Fire in the snow - not easy!

[TrickyT]

Been out sledging with my nephew this afternoon. Took some of my bushcraft gear as I though I would make a small fire to keep him warm.

Cleared the snow, built a small wind shield from the snow to protect the fire.

Built a platform of cross hatch logs to raise it up off the ground. Made plenty of firesticks, gathered as much dryish tinder as possible with some larger sticks cut down the middle.

Used birch bark and cotton wool covered in Vaseline with my strike a light.

No matter what I did, I could not get the fire going really well

Was it due to the wood being too damp? I only used sticks and twigs that snapped, so I think they don't have as much moisture in them.

Or was it that where I built the fire it was too exposed. I was at the top of the hill with very little shelter.

Regards

Trevor

 

[Toddy]

No offence intended, but that fire looks 'cold'.
It looks like you've gotten flames started and then put on wood that's taken heat away rather than warming up and starting to burn themselves.
Best I can suggest is lots more small stuff, even if that means splitting the branches down to splints. Get that going long enough and it'll take away fine with those slightly bigger branches.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[welshwhit]

Have to agree with Toddy there, get a good flame going and then add the bigger stuff slowly till you've got it going strong

Drew

 

[TrickyT]

Thanks for your advise. I have only made fires in the summer, using wood etc that has been in my shed for a while. Always been simple and easy. Thought I would try it in the 'real world' and failed!

Think I tried to get it going 'too' quickly with the bigger bits, thinking that as I thought I had the fire going with heat, this would dry out the wood no top, but looks like it put it out.

Might try again tomorrow, but follow your advice.

Regards

Trevor

 

[Wilderbeast]

one observation is that your fire seems to be a little too "wide" if you see what I mean, use the same amount of material but in smaller pieces and lay ontop slowly, building upwards.....

I say this because if you look at your picture there's very little scorching towards the edges of your material, if that stuff as on top it wouldn't have been unused!

Good luck with your next attempt

 

[TrickyT]

Will take on all advice at the early stages of my bushcraft career!

Think I tried to make it too big too quick.

Will use much smaller bits next time and make sure I really get it going before i try to get it well established.

Regards

Trevor

 

[backwoodsman]

yes smaller fire, its all you need,

 

[TrickyT]

Looks so much better! What's cooking on the skewer?

 

[eraaij]

Nice efforts anbd the only way to explore this. From the pics I would build a more raised platform to begin with - away from the moist. Lots of moist is seeping though from the melted ground snow and you seem to be fighting that. A couple of bigger logs at the bottom will solve this.

What I would try also is raise the platform, so that you have draught under it. Again - using a flat stone or bigger green branches.

-Emile

 

[PREPER]

I also had a go at lighting a fire in the snow this week, I collected more birch bark than I would normally use, then split open some larger dead branches with my axe. I used the 'chippings' and well split dry inner wood to get the fire going then later added the damper outer wood. There are alternative methods of course but it worked a treat
Hope this helps.

PREPER.......

 

[backwoodsman]

skewer was salami and cheese!!! lovely, ate to much though, fire was started with dead standing wood, split , then shaved into long splinter type bits,used loads and loads ontop of 2 inch bits of wood on ground to keep it all dry.

 

[QDanT]

Hi Trevor I dug snow away shovel leaning on tree in last photo,laid some sticks on the ground

blew tinder bundle alight from flint and steel spark on charcloth
dropped it onto said sticks and added fat pine sticks

then I added the smaller twigs and the medium sticks

when these had burnt down to form a good bed I then added a couple of criss crossed layers of the larger sticks

and this was enough to melt enough snow in the billy and bring it to the boil, to cook my dinner which was in a roasting bag in the water.
The water was then used for a brew.All that remained then was to pile the ashes around and burn the Idol.

I only used the sticks in the first picture
and took home the larger ones left in the last, to burn on the stove at home to share a little of the camp with Brenda
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51526
cheers Danny

 

[PREPER]

The idol deserved to live

PREPER........

 

[Laurentius]

You have accepted the role of King for a day and who but a fool would do that?

It is time to keep your appointment with the wicker man ...

 

[QDanT]

You have accepted the role of King for a day and who but a fool would do that?

It is time to keep your appointment with the wicker man ...

:You_Rock_
Danny

 

[QDanT]

Hi Trevor, apologies for bit of a but I agreed with Mary and thought I'd send you it as a photo sequence.
My take is that it's important to get a hot bed with the smaller stuff before adding the larger.
Remember practice makes perfect and look forward to more photo's from you with fire in the snow Mk2

cheers Danny

 

[sirex]

agreed. one of the mistakes i used to make was underestimating the "heat" part of the fire triangle - prolly why i use a bit of coal or two alot these days.

 

[pango]

I was away over New Year to the Loch Awe area with my wife. There was about 6-8" of snow which had been compacted, thawed and re-frozen, but I'd guess the temp was below -10.

There was a fire ring outside our cabin which I went out to on the 1st to light a fire for the New Year. I had a good pile of mixed, dry wood, mainly birch and larch I'd collected for that purpose, and also a good bundle of birch-bark which I'd shaved and peeled the day before and kept inside the cabin overnight. It should have gone off a treat, but didn't!

A) I thought about laying a bed of logs but didn't think it necessary as there was already a bed of charcoals.

B) I didn't have enough small stuff prepared in the event of my fire not catching first time.

C) I was standing 20 yards from a warm cabin and shelter. It wasn't essential that my fire lit, and nothing bad was going to happen to me if it didn't light.

What actually happened was that the previous arsonist has poured enough water on the fire to quench it totally. The charcoals were saturated and had frozen solid with the result that when I was kneeling down to blow the embers in a desperate attempt to recover the flame and my self respect, I became aware of water trickling over the lip of the old fire-bed.

Apart from the obvious complacency, my cardinal sin was to put trust into the unknown quantity of the old fire-bed.

My second attempt, settled on a bed of 4" logs, took off immediately and the two of us sat taking in the beauty of Loch Awe while sipping a fine single malt.

Moral; If you do it yourself, are meticulous, and do it right, you'll only have to do it once!

 

[big_swede]

Why do you dig away the snow? Just make a platform on it instead.

 

[pango]

My post may have been misleading, Big Swede. The old fire-place was clear of snow. Had I checked I'd have discovered it was a block of frozen charcoal.

My point is that assumption creates more work. I'd like to think that in a more remote situation, I'd have been more diligent and thorough. It was a lesson learned!

Cheers.