Would a Kelly Kettle or a Hobo Stove work in this situation as i imagine the bottom of the Kettle would become warm and melt the snow underneath ?
Fire in the snow - not easy!
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The only caveat I'd add to what Big Swede has said is that many of the home made hobo stoves have legs that raise them off the ground.
I know that I can boil enough water in mine for coffee without melting the snow underneath. Don't know how it would work out if used for longer than a few minutes though.
It certainly seems to make it safe enough to use in Summer in situations where open fires are not a good idea, such as over dry roots and the like. I still don't think I'd chance it when all around was so dry that I'd worry about a spark flaring off a bush fire or the like, however.
cheers,
Toddy
I know that I can boil enough water in mine for coffee without melting the snow underneath. Don't know how it would work out if used for longer than a few minutes though.
It certainly seems to make it safe enough to use in Summer in situations where open fires are not a good idea, such as over dry roots and the like. I still don't think I'd chance it when all around was so dry that I'd worry about a spark flaring off a bush fire or the like, however.
cheers,
Toddy
You did right with clearing the snow and making a decent base, but it looks as if you were using sticks that were too thick.
You need to start it with a big bundle of matchstick thin twigs and when you think you have a big enough bundle, think again and get 3 times that amount.
Then lay on some larger twigs - little finger thickness.
Then larger ones and so on. Don't try to step up the size too quickly, go gradual.
QDan's pictures show it very well.
You need to start it with a big bundle of matchstick thin twigs and when you think you have a big enough bundle, think again and get 3 times that amount.
Then lay on some larger twigs - little finger thickness.
Then larger ones and so on. Don't try to step up the size too quickly, go gradual.
QDan's pictures show it very well.
I lit a fire on a puddle once doing that kind of platform BigSwede 
just to prove I could do it
Boiled up a pan of water and made tea and toast using it too
cheers,
M
just to prove I could do it Boiled up a pan of water and made tea and toast using it too
cheers,
M
I lit a fire on a puddle once doing that kind of platform BigSwede
Boiled up a pan of water and made tea and toast using it too
cheers,
M
Well done, but, and this is very important, did you sacrifice any fire idols?
I'm just thinking that it's probably not best to tell someone, who's maybe just learning about lighting a fire in cold conditions, to light a fire with an extra detrimental factor that may affect the outcome.
Not to be rude, but I suspect that I have quite enough snow and cold weather experience to say that snow is not a detrimental factor. Snow is a good isolator, it is easier to start a fire on a platform in snow than on the frozen ground that soon will defreeze and become extremely moist. Plus it takes energy to remove the snow, for no benefit really. It doesn't matter if the person are just starting to learn or not, it is always easiest to do it right. Learning the hard way might be necessary for a few individuals, but for most people it is just unnecessary.
While it might be quite pretentious to start a dispute over something as ridiculous as this, it can really be a factor in the wrong (right) environment, what would you do if the snow was 1.5 meters deep?
Hi Big Swede.
Living in Australia, I have no experience of lighting fires in snow and I am unlikely to do so. However, I am still curious. In your last post did you mean lighting a fire on a platform on snow Vs a fire directly on the frozen ground, or Vs a fire on a platform on frozen ground? If you meant directly on frozen ground then I can see where you're coming from.
Also, in an earlier post, you've attached a photo which I assume shows some kind of platform on snow? I can't see the photo for some reason, so my question is, what type/size (depth) of platform is required in order to keep the heat of the fire from melting the snow and extinguishing the fire?. Could you describe it please.
Living in Australia, I have no experience of lighting fires in snow and I am unlikely to do so. However, I am still curious. In your last post did you mean lighting a fire on a platform on snow Vs a fire directly on the frozen ground, or Vs a fire on a platform on frozen ground? If you meant directly on frozen ground then I can see where you're coming from.
Also, in an earlier post, you've attached a photo which I assume shows some kind of platform on snow? I can't see the photo for some reason, so my question is, what type/size (depth) of platform is required in order to keep the heat of the fire from melting the snow and extinguishing the fire?. Could you describe it please.
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
I'd say you went to main fuel without going up through the smaller sizes of fuel first. You learnt from it though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time!
Next time, collect dry stick as you go, look for a bundle that you can fill the reach of your two hands with in small matchstick and pencil sized sticks, one bundle of each. Grab a load of larger dead wood thumb thickness and then your larger fuel (If you need it) up to the thickness of your wrist. When I start fires in the snow, I tend to remove the snow and lay a platform on the ground, we don't get metres of snow in UK usually so it is easy to do and I've never had a problem with it. If there is pine woodland nearby, I tend to gather dead pine needles and break off the dead branches that you always find at the bottom of the trees, as they have resin in them and it does help getting your fire going in the early stages.
Lay a platform of dry wood, bundle your pine needles and birch bark or what have you on top, light with a single match and then lay matchstick thick twigs on top. Once that is going, get your pencil thick stuff on top, then after that is burning well throw your thumb thick stuff on. Whilst that is catching, lay your wrist thick wood in a criss cross or pig pen lay; that is, two sticks parallel either side of the fire, then two sticks layed on the ends at 90 degrees to the first, then layer 3 rotates 90 degrees again and on the ends, and so on and so forth.
Once you have a good bed of embers, you can stack it fully as above to get a really intense fire for warmth, or continue just using two timbers per layer to generate enough heat and ember to cook and boil over.
Each time you light a fire, you'll learn something new. Failure can demoralise you so it is worth taking a stove on your trips out just in case it doesn't wok out. Knowing how it can affect you in advance is worth noting though, and with stove as a back up you can be a little more "ah well, who cares!" about it if it doesn't work out! Keep practising, you'll get there in the end!
Any wood from the ground is damp.
if possible, break dead twigs/branches from a dead tree.
If wood from the ground, than those parts removed furthermost from the ground.
Skinning the twigs helps, too.
As mentioned earlier, going carefully from small to big is essential.
if possible, break dead twigs/branches from a dead tree.
If wood from the ground, than those parts removed furthermost from the ground.
Skinning the twigs helps, too.
As mentioned earlier, going carefully from small to big is essential.
This is how i do it,pics were taken during in almost snow storm conditions,in finnish lapland,at december 2009,in -24 celsius.Fire was built to warm us up in pauses during reindeer round-up from fresh,frozen bircwhich we fell just about an hour before chopping em into several piles,sorted by size,mostly by diameter.First thing was to tear apart all the bark man can,and digging hole into snow,all theway into ground,then i put four bigger birch pieces into square form,and stuffed the bark between this square,then i added the thinnest twigs on top of the barks.The square base was lined so the wind would go between the lowest two birch pieces.Then just lighted it up with firesteel,the birch bark piece,yanked it into base of this bark & twig pile,and afte rit saterthed to heat that much,that it started to burn the twigs,more twigs were added,and then moved on to thicker materials,and in about half an hour you could put over inch thich frozen material into fire,and after those were going on strong,you can easily add more thicker stuff all the way up to biggest logs you can find,although in lapland there arent much really thick onesjust this twisted short and about 3,5" stuff,in the tundra-like areas where we were operating.
Just be patient and prepare your fire and tinder carefully and youll do just fine.
Just be patient and prepare your fire and tinder carefully and youll do just fine.
Le Loup
Settler
Most of my camp fires are lit in winter, because that is when I do most of my Historical Trekking and camping. I only use flint, steel and tinderbox, or a fire-bow.
Not that it will effect your fire lighting, but make sure you are not confused in regards to what tinder is, and what kindling is.
Tinder is what catches a spark, kindling is what makes the flame from the smouldering tinder.
Make sure you have several different sizes of kindling on hand before you start. Plenty of dried grass or similar to really get some flames going. Lots of small kindling twigs to add to the flames. Then slightly larger sticks, some heavier sticks, and finally logs of varying sizes.
In wet weather I usually lay a base of heavy sticks or logs. I also lay a log to one side of the fire to lean the kindling on so it will not crush the fire. This side or end log allows air to get into the fire.
Keep practicing, experience is what counts.
Regards, Le Loup.
Not that it will effect your fire lighting, but make sure you are not confused in regards to what tinder is, and what kindling is.
Tinder is what catches a spark, kindling is what makes the flame from the smouldering tinder.
Make sure you have several different sizes of kindling on hand before you start. Plenty of dried grass or similar to really get some flames going. Lots of small kindling twigs to add to the flames. Then slightly larger sticks, some heavier sticks, and finally logs of varying sizes.
In wet weather I usually lay a base of heavy sticks or logs. I also lay a log to one side of the fire to lean the kindling on so it will not crush the fire. This side or end log allows air to get into the fire.
Keep practicing, experience is what counts.
Regards, Le Loup.
