam said, should attend winter camping classes, practice with their gear and make trips near their vehicle or with experienced groups.

For those who have learned winter\'s ways, it\'s literally a walk in the park -- a hard walk and one they love.

\"I prefer doing it in the full moon,\" said Edwards, who does a lot of night skiing after setting up camp.

\"Crater Lake, especially, is absolutely gorgeous on a moonlit night. You never forget it.\"


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“Good story. Something I may try eventually...but not tonight. Thanks”

“Yeah. Are we experienced snow campers yet? Not likely, but we're getting there.”

“I hope I'm still doing this stuff when I'm 77. Something else to look forward to.”

“I've always want to camp in snow or even see a white Christmas. Alas there aren't many opportunities for that in South Carolina. Just this past Saturday I was in shorts and a tee shirt. I mean it was beautiful, like a Spring day. We even had some azaleas in bloom this past month. Craziest thing I've seen in a long time.
>
But damn, tonight it will be down in the teens. Go figure.”

“Solitary, aren't there some mountains close enough to visit? I have to drive for 3+ hours to get my snow fix, but it's worth it.”

“Great article! :-)
One of these days, we might try it!”

“Good article. Pretty much hit most of the points on the head.”

“BTW, the new age record on K2 (still unclimbed in winter - the last great problem) is 65.

Rare? Not around here - you could open a pizza take-away in the Dacks in winter and make money.”

“There are 6K+ mountains within 50 miles of my house as the crow flies. I can get to them within 1.5 hours in normal driving conditions. The problem comes when it snows! (1) It's hard to get t them. I don't own any chains and am too cheap to buy something that might get used once in 10 years. (2) There are a lot of kooks out there in 4WDs that think you can stop better if you have 4WD. (3) North and South Carolina don't have a lot of snow plow equipment and what they do have will be used to keep the Interstates flowing. That means the secondary roads up the Piedmont Escarpment (what we call the Blue Wall) and the Blue Ridge Parkway will be covered with snow and in all probability closed.
>
I tell you we're trapped like rats at home when it snows and that would be great at Christmas but it NEVER snows at Christmas in the Caroline! Can you say Catch 22?
last edited: 12/16/04 10:48:53 AM”

“solitary, try it! It's worth the money.
Come on out for the Loon Lake Fiasco, we'll start you out easy.”

“Nav,
I'd love to but I spent all my denero on an airplane ticket for my daughter to fly home for Xmas from Los Angeles!
>
One day I'm renting me some snowshoes and coming out that way for a WinterFest. I hope it snows a$$hole deep to an elephant and you have plenty of that homebrew!”

“Everyone should try winter camping if you get a chance. From LA, the San Gabiels are close. We always hiked up Mt. Baden Powel for a fun day trip. Some traction is needed on the ice or snow, so instep crampons or snowshoes would help. We always wore crampons, so we would feel like climbers. You can also hike out the road to Mt. Baldy (San Anontonio?). Also, the Mt. San Gorgonio area is not far.

I teach a college class in winter camping, and we always have a blast. We build snow shelters, cook food, have a campfire, etc. In Idaho, we are lucky to have a lot of natural hot springs, so our camp is 100 yards from a hot springs, photos here:

http://users.potlatch.com/dmg/mollys.htm/

I use skiis and a gear sled to go in, thinking I could use the sled to evalacuate a person if need by. I came close to that only once.

The hot springs is a nice treat, but even without it, the solitude and quiet is great. I think I have a photo of winter camping in Phils photo page.”

“winter camping rocks! Good article. :)”

“here is another good site on winter camping and shelters

http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/winter/index.shtml”

“AmyG knows! Ugha Bugha.

Howzya dowin, Amy?”

“doin' fine, spanks fer axkin Grems. :)

Ready to freeze yer a$$ off again? I'm looking forward to it.”

“Hey Bob that page was a "could not be found".
Ewker thats a great source for winter camping. It'll take time to read through it all but it looks like some good reading. REI has avalanch seminars lately but they set them on week nights and thats just not easy to work with. So reading from sources like that is better than nothing.”

“Winter camping is a blast. Unfortunaltly I only get one or two chances a year to do it. This year my wife and I are planning a New Years Eve trip to Allegheny National Forest. I hope it snows!”