Hot answers tagged winter
15
Bears don’t really hibernate, although they lower their activity during winter. Here’s one sample study of Black Bear winter behaviour in Sierra Nevada, California:
Thirty-nine (62 %) bears were winter-dormant for at least 2 weeks; the
remaining 24 (38 %) remained active all winter.
Here in Czech Republic we don’t have many bears, most of them cross ...
13
Yes, it is definitely doable. -20°C is only -4°F. The real question is whether it is doable by you at the level of discomfort and hassle you are willing to put up with. Only you can answer that. At best we can point out what the hassles and discomforts will be.
First, your fear of dying of cold in your sleep is silly. You'd have to do something ...
13
I'm answering my own question to share some knowledge.
First, cold toes/fingers is serious. You start feeling discomfort, then a little pain, then you stop feeling them and forget about them, then you get them amputated. So you should constantly check if you can still feel toes and fingers, and if not, start to warm them up.
Second, I find most effective ...
12
I think capacitive gloves are your best bet. Basically, they are gloves with something that allows the screen to close a circuit with your body (your hands) and that makes the screen work. I've provided some links to reviews, but the bottom line is this: at the temperature you're describing (around 0 degrees Celsius) they will probably do the job reasonably ...
11
I cannot answer directly if you are risking your life or not, however, it is quite possible to tent in -20C weather, given appropriate preparations and gear. Condensation, possible wind and snow-load are a few of the environmental factors to consider in your preparations and gear selection. The condensation one is critical, as damp gear (in general) loses ...
11
This is what I found from the net:
Flip the bottle up side down preventing the ice from forming near the top
Obvious one: put the bottle inside a bag or a jacket
use a heated hydration system instead
adding electrolytes (suggested by Russell Steen)
10
Bear canister rules are often relaxed in the winter. However, this will depend on where you are camping. On the east coast, in the Adirondacks, the rule is:
NYSDEC Regulation Requires The Use of Bear Resistant Canisters by
Overnight Users in The Eastern High Peaks Wilderness Between April 1
And November 30. NYSDEC encourages campers to use bear ...
7
The big guideline for you will be water content. Dried food, with little or no water, won't freeze. Fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, peanut butter and so on probably will. In most cases, freezing will hurt the quality (consider a raw egg, raw apple, or raw carrot) and certainly repeated freeze-thaw cycles will do so. Your dried meat, fruit and veg should be ...
6
Caloric intake is certainly the largest factor. Calories are energy.
If you are on a low fat diet normally and a very fit individual, you'll likely need to increase your fat intake. However the primary concern is that you are getting fats, so if you are already, you should be fine.
Drink more water! It's very counter intuitive, but you dehydrate faster ...
6
There are many excellent natural fabrics for winter hiking:
Merino wool is often used as a baselayer but I have also found silk and bamboo to be very good.
I have a knitted raw silk midlayer but also like cashmere, which is warm, light, doesn't smell and releases moisture pretty well.
In colder conditions I wear sweaters made of untreated wool (Black ...
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.
6
Hanging a bear bag isn't just for bears. It's also to protect your food from other wildlife. Shorter and colder days are all the more reason to plan accordingly to protect your food from hungry animals that are just looking for an easy meal.
From Princeton's Outdoor Action Site:
“Bear bagging” is something of a general term used for hanging your food. ...
6
Get a Lavvu with a stove!
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
The Sami population of Lapland have lived for centuries in Lavvus in a climate with temperatures down to -40°C. They did decide about a hundred years ago or so to live in houses, because it is a tad more comfortable. As the Sami still exist, this proves that it's not immediately lethal to live at ...
6
I have found sleeping with my boots inside the bag is the ONLY way to go when it is really cold out. Moderately cold, sure you can tough out the re-thaw in the morning - but real cold... forget it.
It is tough to get over the psychological barrier of putting boots in your bag - but it will make a difference. A few points to consider:
During the day, sweat ...
6
Adding to Steeds self-answer. Other ways to warm up fingers and toes:
Wiggle your fingers and toes vigorously (while walking, while sitting) - circulation is aided by muscle movement.
Sprint (if you have the extra energy)
When not using them, ball your hands up inside your gloves (remove your fingers from the glove fingers and make a fist inside the ...
5
At my local army shop they sell neoprene gloves with detachable finger ends for the index and middle finger ends. Something like the picture below, but without the thumb, and the ends are not cut out but foldable.
I have ones without this feature. They are not too warm (good maybe down to -5C), but are very comfortable - I cant type and call on the phone ...
5
Two suggestions. You can get fingerless gloves that also are mittens. Here's a child version so you can see how they work:
Second, you can try to get a touchscreen that works with gloves. For example the Nokia Lumia made quite a big deal out of this at their launch.
It makes sense that people in Finland would consider cold weather use for their ...
5
When it's possible you will be crossing ice on your route, there is a couple of stages:
Planning at home
First of all, you should explore the area of your trip. The question is are the water sources frozen and how thick is the ice
Small lakes in the forest, where there is no winds and no water flow, freeze first. If you know that a couple of small lakes ...
5
Carry a low lumen headlamp and a brighter torch (flashlight). Use a long lasting, low lumen headlamp for basic activities and only use the torch when you really need the extra light. This is the headlamp I use (and we read, play cards, etc. in addition to hiking after dark). It's the Petzl Tikka Plus 2.
For torches, I recommend looking into Fenix ...
5
For snowier conditions, it is common in the ultra community to take an old pair of shoes and screw in a number of metal hex screws into the sole from the bottom leaving enough of the screw proud to stick into the snow.
I've never had to try it myself but I'm reliably informed it works a treat.
5
This is really up to you, but I think if postholing is enough of a issue it would be good to wear snowshoes. If nothing else, it just makes things easier.
One problem of postholing can be sometimes difficulty in getting out. You're not likely to actually get hurt, because "falling" onto the snow isn't a problem when it's deep and soft enough for your foot ...
5
One option is to take them with you into the sleeping bag, just as anything else that needs to keep from freezing (like gas or batteries). I feel like my sleeping bag already takes enough beating as it is, so the boots stay outside. I just make sure they’re wide open, so that I can get them on my feet in the morning even if they’re frozen. Running a few ...
4
As stated by Graham in his comment, I would recommend using ice traction device like this one or this one. It will provide you with the missing grip in winter.
You should definitely keep using your running shoes because they are still better suited for running even in winter conditions.
4
A rain jacket is a good windbreaker as well. The main downside, as you pointed out, is that it will not breathe as well as other fabrics.
This shouldn't be an issue as long as you aren't doing a lot of high-output activities (ex: climbing, hiking uphill with a heavy pack for hours). Regular hiking and the likes should be fine.
4
You probably want wool. Wool has a fairly good warmth to weight ratio, and keeps most of its warmth when its wet. You can get wool products for both base layers and insulating middle layers. "Merino wool" is the style of wool that seems to be popular for high end outdoor wear now.
They can be expensive, but the following companies make very high quality ...
4
I've gone winter camping several times, usually staying in a tent, and I prefer to avoid candles in a tent so have no data about that. However, on one long-weekend trip I stayed in an igloo built from blocks of snow, north of Grand Rapids MN. After the four of us on the trip skied far enough into Suomi Hills (see map) to be well away from roads and trails, ...
4
Cold fingers - put them around your neck.
The neck exhibits excellent blood flow and thus, heating power
The neck is easily accessible area of the body, unlike armpits, thighs, stomach (with all the layers of clothing)
At least for me, it is not very stressful to press very cold fingers against the neck, compared to against e.g. stomach.
As for cold ...
3
I would probably combine a pair of glove with a pair of mitt:
A pair of glove allowing me to use a touch screen equipment. Unfortunately, those are not than warm (Could be fine for some people)
A pair of mitt with a fingerless feature like this one providing you with the extra warmth
Given the temperature provided in your comment, you could start with ...
3
You may have luck with a thermos flask, or similar insulated flask above a regular water bottle. If you're only going out for a day or so at a time the flask should keep the contents at a stable enough temperature so it doesn't freeze.
For longer trips, you may need a more elaborate system with heating to stop the ice.
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