Hot answers tagged snow
11
The easiest way that I know of requires you to have some kind of rope or long straps and to be near evergreen trees.
Depending on the strength of the needles and width of the trees limbs take anywhere from 1 to 4 ends of an evergreen tree limb. Be sure to use green wood so they can bend without breaking. Make each section about three times as long as your ...
6
I would consider two items:
Trekking poles with large baskets.
And if you are looking for a pair of modern snowshoes
Consider models which have bars at the rear to elevate your feet during ascent.
It is common to use the trekking pole to flip the bar up when required.
5
If you get that sort of snowfall, the correct safety procedures include clearing snow every couple of hours. Set your alarm and get out to clear snow - especially from the entrance, but all round if it looks like the tent will get covered.
The tents used in the Antarctic are shaped like steep pyramids to help avoid the problem of snow buildup - dome tents ...
5
Best is of course subjective, but overall, given your question and caveats, I would say a good solid winter tent.
To elaborate on the alternatives, if you have an assured amount of snow, then you can attempt some form of snow shelter. Building an actual igloo takes quite a bit of practice. Building a snow cave on the other hand is not that difficult, but ...
5
I usually stomp the area with snowshoes until it's reasonably packed, and that's good enough. If it's windy and very cold I may dig down 3-4 feet for protection from the wind. (If you're in the mountains you should have a snow shovel for safety.)
A thicker sleeping pad (or two pads) will definitely keep you warmer. When you pack up in the morning, you can ...
5
Building an igloo requires:
the right snow
training to know what the right snow is
a snow knife
some practice building the walls so that they taper in yet are supported as you go
In the absence of training and practice, which I would posit is very rare, go with a quinzy instead.
You dig snow and throw it into a big pile. You let that sit for a bit to ...
4
Lots of mushers will 'candle their dogs'. Use a candle and pass it quickly over the bottom of the paw. The flame singes the hairs between the toes and is harmless to the dog. Practice on your arm hairs to get the speed right. Much faster than trimming.
Most dogs hate socks and will chew them off as soon as they can.
4
well there are many ways to prevent this, the easyiest way would be to trim the hair between the paws. You can also buy dog-sock to put on the dog, the best way if you have seen dogs running with dogsleds. And if you really dont whant to do eighter of thoose options, you can buy paw-grease or paw-vox like "ice on ice".
Hope this will help.
4
For hard-packed or icy snow, steel runner sleds are quite fast. You can increase your speed by rubbing wax along the runners (we used candle stubs for this). Also, the heads are flexible and allow for steering.
4
A snow shovel will make your life a lot easier, yes - it gives you the option to dig out snow to use as a windbreak, and to lower the tent a little into the snow, reducing the wind.
Digging down a little also lets you reach more packed snow, which makes it easier to provide a flat surface.
You shouldn't need any extra insulation under the floor - although ...
4
As with any relatively unscientific field, there is a lot of lore out there that may have originally had a good scientific foundation, but the restrictions or specific conditions have long been forgotten and the answer takes on a life of its own out of context. The myth about eating snow seems to me to be one of these things.
The main point is that it ...
3
Last weekend after a snow storm in Quebec I camped in the conditions you describe. Around 1 meter of snow, -12C/10F during the day -24C/-11C during the night.
Make a layer of spruce branches ~15cm or more. Also, use a closed-cell foam pad plus an inflatable pad. I slept in US Army bivy sack, US Army cold-weather sleeping bag. This set-up will keep you ...
3
This NASA web-interface provides a somewhat recent (several days old) interface to global daily snow-maps. From the main page, click on Land (immediately below the map), then click on Snow cover in the drop-down menu that appears. Then, on the right, under "Matching datasets", select "Snow cover - 1 day (Terra / Modis)" and click "Select". This will show a ...
3
I tried these and the best use would be on a alternating field. I mean, a mix of going up and down. It this kind of situation they are hard to beat. Because you don't loose time changing between ski/snowshoes. If the angle isn't too much, they climb really fast. You can also get a slide on flat surface a little bit like cross-country skiing.
I'm thinking ...
3
If I get it right, they are using the idea of hunters, who attached a deer skin (fur outside) to the ski (e.g. like this). It's called "камус" and "Steigfell", and I don't know an English word for it.
Just like you can pet your cat in one direction and can't do it in the opposite direction, with Steigfell on you can easily glide in one direction (forward) ...
3
If all you want is to go fast, look for something with ridges or raised runners on the bottom so it will have less snow contact. However you may find it hard to steer - it will pretty much just go straight down the hill unless you lean wildly, which may cause you to fall over.
$20
The discs are more controllable (in a wild crazy omg I'm flying down a hill ...
3
Elevation bars are great, but more important are the grips/spikes on the bottom, not just for icy snow, but for fallen wood/exposed roots which are especially slippery in the winter. That traction makes all the difference. Ideally the grips run parallel to the length of the snowshoe, usually to the outside, and an additional grip runs across the toe where ...
3
Having snow stick to the bottom of touring or telemark skis after removing skins is a common occurrence. You can mitigate it by bringing some glide wax with your or by using a liquid or spray. I keep a little a glide wax that looks like underarm deodorant in the bottom of my avy pack just for this purpose.
2
The fastest type of sledge really does depend on the type of snow - if it's softer snow then you want a sledge with the greatest surface area, since thin runners will tend to just bog you down, sinking into the snow rather than riding on top of it. The greater surface area will spread your weight out more, meaning you
However, on harder, compacted snow or ...
1
This doesn’t really answer the question, but it’s good to know that waiting for the mountain rescue team to dig you out of an avalanche is wrong, because there’s preciously little time left. About 90 % of the people survive the first 15 minutes under the snow, but after half an hour the number sharply drops to 30–40 %. Here’s one graph (source):
This ...
1
While searching online for an answer to my question, I came upon the this pseudo-scientific research. The article actually tries to determine which sled is "best", so there is a lot of information there that doesn't apply. Also, they quietly ignore the old wood-and-metal sleds from the 1950s. So this may not be good science.
Never-the-less, Here are the ...
1
If you want the fastest sled in just about all snow conditions, get yourself one of these:
Not fast enough? Add more dogs. (Though I can't in good conscience recommend more than 18. And make sure your brakes work...)
1
MODIS data is accessible as JPEG images.
Sometimes it's still not easy to find an exact point on the image, but at least you don't have to bother with HDF. If you can't find today's images for a specific region, you can look back in time.
We use this service to check ice coverage on big lakes when planning ski trips.
1
Depends on what you mean by climbing. If it is still walking up a steep slope then these should give you added grip on snow.
If you are actually climbing then they will be of no use at all, as in this situation you need to be able to use your toes and sides of your feet as well as the soles.
Personally, in both scenarios I would rather use appropriate ...
1
If the tent is not designed for snow then you'll need to make sure it doesn't get weighted down by the snow on top. The edges with a low gradient get covered in snow and this stretches the tent. You'll need to keep pushing it off the tent. If it has a flat top you'll have to push it off there as well.
1
There are reported deaths from eating snow during WWII (Eastern Front).
I presume due to hypothermia and/or the general poor health of the soldiers concerned.
Another site points out that snow is excellent at catching polution. Their reasoning is a bit fuzzy, but as a scientist I agree with their conclusion.
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