Camping in the snow?

AlwaysOutdoors

New Member
Messages
86
Points
0
Does anyone here really like to camp in the snow? I like it when the weather cools down and can even take it when it get a little cold, but not snow. Just wondered how many here actually go camping with snow on the ground?
 

Eaglescout 49

New Member
Messages
44
Points
0
Location
Bismarck, ND
I love winter camping. Unfortunately, severe diabetes and a bad ticker mean that I shouldn't camp alone and especially in the winter in North Dakota. My regular camping friends are simply not interested and regard my enthusiasm for tenting in subzero weather as just another sign of mental instability.

There's almost a sense of purity when it's 20 below zero or colder. You wake up in the morning, take a deep breath and burrow even further into your sleeping bag. Eventually you realize that spring is months away and you simply have to get up. You find your clothes, which you have thoughtfully put in the bottom of the sleeping bag, put them on and emerge into this white, white and very cold world.

A fire, a cup of hot coffee and a bowl of hot oatmeal with brown sugar remind you that life is good.

Opportunity for activities are more restricted, but the opportunity for contemplation is much greater. I hope you will take the opportunity to camp in such conditions, but be careful -- subzero temperatures are not to be taken lightly.
 

briansnat

Platnium Member
Messages
514
Points
28
Location
Morris County, NJ
I've done it a few times and enjoyed it. I've found that I need different tent stakes though. Big, wide ones like people use for camping in the sand.
 

Lorax

New Member
Messages
614
Points
0
Location
Wisconsin
With the right gear, winter camping is awesome!

Learn the art of making a properly constructed snow cave for an even better experience.
 

ponderosa

Active Member
Messages
911
Points
43
Location
eastern idaho
We did it all the time before we had kids. I love being cozy in a good sleeping bag, while knowing that on the other side of that thin nylon tent wall, it's 14 degrees outside. It's very quiet, and the solitude is lovely. We haven't tried tent camping in winter with our little ones. I think it would be tough to keep them warm and dry, but mostly, I have no idea how we'd entertain them in a little tent for the five or six hours of darkness before bedtime. We sometimes rent a ski-in forest service yurt or cabin to get our winter overnight fix. They usually have bunks and cooking gear, so you don't have to haul too much stuff. We have a bike trailer that converts to a ski trailer to pull the kids and part of the gear. It's really fun, especially the yurts, which feel almost like a tent but with some luxuries.
 

paloma

New Member
Messages
127
Points
0
Won't you get buried beneath the snow if you sleep in a tent? I'm afraid I may not be able to get out in the morning. I prefer to stay in a cabin if I have to camp during winter. It would be safer for me.
 

ponderosa

Active Member
Messages
911
Points
43
Location
eastern idaho
4 season tents are designed to shed snow and wind. In a serious storm, it may be necessary to get up a few times in the night to push snow off the tent, but not usually.
 

Tubby

New Member
Messages
182
Points
0
I don't mind the cold, but I don't like to camp in snow. It's a bit different. But since I don't get a lot of snow where I live, it's not a big problem unless I have a destination in mind that has snow.
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,904
Points
113
Location
SE Idaho
I don't mind cold winter snow camping at all. Used to enjoy it immensely. But I'm not too keen on the fall and spring wet slushy stuff. Which is what a lot of you in the marginal snow zones have experienced. To each his own but I bet a lot of you that think you don't like snow camping would change your mind if you got a chance at the colder weather. Colder is warmer because you stay drier. :tinysmile_hmm_t2:
 

Igloo Ed

New Member
Messages
5
Points
1
Awww Judy, never to cold if you have the right gear and can stay dry.:tinysmile_twink_t2:
Indeed, you mentioned staying dry twice and it bares repeating several times.
I've led many inexperienced people into the CO mountains in winter and used to ask people if they are overheating, always emphasizing the results of sweating on the way to camp.
People ALWAYS said they were not sweating but then admitted being damp and chilled that evening from the moisture build up.
Now I ask if they are chilly.... when they reply "No"... I have them take a layer off. "Trust me" I tell em.
 

rockin

New Member
Messages
187
Points
0
Seriously, tent camping in the snow? Now that sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind cabin camping in the snow but not tent camping. I did not know they sold tents that were for 4 seasons. I can't imagine having to get up in the night to brush snow off the tent.
 

campclose

New Member
Messages
1,071
Points
0
Location
NY
No way! Forget about it... I hope my hubby never sees this conversation - he would be all for it. I'm sticking to the warmer months and tent camping. I would be worried all night about being smushed by the snow.
 

ponderosa

Active Member
Messages
911
Points
43
Location
eastern idaho
Seriously, tent camping in the snow? Now that sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind cabin camping in the snow but not tent camping. I did not know they sold tents that were for 4 seasons. I can't imagine having to get up in the night to brush snow off the tent.
The last time we tented in the snow, I was six or seven months pregnant with my first baby. I had to get up and tramp through the snow to pee about five times during the night. I'll admit that wasn't a lot of fun.:tinysmile_tongue_t:
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,904
Points
113
Location
SE Idaho
The last time we tented in the snow, I was six or seven months pregnant with my first baby. I had to get up and tramp through the snow to pee about five times during the night. I'll admit that wasn't a lot of fun.:tinysmile_tongue_t:
How was your hike Ponderosa? Report?
 

ponderosa

Active Member
Messages
911
Points
43
Location
eastern idaho
How was your hike Ponderosa? Report?
It was really, really great. Perfect weather, fantastic scenery, trout for breakfast, time with my Dad...couldn't have been better. Have you been to Betty/Baptie/Goat Lakes in the Pioneers? It's beautiful, rocky, high country. We enjoyed ourselves for 3 nights/4 days, but it could be done as an overnighter. I'll pull the pics off my camera and post a report in the next few days.
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,904
Points
113
Location
SE Idaho
It was really, really great. Perfect weather, fantastic scenery, trout for breakfast, time with my Dad...couldn't have been better. Have you been to Betty/Baptie/Goat Lakes in the Pioneers? It's beautiful, rocky, high country. We enjoyed ourselves for 3 nights/4 days, but it could be done as an overnighter. I'll pull the pics off my camera and post a report in the next few days.
Matter of fact, I was at Betty Lake this August. Check my "surprise" pics in my albums here. I came over the pass from Surprise Valley to Betty Lake and got picked up at the Broad Creek TH.

We started at the Fall Crk TH. Went up to Moose Lake and bushwacked over the top to Angel Lake, then up through the Surprise Valley and over the pass to Betty Lake. At the pass, Matt and Robert went back to take the horses out and pick Willard and I up at the Broad Crk TH. Awesome country and the fishing was great.
 

Judy Ann

Active Member
Messages
1,880
Points
38
Location
Durham, NC
It was really, really great. Perfect weather, fantastic scenery, trout for breakfast, time with my Dad...couldn't have been better. Have you been to Betty/Baptie/Goat Lakes in the Pioneers? It's beautiful, rocky, high country. We enjoyed ourselves for 3 nights/4 days, but it could be done as an overnighter. I'll pull the pics off my camera and post a report in the next few days.
Time spent with fathers...priceless! Glad things worked out that you could get away from the rest of your family. Looking forward to some good photos ponderosa! :tinysmile_fatgrin_t
 

Judy Ann

Active Member
Messages
1,880
Points
38
Location
Durham, NC
Awww Judy, never to cold if you have the right gear and can stay dry.:tinysmile_twink_t2:
My 17 year old nephew just sent me a $50 gift card to REI to use towards the purchase of warmer gear when I told him I was going to learn to winter camp this year. He has worked hard all summer at the local YMCA and was concerned that I might get too cold with the gear I own now. His girlfriend thought that a heater for my tent might help until I got down bags, high r value pads, and warmer clothes. I'm thinking I may have company down the road on some of their school breaks! I am a very blessed aunt!:tinysmile_fatgrin_t
 
Top