101 tips for Winter Camping
- Thread starter Wayland
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These are notes from various courses and refresher course packages I have attended,
Safety rules for Cold weather regions,
1, Have a map, compass, whistle, pencil, notebook, torch, matches, candle, filed dressing, and survival bag.
2, ALWAYS wear appropriate clothing and carry a spare.
3, Have 24 hours worth of rations for emergencies.
4, Ensure YOU have the correct equipment.
5, Routes must be planned and a copy left at base location(remember snow conditions can alter and affect your pace).
6, Never go alone.
7, Stay as a group.
8, Know and plan your nearest place for help at any point along your route, be it a telephone, road or dwelling.
9, Conserve energy and TURN BACK IN TIME!.
10 Stay within the abilities of the group.
11, Know the international distress signal (6 blasts of a whistle or flashes of a torch to attract attention, 3 blasts or flashes in reply to a signal being given).
12, Seek local advice if it can be obtained.
13, show respect to the weather and weather forecast.
14, If caught out in bad weather, seek cover in time and dig a snow hole if necessary.
Safety rules for Cold weather regions,
1, Have a map, compass, whistle, pencil, notebook, torch, matches, candle, filed dressing, and survival bag.
2, ALWAYS wear appropriate clothing and carry a spare.
3, Have 24 hours worth of rations for emergencies.
4, Ensure YOU have the correct equipment.
5, Routes must be planned and a copy left at base location(remember snow conditions can alter and affect your pace).
6, Never go alone.
7, Stay as a group.
8, Know and plan your nearest place for help at any point along your route, be it a telephone, road or dwelling.
9, Conserve energy and TURN BACK IN TIME!.
10 Stay within the abilities of the group.
11, Know the international distress signal (6 blasts of a whistle or flashes of a torch to attract attention, 3 blasts or flashes in reply to a signal being given).
12, Seek local advice if it can be obtained.
13, show respect to the weather and weather forecast.
14, If caught out in bad weather, seek cover in time and dig a snow hole if necessary.
great tips so far and so lovely pictures!
What advice would you guys offer to camping in our coldish, forever damp, muggy, depressing and damn right unpredictable crappy British winters??
It just seems like everything stays wet and horrible, infact every season we have is unpredictable and pretty much all of the above..
(I'm a bit fed up of our weather, as I'm sure you can tell..)
What advice would you guys offer to camping in our coldish, forever damp, muggy, depressing and damn right unpredictable crappy British winters??
It just seems like everything stays wet and horrible, infact every season we have is unpredictable and pretty much all of the above..
(I'm a bit fed up of our weather, as I'm sure you can tell..)
and don'tn try peeing out of your hammock.. it's easier and dryer to just get out and tinkle
and don'tn try peeing out of your hammock.. it's easier and dryer to just get out and tinkle
When its minus 30\40 centigrade, getting out for pee can be a bit more of an issue,
That's a much more difficult question to answer. And deserving of its own thread.
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Hmm.
I would say:
Assume you will get wet. Choose clothes accordingly (cotton = bad idea for base and mid-layers, polyprop not so bad, wool = best). Buffalo clothing (and sleeping bags) works really really well.
In many parts of the country (peak district, lakes, yorkshire dales) there isn't any tree cover on the tops, no firewood. Carry appropriate shelter and fuel to make a warm drink.
Beware windchill. Temperatures might be above zero, but rain+25mph winds + 10miles to shelter from wind = hypothermia unless very well dressed.
Fog or cloud cover on whale-back fells can make navigation difficult. Always know where you are, the direction of shelter (villages, roads) and carry a compass.
Ice thickness's for various weights,
REMEMBER
You must check the ice is not supported by the shoreline, this can happen with hydro dams, where the water level drops but the ice sheet rests on the shore creating an air space between the sheet and the water below,
Check the thickness for the entire crossing,
traffic use will over time weaken the ice unless the frost is steadily increasing its thickness, so even an established route will need checking before you cross it,
REMEMBER
You must check the ice is not supported by the shoreline, this can happen with hydro dams, where the water level drops but the ice sheet rests on the shore creating an air space between the sheet and the water below,
Check the thickness for the entire crossing,
traffic use will over time weaken the ice unless the frost is steadily increasing its thickness, so even an established route will need checking before you cross it,
Shall I start a new one? or can the resident masters of british camping do it?..
I'm really interested in hearing some solid advice as the winter here for me just seems like nothing more than a miserable, wet and pretty much naff experience.
( I hear we are going to have this current weather untill june..)
Ok, thread title: British winter camping tips!
any good? might be good if each person adding information added their locationtoo i.e scotland, ireland, midlands, seaside etc as the different regions/areas are all slightly different to endure.
any good? might be good if each person adding information added their locationtoo i.e scotland, ireland, midlands, seaside etc as the different regions/areas are all slightly different to endure.
soudns pretty good, reckon we can get it stickied so it can be found easily? I'd say it's pretty useful to have up for members/guests to view as it's pretty relevant considering our consistant wet/damp weather.
You would enjoy a few nights out winter camping anywhere near my place.
1. Get out of the wind. Just ease your way into the coniferous forest, it's remarkably calm. Set up a movable tarp anyway.
2. With the snow on the ground, there's snow in the trees. A second tarp to prevent snow bombs from messing you and your food. Maybe even smothering your camp fire!
3. Sleep in a tent. Spend some time creating snow shelters to use if you really had to.
4. Our winter days are very short and the nights are very long. Bring lots of interesting foods for entertainment. Don't drink melted snow water. It's essentially distilled water and needs electrolytes very badly. Gelatin desserts (eg Jell-O) as a hot drink is strangely satisfying. Lime and Black Cherry.
1. Get out of the wind. Just ease your way into the coniferous forest, it's remarkably calm. Set up a movable tarp anyway.
2. With the snow on the ground, there's snow in the trees. A second tarp to prevent snow bombs from messing you and your food. Maybe even smothering your camp fire!
3. Sleep in a tent. Spend some time creating snow shelters to use if you really had to.
4. Our winter days are very short and the nights are very long. Bring lots of interesting foods for entertainment. Don't drink melted snow water. It's essentially distilled water and needs electrolytes very badly. Gelatin desserts (eg Jell-O) as a hot drink is strangely satisfying. Lime and Black Cherry.
Attachments
Avalanche Season here again. First just one, then some two's and now a group of 3 dead, 4 badly injured and 3 safe. Party of 10 Germans Heliskiing in the southern BC Rockies. Weak deep snow layer worst in a decade all along the west slope, like where I live. The layer can move like ball bearings.
Blow the dust off your probe, snow shovel and avalanche beacon with fresh batteries. Know how to use the probe in a group scenario?
Blow the dust off your probe, snow shovel and avalanche beacon with fresh batteries. Know how to use the probe in a group scenario?
I had a cracking couple of days on kinder scout in the peak District last week. Got loads of navigation practice in and honed my pacings and timings. Temperature was around freezing but with significant wind chill. Probably doesn't count as winter for many people on the forum. But I learnt the following specific to cold conditions:
1. Try not to sweat on the uphills
2. An a4 print out of an OS map is way easier to manage than a full OS map in the wind. I was glad to have this.
3. Have a spare map and spare pacing/timing charts. People always criticise phones for risk of batteries running out but I think risk of maps blowing away is even greater.
4. Have a pee bottle for tent.
5. I learnt that exhaustion, particuarly end of day, impacts decision making. It's worth being aware of this and checking you're not rushing decisions, particularly with regard to navigation.
6. Small hot water bottle in sleeping bag is really effective.
7. Don't rely on one piece of info. For example, I crossed the kinder plateau and part way across I accidently reset my stopwatch. But I was also monitoring pacings and had noted start time for that leg, so effectively I had back up info.
8. Slope aspect navigation is particularly useful, as is interpretation of convex/concave contours. These are things I've overlooked in the past.
9. Drink plenty of water
10. A watch strapped to rucksack strap is easier to get to than on the wrist
1. Try not to sweat on the uphills
2. An a4 print out of an OS map is way easier to manage than a full OS map in the wind. I was glad to have this.
3. Have a spare map and spare pacing/timing charts. People always criticise phones for risk of batteries running out but I think risk of maps blowing away is even greater.
4. Have a pee bottle for tent.
5. I learnt that exhaustion, particuarly end of day, impacts decision making. It's worth being aware of this and checking you're not rushing decisions, particularly with regard to navigation.
6. Small hot water bottle in sleeping bag is really effective.
7. Don't rely on one piece of info. For example, I crossed the kinder plateau and part way across I accidently reset my stopwatch. But I was also monitoring pacings and had noted start time for that leg, so effectively I had back up info.
8. Slope aspect navigation is particularly useful, as is interpretation of convex/concave contours. These are things I've overlooked in the past.
9. Drink plenty of water
10. A watch strapped to rucksack strap is easier to get to than on the wrist
