Whole new challenges and fun are added to the usual camping trip by camping in the snow. You will have to pack more gear because of the severe and colder weather in the winter. Thicker sleeping bag, snowshoes, crampons, and skins are the things added to your camping trip list which is, of course endless. Below are tips to help the first timer camping trying to camp on the snow.
Prepare For The Worst
It is your job to know how to make it to the camp alive with snow and ice covering the trails. In winter everything is under multiple feet of the snow as there are no people on trail unlike summer when the trails are marked with signs, it can be clearly recognized and has a lot of individuals. You need to know multiple prominent terrain features and have a detailed map study before you even step out of the door. It could turn into hell quickly even though it looks like a winter wonderland. It is very easy to be disoriented at this time of the year storms can white out the area in minutes. Winds and thick cloud could throw off the GPS; the only way to save your life here is by using a compass and detailed map.
Building The Perfect Shelter/Camp
When you reach the camp, you need to dig down the snow as you are standing on multiple layers of snow. It is not like summer where you just whip out the old tent and throw it down. It usually blocks the wind, and you will make a good foundation. Use your snowshoes, shovel or skis to pack the snow down enough. Looking for an area which is near the base of a tree, it is likely to have less snow that you need to dig out. Use a ground pad and never directly sleep on the snow as it will melt during the night and you will sink. Prepare for the weather by gathering fire making materials for lighting if it gets freezing during the evening and builds a snow fence to drift away the wind by using branches or rocks.
Difficulty With Water And Food
It’s time to sit down with a refreshing drink of water and a nice meal once the camp is set up. Your jet boil won’t light as you open your nalgene to a block of ice. A jet boil canister needs to be insulted just like your bottled water does. While hiking keep the canister near your body, and instead of placing the cartridge directly to the ground use a small foam ground pad to cook.