Just back from two nights camping in a blizzard. It occurs to me that I learn something new every trip. I won't lie, part of me wants others to suffer as they learn, just like I did (20 year old K-Mart sleeping bag, tent pitched in a wind tunnel etc...), but a fractionally larger part of me wants to pass on some knowledge. So, aside from "don't", what's one thing you've learned camping in the snow? I'll start. 1. Take a piss bottle. And the best piss bottle in the world is the Nalgene 48oz wide mouth (ahem...) cantene https://nalgene.com/product/48oz-nalgene-cantene/ You don't want to have to get out of your tent at night to piss. This Nalgene weighs next to nothing and has amble room for 2 x 'camp draft horse strength' gypsy's kisses, python siphons/blue vein drains/hit and misses or cat's hisses.
I would have never thought to take that... Sounds like a good idea. Note to self to label bottle really well...
Ive pissed in by water bottles and drunk shellite. Bottles do need haptic labels for the dark.... I havent drunk piss, yet.
Take fuel not gas stove if it’s going to be very cold, or at least take an Alpine gas mix, insulate the gas canister from the snow and keep it warm - I remember one particular uncooked cold dinner near Nelse was awful. Then the next time round the fuel pipe on the Whisperlite (wrong name that!) clogged - cooking on the fireplace in Edmondsons I burnt holes in a pair of insulation gloves... cleaning lines out in the snow is a real pain. Now I rely on my old-style Bomber Optimus liquid fuel stove - small, lightweight, reliable. But you got to prime it carefully otherwise you burn your tent down...
One story I've heard is, one person pissed just outside the tent door, a few hours later, the other person collected some snow for water just outside the door, and started melting yellow snow before they realised! Personally I just prefer gas. I keep the cylinder in my sleeping bag overnight, and use a standalone stove with a hose (Primus Spider) so it can be kept off the snow more easily while cooking. I may look at making a little neoprene cosy for cylinders one day. Liquid fuel stoves are just finicky. At least, the infamous old filthy Whisperlite we used to use. Bring a shellite bottle, bring the pressure bottle, pour in the fuel, attempt not to spill shellite all over everything, pump it up (tsh tsh tsh tsh tsh tsh tsh), prime it, attempt not to set the tent on fire with the giant yellow fireball, etc etc. A leaking shellite bottle in your pack is just horrible.
I pooed in the vestibule----straight into a plastic bag with drying crystals in it. Made sure other tents were down wind. My companions, it seemed, were not comfortable playing an 'away game'. or maybe my crop dusting just put them off. Either way, The Cooma Hotel copped a carpet bombing raid from them on Monday night.
Just been looking at what they go for nowadays- still popular, prices ranging between $160 through $270. Compact, light, reliable, safe, easy to use - just awesome!
Fuel overrated. Just looks hard core, I give it that. At our altitudes, gas is fine if canister is kept in pocket for awhile. Don't eat yellow snow No1: Head out when bellbird is forecast for the weekend! Bellbird and calm wind solves 100s of problems. If Sat is more ordinary with bellbird to come on Sunday, great. Wake to clearing skies. No2: Take a foam mat as well as a blowup. Use puffer to sleep if need be
Agree. As long as I sleep with it.....or when arrive back at camp put it inside my clothes to warm it a little.....it is good to go. And stays that way even on snow as long as it has a pre-heat tube.
Yep have done a fair bit of poo tube action in the Vestibule, a critical backcountry skill. I trust this is in the curriculum @ecowain
Take enough mattress then add a little extra. Only took me 30 years to learn that one and my first ThermaRest was a revelation
Gas is just a complete waste of time. No even a good paper weight. Yes I've tried it, tested it, decided it was not worth the work compared to a Whisperlite.
Love my new Jetboil, you can hold it while it boils if you like. I have had a few bad experiences with gas, but only with an old crap stove, or butane. My tip Be overly prepared to suffer. That way if you don't suffer horribly, it seems like it was all really fun.
I like eating my jet boiled dinner while my mates are still attending to their singed eyebrows. It doesn’t simmer well, it seems to have 1 skill and that is burning water, so you kinda need to meal plan around that.
i've used MSR windpro down to around -10. with Isobutane/propane mix gas. Goes great. Every time. Couple of tricks of course..... Warming gas canister at least a little. Then placing gas canister close enough to flame to get some warmth from it. Even without doing that it is designed to work in freezing with its pre-heat tube. But haven't tested if that can warm quick enough to stop the gas just flowing out as liquid - that is without a canister at least slightly warmed up over freezing.
I gave up on getting fancy ages ago. I laugh at simmering! There was that one time at a hut, the smell of Continental hung heavy in the air as a large group prepared dinner. We had steak, with a whiskey cream sauce, steamed and roasted veggies, and a nice red after the beers while cooking. But I couldn't carry that pack today.
MSR Reactor, super fast in all temps and wind. Sit the whole setup in a 100ml of water in a tiny stainless bowl to stop the burny stuff from separating and burning sht.
Life got in the way.. Hey, a sleeping bag never goes astray, the mattress - I don't even know where it is Was there a tent involved?
Sexy late night antics while on the gear? I’m with skifree. Piss in the vestibule and Jetboil for the win.
I might just plan a trip down you way my friend, when the madness here (work related, long hours & added responsibilities) is over!
Make sure your lighter and matches are replaced before each season, and also take a flint. Don’t learn the cold food and drink hard way
When I was quite young, we never took a stove walking, or snow below treelike, always had a fire. Carried a grill, meat in a marinade...yummo
