Tips for Snow Camping

[Avatar]

Fire starters are essential along with the matches/lighter/striker.
There is usually no small kindling at huts. If lucky you sometimes may find big 7"+ diameter logs, provided by Parks or 4WD clubs.

Candles are essential. Cut them neatly in half. May be used to avoid wasting matches, light, drying small items etc.

Take spare gloves - I like the fingerless polarfleece types with mitt flap as you can adjust for fiddly work like setting up tent, photos, putting on pack or cooking without taking them off.

Attach 2mm shock cord wrist strap to overmitts and gloves. I've seen a few fly off when they were needed...
Stuff overmitts up jacket sleeves ready for deployment. Wrist strap on of course.

Did someone mention take spare socks? Change in to them at camp even if feet don't feel damp. They will be. Dry them at night. Dry feet helps avoid ski boot blisters.

8m cord for drying line.

Also, take a plastic bag big enough to place your boots in and take them inside of the tent. Not much fun having frozen boots. They take hours to warm up with your feet.

Last edited by Avatar on Mon 14 Jul, 2014 2:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[icefest]

Where do you use the drying line so that things actually get dry?

In my experience the only reliable drying place is inside my sleeping bag.

[Avatar]

I should have added: camp near a hut if possible.
You may be able to dry gear in a hut if a fire can be lit.
It is also a lot more comfortable to cook food in a hut during bad weather.
Also toilets are located near huts which the authorities prefer were used.
If you are toileting on snow then you need to dig down to ground level and construct a pit in the ground...
None of this is mutually exclusive to snow camping, which is preferable to sleeping in huts.



Here is a related issue. I am a bit disturbed by a recent trend I've seen to not carry tents and just rock up and sleep in huts, sometimes en masse in big groups.
I came across such a large group ( > 8 ) recently during a major snow event.
Someone usually gets a surprise when this happens and sooner or later it could turn out to have serious consequences.
This needs to be discouraged by the authorities and the community.

I was taught always to carry a tent and use it. Interestingly when I answered questions from people down at the trail head what I was doing they were surprised I was not sleeping in huts.
There seems to be a generally perceived view that huts are meant for sleeping in. When I tell them it is colder in a hut, that they are full of rat turds etc. the penny starts to drop.
People that do sleep in huts also tend to light fires in all available fireplaces and keep them running all night in an attempt to warm it up enough, in the process going faster through the winter's store of wood.

Do not assume a hut has room to sleep in it and go unprepared, expecting to occupy "your personal weekender".
Some recently built huts have signs stating they are not suitable for sleeping except as for emergencies of the last resort.
We should all take this seriously and not slack off on what is a sound rule of safety.

Last edited by Avatar on Mon 14 Jul, 2014 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[icefest]

Here is a related issue. I am a bit disturbed by a recent trend I've seen to not carry tents and just rock up and sleep in huts, sometimes en masse in big groups.
I cam across such a large group ( > 8 ) recently during a major snow event.
Someone usually gets a surprise when this happens and sooner or later it could turn out to have serious consequences.
This needs to be discouraged by the authorities and the community.

I was taught always to carry a tent and use it. Interestingly when I answered questions from people down at the trail head what I was doing they were surprised I was not sleeping in huts.
There seems to be a generally perceived view that huts are meant for sleeping in. When I tell them it is colder in a hut, that they are full of rat turds etc. the penny starts to drop.
People that do sleep in huts also tend to light fires in all available fireplaces and keep them running all night in an attempt to warm it up enough, in the process going faster through the winter's store of wood.

I spent hours debating this point with my parents on a recent trip, stating that others may need it more than we do and that we have an obligation not to sleep in in if there is any chance of anyone coming.
They grew up hiking in europe where the culture re huts is completely different, so it was quite hard.

Personally I dislike having others sleeping in there as it gives me not room to pack and cook the next morning - and they make me feel bad for waking them.
(Exceptions apply for Bert Nichols hut)

[bailz66]

I don't use the full snow peg's when I snow ski and find that you can get regular pegs (Curved ones) by turning them 90 degrees. I generally have snow shoes to ancor the two ends of the tent which are the higher priority points.

For the Horizontal pegs I cut a vertical shaft into the snow a bit longer than the length of the peg, then cut out a small space for the tent Rope to sit in, I then pile snow over the peg depending on weather conditions as to how hard I pack it and it holds up pretty well.

This method allowed us to survive a very bad blizzard with 60-80kmph winds

[Gadgetgeek]

as someone who grew up where hypothermia and frostbite are quite common, I would say my biggest tip is fix it fast. If you have a chill, fix it. If you have a cold toe, fix it. leaving will make it go away, and by that I mean freeze and fall off. Its far easier to get back in action if you take care of the problem early. Boots and socks are the worst culprit for frostbite because people think that the boots and socks will warm up eventually. If your feet are cold, its time to take to boots off and get warmed back up. Then figure out the situation. Even in marginal conditions where you would probably be fine, think of what those wet socks or cold hands will be like if something goes wrong.
Another big mistake people make is putting on more clothes. Now that's not always bad, I've slept in my jacket more than once, but you have to factor in both the overall compression (compressed skin feels colder even if your core temp isn't dropping) and the humidity level of the clothes you are adding. Then if you move around to warm up those clothes, are you adding moisture from sweat to them? often its a loosing game. Same goes with hot drinks. might make you feel warmer, and might be a good idea sometimes, but it can trigger your body to cool off, defeating the purpose. But that all depends on your bodies own thermal regulation. I think its better to stay a bit cooler and get the body producing heat then get into bed, but sitting by the fire drinking hot cocoa is so much more comfortable, even though I suspect its caused me more than one chilly night. And I've slept cold more often than I care to think about. I've even woken up cold on a warm-ish night in a super warm sleeping bag because I overheated, and then overcompensated the other way, shut the furnace right off as it where. Bodies asleep really don't thermal regulate well. So one thing that I've sort of developed is that I wake up every once and a while and make sure everything is going well. Not sure how or why, but its a thing my brain does now.

[bailz66]

I don't use the full snow peg's when I snow ski and find that you can get regular pegs (Curved ones) by turning them 90 degrees. I generally have snow shoes to ancor the two ends of the tent which are the higher priority points.

For the Horizontal pegs I cut a vertical shaft into the snow a bit longer than the length of the peg, then cut out a small space for the tent Rope to sit in, I then pile snow over the peg depending on weather conditions as to how hard I pack it and it holds up pretty well.

This method allowed us to survive a very bad blizzard with 60-80kmph winds

Just realised someone posted a picture of this method above

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4139#p47965

[Moondog55]

just use ya *&%$#! hands little frost bite never hurt anyone

I use my hands all the time and I can assure you frostbite [ and frost-nip] hurts like hell and also makes you more susceptible to further injuries in the future; although I know that post was made in jest others may not, so I just wanted to make sure that newbies don't leave the glove and mitten system out of the packing list.