Companion forum thread to:

5 Beginning Concepts for Winter Backpacking

Good read, thanks!

Good info. I got to go plan a winter outing now

Neat little article with some good links. Still looking at Arizona and SoCal for soloing this winter, but, to add, may need to look at the snowy higher elevations too with some fresh ideas.

Edited by hknewman on 10/24/2012 11:00:08 MDT.

Great article and thanks for all the links. I have a lot of reading and planning to do.

I promise my original post a couple of,days ago was not a plant to get discussion started or to bait the crowd!

Cheers

Nice read, thanks. And a nice collection of links, most of which I haven't read yet. I'm looking to try my hand at winter/snow camping this year in the Sierras. I'm getting pumped!

PS. More little tricks please.

Edited by mediauras on 10/23/2012 22:05:06 MDT.

Wow, what a goldmine of references to great articles. I know for years that I was a 3 season backpacker due to lack of gear and experience in winter hiking. The last three winters have been a joy, but I needed what this article taught to take me to the next level!

Excellent article! I especially appreciated the links to old articles. There's a lot of pure gold in the article archives waiting to be tapped! (Oops, mixed metaphor! Let's say "liquid gold" or "waiting to be mined.":)

For us Pacific Northwesterners, who even at higher altitudes are as liable to be in rain as in snow, some of the articles about hiking in cold rain are useful, too. This one is really good, IMHO:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_guide_to_backpacking_in_sustained_rain.html

Edited by hikinggranny on 10/24/2012 14:53:08 MDT.

Another great article, Dave. Your inclusion of the many links really turns this into a stand alone reference worthy of bookmarking. I had somehow missed a couple of the early articles the first time around and they gave me some things to think about.

As an aside, I've really been enjoying the new influx of technical articles in recent months. Thank you for your many contributions.

Excellent, Dave. Thanks.

Good consciousness raising article. I've done some x-country day tripping in the Washington Cascades and enjoyed the seasonal contrast. Camping is a whole other order, but just some extra weight and bulk as far as base weight goes.

I think winter navigation is a daunting aspect for less experienced hikers, with the trail covered and landmarks blurred. It's not a good time to get lost. Honing up map and compass skills on dry ground makes excellent winter travel preparation.

Knowing your limits is important on winter trips. Turning around and going home is NOT failure, just good common sense. I haven't done multi-day backcountry snow trips. I would be prepared for much more physical exertion and knowing what the weather report means for your location. I would want to know more about reading avalanche conditions, as many of my favorite summer trails have slide chutes that aren't an issue after the thaw.

It can be beautiful. The mud and leaves are covered over, bare trees have snow covered branches, the air seems so pure, and everything sounds different in the snow. If you can escape the snowmobilers on the weekends, the solitude is wonderful.

Top Marks Dave, its nice to have all this information in one place.

Good read. Appreciated the links to other like-minded articles for further reading.

Excellent article David. Thank you.

One important thing for those of us in mountainous terrain--check the avalanche forecast before going out. It's important to learn to judge snow conditions and to judge the terrain so places where avalanches are likely can be avoided. If I'm going alone in the snow (I usually stay below the snow line in winter, but I'm considering taking up snowshoeing once more), I'll stay on flat ground, well away from any possible avalanche runouts (they can go a surprisingly long way).

Dave,

Thanks for the info. Unrelated to winter camping, but what pack are you sporting in that photo of you doing a ski toss? Good timing as winter is already here in Alaska.

Thanks everyone.

Herman, the pack is a Mountain Hardwear Thruway 50. A review is part of a larger project I'm currently writing up. In short, it's got a lot of good stuff but needs a suspension redesign and longer torso lengths for each size to merit the price.

Thanks for a very interesitng article.

I agree with Michael R., this article is a "goldmine" of links to other winter camping articles.

And (IMHO) THE best book on the subject, especially for beginners, is "Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book".

Having taught winter survival to ARMY ROTC cadets for a few years I can say that it is almost a necessity for beginners to do their first winter trips with experienced winter campers. The crazy mistakes beginners make are usually laughable but could be very serious without a "guide".

On a personal note I am about two years away from becoming a National Ski Patrol Mountain Travel and Rescue instructor. Never stop learning.

Great article and the photos are fantastic. I live in Michigan where we get wet snow conditions, so I would have to revamp my equipment to take that into consideration (a synthetic sleeping bag, for instance).

The photos make me long for snow! We hardly got any here last winter.

I was disappointed myself Kathy with the lack of snow in Michigan, fingers crossed we get far more this winter.