WINTER CAMPING (Be Prepared!) - PDF Free Download

WINTER CAMPING (Be Prepared!) Introduction page 2 Quick Tips for Keeping Warm page 3 Conserving Body Heat page 4 Living With Cold page 5 Clothing page 13 Sleeping Bags page 23 Food page 24 Shelters page 25 Kit List page 30 Prepared for the 1 st West Vancouver Scout Troop 1

INTRODUCTION You ve developed your camping skills throughout the fall, and the weather has gotten progressively colder. Now you re ready to take the next step, to camp in truly cold conditions. When you first start to think about camping in the cold weather, you soon realize there s a lot to know. Camping in July is easy, and even if you re not well prepared, you can still enjoy yourself. Camping in the winter is a different matter; preparation is very important. We cover everything you need to know in our Cold Talk, and at regular meetings throughout the year. The information in this handout is for your reference as you give more thought to winter camping. You can also refer to your Fieldbook for Canadian Scouting, which contains excellent, up-to-date information. A few things to remember at snow camp: Don t leave anything lying on the ground. This includes hats, gloves, cutlery, snow shovels, snowshoes, etc. The snow will soon cover it up and you won t find it until Spring. Plastic cutlery won t stick to your fingers like metal cutlery. Plastic plates are likewise better than metal. Carry your wide-mouth water bottle upside down. When it starts to freeze, it ll freeze on the bottom, and you ll still be able to get a drink. If your water bottle seals well, put it in your sleeping bag with you at night if you think you might like a drink in the morning. Keep your extra flashlight batteries in your pocket they ll last longer. Try to stay Dry! Remember that whatever gets wet will soon freeze. If you have any problems at all (feel cold, can t find mitts, boots are frozen, etc.), tell your leader! Our first responsibility is to make sure you re comfortable and can enjoy yourself at camp. 2

QUICK TIPS for keeping warm Wear a Hat We lose a lot of heat through our heads so wear your hat! Wear your Waterproof Layer Snow sticks to fleece and wool, which will then freeze solid as a board. Bring Lots of Socks (not cotton!) And change them if your feet feel like they re getting cold. Drink Lots of Water Dehydration can seriously impair the body's ability to produce heat. Drink fluids as often as possible during the day and keep a water bottle or canteen with you at night. If you re getting cold, have a drink of water! Sleeping Tip #1. Do not sleep with your mouth and nose in your sleeping bag. The moisture of your breath will condense in the bag, and cause it to become wet and ineffective as an insulator. Sleeping Tip #2. Never should you sleep in the same clothes that you have worn all day. They are damp and will cause you to chill. This could cause frostbite and hypothermia. Sleeping Tip #3. When you get up in the morning, loosely fold up your sleeping bag and put it into a garbage bag. This will prevent it from absorbing moisture during the day, and it will warm up more quickly when you go to bed again. Sleeping Tip #4. Put extra layers (foamy, blanket, extra clothing) under your sleeping bag to help insulate you from the cold ground. 3

CONSERVING BODY HEAT There are three ways to lose body heat. Keeping them in mind will help you be much more aware of what you are or could be doing to keep your body warm. RADIATION - The emission of body, especially from the skin areas exposed to the elements. A good set of gloves, hat, and scarf can help best in keeping bare skin to a minimum. CONDUCTION - The absorption of cold by the body when sitting or laying on cold ground, or handling cold objects such as metal eating utensils and cups. This is why a decent sleeping pad is required for cold weather camping. The same goes for wearing gloves. A camp stool is a must on a winter camping trip. Try not to sit on the ground. CONVECTION - The loss of body heat due to wind blowing across unprotected body parts. This situation can also be reduced by keeping bare skin covered with hats, scarves, and gloves. It is important to keep exposure to a minimum, ESPECIALLY in a windy situation. Convection heat loss can reduce body heat the fastest. Wet clothing will accelerate this process, making staying dry even more important. KEEPING WARM Keeping warm is the most important part of cold weather camping. Use the C-O-L-D method to assure staying warm. C - Clean Since insulation is only effective when heat is trapped by dead air spaces, keep your insulating layers clean and fluffy. Dirt, grime, and perspiration can mat down those air spaces and reduce the warmth of a garment. O - Overheating Avoid overheating by adjusting the layers of your clothing to meet the outside temperature and the exertions of your activities. Excessive sweating can dampen your garments and cause chilling later on. L - Loose Layers A steady flow of warm blood is essential to keep all parts of your body heated. Wear several loosely fitting layers of clothing and footgear that will allow maximum insulation without impeding your circulation. D - Dry Damp clothing and skin can cause your body to cool quickly, possibly leading to frostbite and hypothermia. Keep dry by avoiding cotton clothes that absorb moisture. Always brush away snow that is on your clothes before you enter a heated area. Keep the clothing around your neck loosened so that body heat and moisture can escape instead of soaking several layers of clothing. 4

LIVING WITH COLD Following this page is a chapter excerpted from Winter Wise, Travel and Survival in Ice and Snow, describing how your body keeps warm, as well as the problems of wind chill, hypothermia and frostbite. 5

CLOTHING 1. LAYERING YOUR CLOTHING (excerpted from MEC) If you re too cold, too hot, or too wet, it's hard to think happy thoughts, let alone enjoy what you are doing. Layering your clothing, instead of one bulky, do-everything garment, can help prevent uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations, such as hypothermia. To provide an optimum environment, your internal systems try to maintain a thin layer of warm (30 to 33 C), still air around your body. If the surrounding environment was constant, and your life was void of activity, this private microclimate would be all you would need. But once you step outdoors, you alter your microclimate because of physical activity, wind temperature, and moisture, which can create conditions too extreme for the body s mechanisms to adapt to. Wearing a few layers of varying weight and fabric allows you to maintain an optimum microclimate during periods of physical exertion, as well as during times of inactivity. However, a layering system works only as well as your ability to manage it. Before you layer up, put on a wool or fleece hat as up to 50% of your total heat loss occurs through the head. Choose the right inner, mid, and outer layer and fine tune your microclimate by shedding layers before you get too hot, or by adding layers before you to cool down. You can also use pit-zippers, double zippers, vents, and flaps to help regulate your internal thermostat. Inner Layer The inner layer (aka underwear) is the most critical because it's in direct contact with your skin. Underwear must transport body moisture (sweat) away from the skin and disperse it to the next layer where it can evaporate. Because water is a good heat conductor, a wet garment against your skin draws heat away from your body twenty-five times faster than a dry one. Even in conditions above freezing, this rapid heat loss can cause a dangerous drop in your body s core temperature, leading to hypothermia. Synthetics such as polypropylene and polyester are common underwear materials. Light and strong, they absorb very little water. Their quick-drying ability reduces the risk of conductive heat loss. Inner layers are available in light, medium, and heavy weights for different activities. Lightweight for aerobic activity where sweat dispersal is paramount. For more stop-and-go activities, midweight underwear provides both moisture control and insulation. Heavyweight underwear is best used in cold conditions, where you're relatively inactive. Finally, the inner layer should fit snugly but not be restricting. Mid-Layer The mid-layer provides insulation and continues the transportation of moisture from the inner layer. To slow heat loss, this layer must be capable of retaining the warmth generated by your body. Wool and synthetics are well suited for this purpose because the structure of the fibers creates small air spaces that trap molecules of warm air. Additional features, such as pit zippers and full-length front zippers, allow venting. As with the inner-layer, this layer should be snug but not constricting. Outer Layer The outer layer protects your microclimate from the elements and should allow air to circulate and excess moisture to escape. Choose on the basis of what you plan to do and what weather you may encounter. For dry conditions, a breathable (uncoated) wind shell may be all you need. If you expect conditions to be more severe, a waterproof (coated) rain jacket might be adequate. A shell made of a breathable and waterproof fabric, such as Gore-Tex and Gore-Tex XCR, will give you protection from wind and rain, as well as allowing water vapour to escape. 13

2. CLOTHING ESSENTIALS Following is a chapter excerpted from Winter Wise, Travel and Survival in Ice and Snow, dealing with dressing for the cold. 14

Fleece Mitts Glove Liners Overmitts Snow Boots 22

SLEEPING BAGS After an active day, a warm and comfortable sleep can revive you enough to awaken eager for new adventures. There are many sleeping bags to choose from, however. From the $30 specials, filled with mysterious lint, to the $1,000, state-of-the-art expedition cocoons, all sleeping bags purport to offer you a cosy night's rest. To narrow your search, consider your budget, and where and when you will be camping in conjunction with a bag's: Temperature rating. Type of fill. Shape and construction. Temperature Ratings Sleeping bags are usually grouped into four general temperature categories: Summer weight (above freezing). 3-season (as low as -10 C). Cold weather (-15 to -20 C). Winter or extreme (as low as -40 C). Though ratings for bags are often a specific temperature (i.e., -7 C), many factors influence a bag's real world performance. Use of a tent, your metabolism, gender (women usually sleep colder than men), diet, and fluid intake all affect how warmly you sleep. There is no industry-wide standard, though all ratings assume use of a sleeping pad. Reputable manufacturers are conservative in their ratings, but use ratings only as guidelines and choose a warmer bag if you know you sleep coldly. Fill Type When fully lofted or fluffed up, the fill in a sleeping bag creates thousands of very small dead-air pockets. These pockets slow heat loss to the outside world, allowing your body heat to warm the envelope of air around your sleeping body. There are two main categories of fill - down and synthetics. Down is an excellent insulator - nothing beats its warmth to weight ratio, compressibility, or luxurious feel. Down is ideal for those who travel light or want to minimize pack space. It is expensive, but with proper care will last longer than a synthetic. Down's major drawbacks are that it loses most of its insulating power while it is wet and takes a long time to dry. Down is also a problem for some allergy sufferers. Synthetic fills vary greatly in durability, bulk, and weight. For a given insulation rating, even superior brand-name synthetics are heavier and bulkier than down. On the other hand, a synthetic bag is less expensive than a down bag of the same insulating value. Moreover, synthetics absorb less water and will maintain some of their loft when wet. Synthetics also dry faster, making them less vulnerable to mildew and other moisture damage. Shape and Features The shape of a sleeping bag can dramatically affect its performance. Shape and fit will impact how comfortable it is to sleep in, how warm it is, and its packed size. There are three basic sleeping bag shapes - mummy, barrel, and rectangular. Mummy bags are designed to save weight and maximize heat retention. They narrow at the feet, flare out to the shoulders, then taper to a fitted hood. With less space for your body to heat, a closerfitting bag has superior warmth to weight ratio than a roomier bag with the same loft. The trade-off is that some people find mummy bags too constricting. Barrel bags offer a trade off between thermal efficiency and room to thrash about in. Barrel bags 23

have no hood, are gently tapered, and incorporate a patterned oval foot section. They offer more sleeping room than mummy bags, but are slightly heavier and more bulky as a result. Rectangular bags are warm-weather sleeping bags. They are essentially a quilt that has been folded over and zipped together. They're inexpensive and roomy, but let a lot of body heat escape. Rectangular bags are heavy and bulky for the insulation they provide, and are generally considered inappropriate for most backcountry travellers. Features should also be considered when considering sleeping bags. Extras can often make a bag considerably more efficient. Things to look for are a well-contoured hood that can be snugged down, a draft collar that fits around the shoulders, and a draft tube that prevents heat from escaping through the zipper. Care and Feeding Store your bag loosely, never compressed in its stuff sack. Air it out and make sure it's dry before putting it away in a cool, ventilated area, either hung full length (not draped) or in a large storage sack. A proper storage sack may be included with your bag or purchased separately. Cleaning a sleeping bag will help extend its life span. Improper cleaning or drying, however, can cause serious damage. When in doubt, consult the original care tag. FOOD The Fieldbook For Canadian Scouting states The average Scout-aged youth will burn 1800-2400 calories during a normal day. This calorie requirement will increase to approximately 3000-4000 for a summer camp, and 4000-6000 for a winter camp. That s a lot of calories, but remember your body is expending a large amount of energy just to stay war. Remember to increase your water intake along with your food intake; you need extra water to convert the extra food into energy. The type of food you eat is also important. The Canada Food Guide is a good place to start, with extra fat and protein for the cold weather. Empty calories, such as potato chips, candies and other snack food, really has no place in a winter camp. They seem to satisfy you for a short time, but if you rely on them you ll feel hungry, tired and cold. Your leaders will have a lot to say about the menu for a winter camp; it s their job to see the meals are nutritious and have the calorie content to keep you going. The important thing for you to remember (just as important as your mitts) is to eat your meals! 24

SNOW SHELTERS The basic shelter used at our winter snow camp is the 2-man, 3-man or 5-man dome tent you ve been using all year. We do, however make a few modifications for snow camping: Use two groundsheets, one under the tent, and one inside the tents. Dig a cold well just outside the door, under the vestibule. This will keep your tent warmer, and give you a place to put on and take off your boots. Use snow pegs. Put a blanket or extra foamy under your sleeping bag. We ll be constructing shelters at camp made of snow; the more adventurous Scouts might want to sleep in one! The following pages from Winter Wise, Travel and Survival in Ice and Snow, describe basic types of snow shelters. 25

KIT LIST What do I pack? You ll modify your kit over time as you discover what suits you best. Much depends on whether you are a cold sleeper or a warm sleeper, and how well you are able to keep dry. This Kit List is a place to start. It s most important that you pack yourself (your parent can help), because you must know what s in your pack! You must also make sure you can get your boots, mitts, coat, etc. on and off yourself this may seem obvious, but it has caused problems in the past. 1 st West Vancouver Scout Troop Winter Camping Kit List (Remember to make sure your name is on everything) 3 changes underwear 3 pair warm wool socks 3 pair polyprop or nylon socks 2 sets long underwear 2 pair pants (no jeans!) 2 warm shirts 2 wool or fleece sweaters neck warmer or scarf jogging suit or fleece for sleeping 2 pair fleece or wool mitts 1 pair thin gloves 1 pair waterproof overmitts bedsocks & hat 2 wool or fleece toques waterproof jacket & pants winter boots (e.g. Sorels) with extra liners gaiters sleeping bag with waterproof stuff sack (2 nd bag or blanket if necessary) camp blanket garden size garbage bag for sleeping bag sleeping pad ground sheet sit upon day pack small personal first aid kit sunglasses, sunscreen personal emergency kit flashlight with extra batteries & bulb personal toiletries roll of toilet paper 1 litre water bottle with wide mouth screw-on lid mesh bag, dishes, cutlery 30