Question Snow Camping Sage: Words of wisdom?

One of my gas fails was on the coldest recorded night at the time, -23 at CP. We were camped on the summit in Mt Gingera. Just managed to get some warm water, and that was the fuel done.

 

Ive had the odd fire, but not as a necessity, been using stoves for 35 years or so now.

 

no it’s not, particularly when you’ve run out of water and can’t melt snow. Thank dog for huts a couple of hours away....with spare matches

 

same, spent a week walking a section of the AAWT in my 20s and cooked on a fire every morning and night. It’s actually quite impressive how small a fire can be to Successfully cook on

edit, was in summer though!

 

I remember getting one going for a hot lunch on a really wet walk, took a bit. Sometimes we would just build a little box fire around the billy for a hot drink.

I really love my jetboil!

 

Chuck em on your boots when you leave them in the vesty. Stops em filling up with spindrift overnight. Best 4g you'll take snow camping!

 

I actually dont mind stepping out for a piss. I mean, i prefer to sleep through but when ya gotta... i find it cathartic. Sometimes it's still, quiet with a bajillion stars making the snow glow.

Just slip on my liners and dip out in my sleep kit

Pissing in the vesty? ****ing savages

 

Ya gotta set up a piss ring about the tent to keep out the snow snakes and wild avigirraffes.

 

Ok i probably read it here years ago and i now pass it back to whomever wants warm toes and an easier morning:

Fill your drink bottle with hot water before bed and pop it in the bottom of your sleeping bag. Still lukewarm by morning so faster heatup for coffee etc.

That tip has well been worth $11/yr to me. Im sure its not some big secret or anything but hey

 

When getting water from a stream use your pole to dunk the bottle in with to stay back from falling in and/or getting cold wet hands.

Yep my mate fell in the other day. Fortunately just enough to get him excited and us laughing in the end but getting wet aint no joke

 

Number two heat pack for emergencies

 

I'll add this.
Never believe those little diagrams that show 2 people in a shelter, be warned they actually use pygmies to draw those.
Take a bigger tent

 

Invite your loved one.

 

Take an even bigger tent

 

Don't wear cotton.

 

Pop your drink bottle lid (the ones attached with a plastic retainer) through the ski pole strap. Hold the other end of pole and lower into stream to fill it up.

 

If your tent hasn't got snow flaps, get em sewn on!

 

In case of crappy weather there is nothing better for your hands than goretex OR mitts. After the blue rubber chem gloves there is nothing more waterproof

 

If i had a loved one, they wouldnt be after a couple of nights in the tent together, probably would need urgent medical attention for gas poisoning

 

Fingerless possum fur gloves for dexterous touring. I’d say 80 percent of my time is spent in these.

 

Save the 4g and take your inner boots into the tent.

 

Put the bottle between you legs to hear up your femoral artery and stay even warmer.

 

I had my bag only half zipped the other night! But great idea

 

Wet suit booties....the ultimate hut/tent slipper also for river crossings.

 

That is the ideal but i always struggle to get my inners back into the frozen shells in the morning. Bit of a monga!

 

Just gotta know the method, your feet start the day warmer too.

 

Iso leads one to do strange things ... I reckon one should clean one’s stove every 20 years or so....

Also, I’ve experimented with ways to prime my Optimus Svea and Whisperlite without producing the usual fireball - cottonwool strips pre-treated with petroleum jelly (vaseline) produce a high enough, durable and controllable flame source - It’s inert, easily applied and reliable. Home-grown fire-starter

Next project - refillable gas canisters....for spring and summer expeditions...

 

I've always taken a small bottle of metho along for priming purposes.
A 50ml bottle usually lasts a week or more, you don't need much at Aussie temperatures

 

At one point we sent our MSR in for a full service every 12 months. It was slowly rebuilt several times over the years.

aahh for the good old days.

 

I fired my Svea 123 up last week just for old time's sake. It's still a great little stove. did you use Brasso to clean yours, it has come up really well.

 

Have you drunk Carlton Draught or Coronas? As good as.
.........and to add my bit to the fuel thing. Got sick of the number of gas canisters (which did not have enough for a trip) taking up space and then thought about how to dispose of them even when empty. No good option there. Changed to shellite and not looked back.

 

Use one these, costs $5

 

First some heavy duty potware cleaner, then Brasso - burnt-on soup doesn’t buff well...

 

Great for butane refill and will definitely do so, but how to get a winter-friendly butane/propane mix without gassing the family/ blowing oneself up...

 

I use gas now but back in my whisperlite days I carried a little container of 50:50 metho and Shellite. Poured a little directly into the cup for priming. Worked a treat, no fireballs and didn't create as much soot on stove

 

Thx - I will definitely do that. I carry a little syringe so I don’t slosh the priming fuel all over and apply it directly to the cup. In spring, summer and autumn I go gas for convenience and weight gains.

 

An interesting thing about butane, it is not just the cold but also the altitude. Once you get much higher and to the magic altitude (can't recall what it is) it works great again. I do remember Australia is not high enough though and you need to go to the Himalaya's. Something about the lower the pressure the colder you can use the canisters.

 

Piezo ciggy lighters quite happy to work when wet. Spark alone is sufficient to ignite shellite or gas.

 

Got an ultra-light Primus brand gas burner with a built-in Piezo in Japan - even though it’s 20 years old I haven’t come across anything smaller or lighter.

 

While there are cheap Chinese knock-offs I use this little gadget
https://www.amazon.com.au/Saver-Plus-Cartridge-Exchanger-Duralumin/dp/B00ULA45JG
Transfer the dregs to a canister I know is dead empty. Great for refilling 100g canisters from the big ones

 

Fuel is stinky and messy. Winter mix gas is great. Convenient, safe, recyclable and instant.

Pissed about with fuel for years. Wish I went straight to gas.

 

@Rick Ross Da Boss @Moondog55 - thx for the suggestions -

I’ve ordered this combination kit which allows me to transfer between regular cartridges and also transfer from butane

 

If snow camping near a hut without a water supply (e.g. JB hut ) I tend take snow from the hut roof. The chances of someone weeing on the roof and then collecting that snow for cooking water are less than yellow snow sourced from the camp site vicinity.

 

yeap great tips

I rate the morning sun sites
near water as melting snow chews time and gas

jagermeister is great in the cold - the sweetness is very palatable at the lower temps. if beer is needed, something malty and caramelly - red IPA was our pick last week and it was stellar. red IIPA is the goal for next trip for ABV:grams efficiency.

that shiraz infused gin is pretty good in the cold too.

 

If high winds are predicted then excavating the snow tent site so that at least 25 % of its surface is sunk below general snow level is a useful exercise. The Black diamond collapsible snow shovel clips onto my pack with carabiners.
During one trip to Mt. Stirling I built a snow wall to keep the wind off and the overnight wind was warm and melted the wall :-0 .

 

I'm trying to picture someone crapping in a tennis ball can. You'd have to be pretty accurate and do tiny shits.