Winter Time Camping

OCF Winter Time Camping

Exploring the wilderness in winter is a wonderful experience. You are far fromthe crowds, in a hushed tranquil world of white. Whether gliding through a gladeof maple trees on cross-country skis, hiking up a ridge on snowshoes, or iceclimbing, winter can be a spectacular time of year.At the same time you must realize that this environment can be extremelydangerous. It takes proper trip planning, experience, and the right equipment totravel safely in the winter environment. If you aren't aware of the hazards youcan be at great risk. This article will help you understand how to travel in thewinter wilderness. The greatest dangers in the winter environment arehypothermia and frostbite.The Following Topic's will give you a little insite on what is needed andrequired for Your Winter Time AdventuresTrip PlanningPersonal EquipmentFoodWinter WaterWinter SheltersLeave No Trace Camping in WinterWinter Travel<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>Trip PlanningPlanning a trip in the winter means spending a good deal of time researchingareas and conditions to determine where, when, and how the trip will work. Allof these factors will interact to determine what your daily pace and mileage canbe.Goals for the tripRoute - will you be on a trail of off trail, or a mixSnow level - shallow or deepSnow quality - powder, packed, breakable crust, or variableTrail - breaking trail or on a broken trailMode of travel - will you be hiking, snowshoeing, or skiingElevation changes - going up may be very slow while coming down may be very fastStrength and experience of groupGroup sizeKeeping all these factors in mind, set up a Time Control Plan for your trip.Keep in mind that everything takes "twice" as long in the winter (setting upcamp, breaking camp, cooking, going to the bathroom, etc.). Look at yourproposed route for potential campsites for each day. Also look to see where youcould camp before your planned site if you can't make it. Know what youremergency and bail out options are if conditions deteriorate or you haveproblems. Talk to area rangers about permits and camping restrictions. Find outabout snow levels, avalanche danger, safety of ice crossings, etc.<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>Personal EquipmentThe essence of staying warm in the winter is having the proper clothing layersand knowing how to use them effectively.Heat LossThe body basically acts as a furnace, producing heat through chemical reactionsand activity. This heat is lost through conduction, convection, evaporation,radiation, and respiration. As physical activity increases so does heatproduction and conversely as activity decreases so does heat production. The keyto keeping warm is to add insulation to the body.InsulationThe thermal insulation of clothing is proportional to the thickness of the deadair space enclosed. Dead air is defined as any enclosed unit of air that issmall enough that natural convection currents would not arise in it. Suchcurrents have been detected in units as small as 2 millimeters in diameter. Thedead air next to the skin is heated up by the body and provides a layer ofwarmth around the body. The clothing is not what is keeping you warm it is thedead air. This is because the denser a material the faster it can transfer heatthrough conduction, the density of air is obviously minuscule compared to apiece of a fabric. The "clo" unit was developed to provide a measurement ofinsulating effectiveness. One clo is roughly equal to the insulating value of anordinary wool business suit. Each inch of thickness of conventional insulatingmaterials (wool, pile, down) provides a theoretical value of about 4.7 clo or apractical "in use" value of 4.0 clo.The Layering PrincipleThe key to providing this dead air space is through having a number of layers ofclothing. Each layer provides a certain clo value of dead air space. This allowsyou to add or shed layers to increase or decrease your accumulated dead airspace as the temperature changes and/or as your activity level changes.Remember, your body is the heat source, the clothing layers only serve to trapthe heat and slow down your heat loss to the cold environment. If you have toomuch clothing on, you will overheat and start to sweat. You need to find theproper heat balance between the number and types of layers and your activitylevel.Why not just have lots of layers on and sweat? Heat loss from a wet surface canbe up to 25 times greater than a dry surface (due to the higher density ofwater). If you sweat and get soaked, you will lose heat much more quicklythrough evaporation of the water. Also you are loosing an incredible amount ofwater through sweating since the air is so dry. Too much water loss leads todehydration which significantly increases the risk of hypothermia. So you wantto control your layers so as to be warm at the activity level you are in but notsweating profusely.Thus, traveling in the winter is a constant process of adjusting your layers tokeep comfortable. This means having a number of layers you can add or subtractand allowing for versatility within layers. Convection may account for thegreatest amount of heat loss under most conditions. In order to properlyinsulate, you need to have an outer layer that is windproof.Another general rule is that the efficiency of clothing is proportional to thediameter of the body part it covers. Thus a given thickness of insulation addedto your trunk will be more thermally efficient than the same thickness added toyour arm or leg. It will also help maintain that body core temperature. This iswhy vests work well to maintain body heat. There is an optimal thickness ofinsulation for each body part. Beyond that the added bulk tends to be more of ahindrance in movement than the added insulation is worth.Example=Have you ever noticed that your hands feel colder after putting on athin pair of gloves? This is because when insulation is wrapped around a curvedsurface, the cross-sectional area of the insulation through which the heat mayflow is greater as is the surface area from which the heat may be lost. Thismeans that the total insulation efficiency of a given thickness progressivelydecreases as curvature sharpens over a surface. In addition, small cylinders,such as fingers, show a paradoxical effect. The addition of a thin layer ofinsulation actually increases heat loss until a thickness of about 1/4 inch isreached. This heat resistance gains as additional thickness is added. However,added thickness beyond 1/4 inch increases warmth very little in proportion toits thickness. This is one reason that thin gloves don't keep your handsparticularly warm.Clothing MaterialsSome of the different types of materials for winter clothing and insulation arediscussed below.Wool - derives its insulating quality from the elastic, three-dimensional wavycrimp in the fiber that traps air between fibers. Depending on the texture andthickness of the fabric, as much as 60-80% of wool cloth can be air. Wool canabsorb a fair amount of moisture without imparting a damp feeling because thewater "disappears" into the fiber spaces. Even with water in the fabric woolstill retains dead air space and will still insulate you. The disadvantage towool is that it can absorb so much water (maximum absorption can be as much as1/3 third the garment weight) making wet wool clothing very heavy. Wool releasesmoisture slowly, with minimum chilling effect. Wool can be woven in very tightweaves that are quite wind resistant. An advantage to wool is that it isrelatively inexpensive (if purchased at surplus stores). However, it can beitchy against the skin and some people are allergic to it.Pile or Fleece fabrics - is a synthetic material often made of a plastic(polyester, polyolefin, polypropylene, etc.). This material has a similarinsulative capacity as wool. Its advantages are that it holds less water (thanwool) and dries more quickly. Pile is manufactured in a variety of differentweights (thicknesses) offering different amounts of loft and insulation. Thisallows for numerous layering possibilities. The disadvantage of pile is that ithas very poor wind resistance and hence a wind shell on top is almost alwaysrequired. Versions of pile are available that have a middle windproof layer.Polypropylene and other Hydrophobic fabrics - polypropylene is a synthetic,plastic fiber which offers dead air space and a fiber which cannot absorb water.The fiber is hydrophobic so it moves the water vapor away from the source (thebody). Polypropylene layers are extremely effective worn directly against theskin as a way of keeping the skin from being wet and reducing evaporative heatloss. As the water moves away from the body it will evaporate, but eachadditional millimeter of distance between your skin and the point of evaporationdecreases the amount of body heat lost in the evaporative process. Some fabricsrely on the chemical nature of the fiber to be hydrophobic. Others fabrics use amolecular coating the achieve the same end.Vapor Barrier Systems - another way to stay warm in the winter is through vaporbarriers. The body is always losing water through the skin even when we are notactive. This loss is known as insensible perspiration and occurs unless the airhumidity is 70%. This insensible perspiration goes on at the rate of nearly halfa quart every 24 hours. Since it takes 580 calories per gram to turn liquidwater into water vapor, heat is continually lost through insensible perspirationas well as through sweat from any activity. A vapor barrier is a clothing itemwhich is impervious to water thereby serving as a barrier to the transportationof water vapor. When worn near the skin it keeps water vapor near the skin.Eventually the humidity level rises to the point where the body senses a highhumidity level and shuts off insensible perspiration. This prevents evaporativeheat loss and slows dehydration.Vapor barriers should not be used directly against the skin because anyevaporation of moisture directly at the skin surface leads to heat loss. Wearingpolypropylene or some other hydrophobic layer between the skin and the vaporbarrier allows the moisture to be transported away from direct skin contact.There is no doubt that vapor barrier systems are effective for some people insome conditions. The issues you must consider before using a vapor barrier areactivity level, amount you naturally sweat, and "moisture comfort." If you arenot active, such as when using a vapor barrier liner at night in a sleeping bag,the system will work well. A vapor barrier sleeping bag liner will typicallypermit you to sleep comfortably in temperatures 10 - 15 degrees colder than inthe bag alone. However, some people find that they are not comfortable with thelevel of moisture in the bag and fell clammy. If this interferes with sleepingit may be a problem, better to have a better insulated sleeping bag. Vaporbarrier liners for sleeping bags also help in another way. In cold conditions,the moisture from your body escapes upward through the bag, when reaching thecold outside of the bag it condenses into liquid or event frost. Over a numberof days this moisture level in your bag increases. If you can't dry out the bagit will slowly get heavier and heavier as it holds more water. With a down bag,this moisture can actually soak the feathers and cause the bag to loosesignificant amounts of loft (dead air space), thereby reducing it'seffectiveness.When you are active, like snowshoeing, and you are wearing a vapor barrier suchas a vapor barrier sock, you must carefully monitor how you sweat. If you aresomeone who sweats a lot with activity, your foot and polypropylene liner sockmay be totally soaked before the body shuts down sweating. Having this liquidwater next to the skin is going to lead to increased heat loss. If you don'tsweat much, your body may shut down perspiration at the foot before it getsactually wet. This is when the vapor barrier system is working. The importantpoint is that heat loss comes from water changing state from a liquid to a gas.Liquid water next to the skin leads to significant heat loss. Water vapor nextto the skin does not. You must experiment to determine if vapor barrier systemswill work for you.Polarguard, Hollofil, Quallofil and others - these are synthetic fibers whichare primarily used in sleeping bags and heavy outer garments like parkas. Thefibers are fairly efficient at providing dead air space (though not nearly asefficient as down). Their advantages are that they do not absorb water and dryfairly quickly. Polarguard is made in large sheets. Hollofil is a fiber similarto Polarguard but hollow. This increases the dead air space and makes the fibermore thermally efficient. Quallofil took Hollofil one step further by creatingfour "holes" running through the fiber."Superthin" fibers - Primaloft, Microloft, Thinsulate and others - the principalbehind these synthetic fibers is that by making the fiber thinner you canincrease the amount of dead air space. For example, take an enclosed space 5inches wide and place 2 dividers into that space, each 1 inch thick. You have aneffective air layer of 3 inches. If you take the same 5 inch space and divide itwith 4 dividers, each 1/4 inch thick you now have an effective air layer of 4inches. You have gained one inch. Under laboratory conditions a given thicknessof Thinsulate is almost twice as warm as the same thickness of down, however,the Thinsulate is 40% heavier. Thinsulate is made in sheets and therefore tendsto be used primarily for outer layers, parkas and pants. New materials such asPrimaloft and Microloft are superthin fibers that are close to the weight ofdown for an equivalent fiber volume. They are now being used in parkas andsleeping bags as an alternative to down. They stuff down to a small size andhave similar warmth to weight ratios as down without the worries about gettingwet.Down - feathers are a very efficient insulator. They provide excellent dead airspace for very little weight. The major problem with down (and it can be a majorproblem) in the winter is that down absorbs water. Once the feathers get wetthey tend to clump, and lose dead air space. Using down items in the wintertakes special care to prevent them from getting wet. For example, a vaporbarrier sleeping bag liner in a down bag will help the bag stay dry. Down isuseful in sleeping bags since it tends to conform to the shape of the occupantand prevents convection areas. Down is very compressible, which is an advantagewhen putting it into your pack but also realize that your body weight compressesthe feathers beneath you and you need good insulation (foam pad, etc.)underneath you, more so than with a synthetic bag. Some people are allergic todown. The effectiveness of a down bag is directly related to the quality of thefeathers used. Since down is made of individual feathers, sleeping bags aregarments must have baffles sewn in to prevent the down from shifting in the bagwhich would create cold spots.Radiant Barriers - some portion of body heat is lost through radiation. Onemethod of retaining this heat is through use of a reflective barrier such asaluminum. This is the principal used in "Space Blankets" and is also used insome bivy sacks and sleeping bags.Cotton is basically useless in winter time. It wicks water, but unlikepolypropylene, cotton absorbs this moisture and the water occupies the spacepreviously occupied by dead air. This means a loss in dead air space, highevaporative cooling, and a garment that is almost impossible to dry out.The Body and ClothingHead - because the head has a very high surface to volume ratio and the head isheavily vascularized, you can lose a great deal of heat (up to 70%) from thehead. Therefore, hats are essential in winter camping. The adage - if your toesare cold, put on a hat - is true. A balaclava is particularly effective andversatile. A facemask may be required if there are high wind conditions due tothe susceptibility of the face to frostbite.Hands - mittens are warmer that gloves because you don't contend with thecurvature problem described above. Also the fingers tend to keep each otherwarm, rather than being isolated as in gloves. It is useful to have an innermitten with an outer shell to give you layering capabilities. Also "idiotstrings" are important to keep you from losing mittens in the snow. However,gloves are always essential as well in winter because of the need for dexterityin various operations.Feet - finding the right footgear depends a great deal on the activity you areinvolved in as well as temperature and environment.Snowshoeing/Hiking - regular backpacking boots are not sufficient. They simplydo not provide the necessary dead air space.The options for boots include:Insulated Boots - such as Sorels or "Mickey Mouse" boots. These are rubber orleather and rubber boots that use a layer of wool felt to provide dead airspace. The Mouse boots can be Army surplus or modern copies (avoid the copiessince they are often poorly made). With the true Army boots, the black boots arerated to -20 degrees and the white ones to -40 degrees. The one drawback withSorels is that the wool felt liner is exposed. Breaking through a frozen streammay soak the liner which will be difficult to dry. They can be used withsnowshoes, crampons and skis (with special bindings).Plastic Mountaineering Boots - plastic shell mountaineering boots use innerboots made with wool felt or a closed cell foam insulation. These can be verywarm and easily used with ski bindings, crampons, and snowshoes. Depending onthe inner boot, you may need insulated overboots to add enough insulation tokeep your feet warm.Mukluks - one piece moccasins which reach to the knee. They are used with feltliners and wool socks. The Mukluk itself serves as a high gaiter. They areflexible and breathable. They work with snowshoe bindings and can be used oncross-country skis with special bindings (Berwin Bindings) and with hingedcrampons (not for technical ice). They are extremely comfortable, but since theyare not waterproof they are best used in dry cold winter settings where waterand rain are not a problem (e.g. stream crossings, possibility of rain, etc.)Heavy leather mountaineering boots with an insulated overboot - this can beeffective but the system still is not very thermally efficient and may lead tofrostbite of the feet (not recommended).Socks - one of the best systems for keeping feet warm is using multiple layers.Start with a thin polypropylene liner sock next to the skin to wick moistureaway followed by 1 - 2 pairs of wool or wool/nylon blend socks. Make sure theouter socks are big enough that they can fit comfortably over the inner layers.If they are too tight, they will constrict circulation and increase the chancesof frostbite. Keeping your feet dry is essential to keeping your feet warm youmay need to change your socks during the day. Foot powder with aluminumhydroxide can help. High altitude mountaineers will put antiperspirant on theirfeet for a week before the trip. The active ingredient, aluminum hydroxide willkeep your feet from sweating for up to a month. (Some medical research hassuggested a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease but small exposuredoes not appear to be a problem).High Gaiters - are essential for winter activity. They keep snow from gettinginto your boots and keep your socks and pants legs free from snow. InsulatedBooties - these are booties insulated with a synthetic fill that typically havea foam sole to insulate you from the ground. They are very nice to have to wearin your sleeping bag at night.Camp Overboots - are shells with an insulated bottom. These can be worn overinsulated booties for traipsing around in camp. Also for those middle of thenight visits to the woods.Outer Layer - it is essential to have an outer layer that is windproof and atleast water resistant. In some cases it may be best to have the garmentwaterproof. It also needs to be able to be ventilated. There is a big trade offbetween waterproofness and ability to ventilate. A completely waterproof itemwill keep the water that is moving through your other layers trapped, adding toweight and causing some heat loss. However, in wet snow conditions, if thegarment is not waterproof it can get wet and freeze. Gore-tex and other similarfabrics provide one solution. These fabrics have a thin polymer coating whichhas pores that are large enough to allow water vapor to pass through but toosmall to allow water droplets through. Nothing is perfect, however, and althoughGore-tex does breathe, it doesn't breath as well as straight cotton/nylonblends. If you opt for a straight wind garment, 65/35 blends of cotton and nylonwork well. The other approach is to have a waterproof garment with sufficientventilation openings to allow water vapor to escape. This provides the abilityto work in wet snow without worrying about getting the garment soaked. Part ofthe basis for making the decision is the area and you are traveling in. If youare in the dry snow of the Rockies you needn't worry so much aboutwaterproofness. If you are in the northeastern mountains where freezing rain isa possibility or very wet snow, you need to be prepared to be wet.Zippers - are wonderful accessories for winter clothing. Having underarm zipperson jackets can greatly increase your ability to ventilate. Having side zipperson pants can allow you to ventilate and to add or subtract a layer withouttaking off skis or snowshoes.Miscellaneous - knickers with knicker socks can make a good combination. Youhave the option of ventilating by opening up the bottom of the knickers and/orrolling down your socks. Also bibs are helpful (both pile and outer waterprooflayer) because they prevent cold spots at the junction between tops and bottoms.Underwear is also available in the traditional union suit design whichaccomplishes the same thing. Snaps on jackets etc. can be a problem because theyfill with snow and ice and fail to work. Velcro works much better as a closure.Clothing TechniquesWhen you first get up in the morning (and at the end of the day in camp), youractivity level will be low as will be the temperature. You will need to havemany, if not all, of your layers on at this point until breakfast is over andyou have started to become active.When you get ready to be active, you will need to take off layers since you willbegin generating heat. A good rule of thumb is to strip down until you feel justcool, not chilled just before activity. Failure to do this will meanoverheating, sweating, losing heat and you will have to stop in 10 minutes downthe trail anyway to take layers off. Open or closing zippers, rolling sleeves upor down, taking a hat off or putting one on will all help with temperatureregulation.If you stop for more that a few minutes, you will need to put on another layerto keep from getting chilled. Keep a layer close at hand.Whenever you get covered with snow, either from a fall or from dislodged snowfrom a tree, it is essential to brush yourself off to keep your clothing free ofsnow. Failure to do this often results in the snow melting into your clothingand refreezing as ice.At the end of the day, as activity decreases and temperature drops, you willneed to add layers. Once you start to cool down it takes a lot of the body'sresources (calories) to heat up again so layer up ASAP before you get chilled.It may be good to put on more that you think you need; it will only get colder.If you are too warm, you can open up layers and ventilate to reach the propertemperature.PacksInternal versus External FrameInternal frames tend to be better for winter use. They have a lower center ofgravity and hug your body better. When skiing or snowshoeing, the weight movesmore with your body allowing for greater freedom of movement.External frame packs have a higher center of gravity and tend to swing a lot,sometimes throwing you off balance.In order to carry all the winter gear for a multi-day trip (large sleeping bag,lots of clothing layers, tents, lots of food and fuel, etc.) you need a packwith a capacity of 5,000 cubic inches or greater.Sleeping BagsSleeping bags for winter camping should be rated to temperatures below what youwill likely experience if you want to be comfortable. If the nighttimetemperature can drop to -15o Fahrenheit, then your bag should be rated to -30oFahrenheit.There are a variety of different fills for sleeping bags, down, Primaloft,Microloft, Qualofill, Polarguard, etc. The bag itself should be a mummy stylebag with a hood. It should also have a draft tube along the zipper and a draftcollar at the neck. In sleeping bags, you want the bag to snugly conform to yourbody. If the bag is too big, you will have large spaces for convection currentsand you will be cold. In a bag that has too much space, you may need to wearclothing layers to help fill up the space. You can opt for the expedition bagwhich is rated to -30o Fahrenheit or you can use a three season bag rate ratedto 0o Fahrenheit and augment it with a vapor barrier liner (adds 5-10 degrees),a bivy sack (adds 5-10 degrees), and/or an overbag (a summer weight bag thatfits over your mummy bag - adds 15 - 20 degrees make sure it is big enough tofit over the mummy without compressing it). Keep in mind that each of theseoptions has advantages and disadvantages in terms of price, weight, and volumetaken up in your pack.Foam PadsYou also need to insulate yourself from the underlying snow. Foam pads(Ensolite) or inflatables (Thermarest) work well. Your insulation should be aleast 1/2 " thick (two 3/8 " summer pads work well, or use a Thermarest on topof a 3/8 " foam pad). It best to use full length pads so that all of your bodyis insulated.Stoves versus FiresIn most cases you will be taking stoves and fuel for cooking. Fires are possiblein some locations, but in high use areas, it is best to rely on a stove asfirewood can be difficult to find in the winter. Your stove should have goodheat output. In order to insulate the stove from the snow (so it doesn't meltitself into a hole) place something underneath it like a pot lid, or a piece offiberboard. Since the burner is usually significantly smaller than the potbottom, placing a metal pot lid on top of the burner can also help spread theheat more efficiently to the pot. Wind shields are also helpful in the winter toconcentrate the heat. Priming stoves in the winter can be difficult. It is bestto use alcohol or lighter fluid rather than trying to prime the stove with whitegas.Fuel - plan on 1/4 quart per person per day if you need to melt snow for water.Plan on 1/8 quart per person per day if water will be available. Make sure youhave at least a day's surplus of fuel in case of bad weather, water beingunavailable, etc.