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Paradise Below Zero: The Classic Guide to Winter Camping
Sports/Travel Indispensable advice on enjoying the great outdoors in winter. With the public's growing interest in outdoor adventure and in simple pastimes, winter wilderness camping has again become an exhilarating alternative to sheltered urban life. Originally published in 1968, this classic guide for cold-weather enthusiasts by renowned wilderness expert Calvin Rutstrum is available again, now in an easy-to-pack paperback edition. Paradise Below Zero provides essential information on wilderness adventure in subzero temperatures. Readers benefit from Rutstrum's knowledge of winter clothing, from choosing the proper mittens to selecting the indispensable footwear; traveling methods, including running a dogsled team; and emergency techniques, such as treating snow blindness and caring for someone who has broken through the ice. Rutstrum affectionately reflects on winter life and enthusiastically gives examples of how native peoples of the north and trappers have fought the cold. This colorful book will be of interest to anyone who has ever survived a northern winter. Calvin Rutstrum (1895-1982) was one of the best-known outdoorsmen of his generation and the author of many books, including The Wilderness Route Finder, North American Canoe Country, and The New Way of the Wilderness, all published in paperback by the University of Minnesota Press. Leslie Kouba also illustrated many of the works of Sigurd Olson. Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series Translation Simon & Schuster
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Calvin Rutstrum
34 books6 followersCalvin Rutstrum (1895-1982) was one of the best-known outdoorsmen of his generation and the author of many books, including The Wilderness Route Finder, Paradise Below Zero, Once Upon a Wilderness, The New Way of the Wilderness, and North American Canoe Country, all published by the University of Minnesota Press.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 7, 2021
Back to the shelf for yet another Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage book - having enjoyed so much the other dozen or so that I have read, which always bring to mind to a winter place picture of sitting by a fire in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere Great North, perhaps after a day's work of chopping wood - allowed for daydreaming in a world that most Americans steer clear of. Perhaps that is part of what draws me closer. Rustrum says it best, following his quest for "enjoying an unexplainable lust for the challenge of adverse weather - a sort of love for crisis through life - I will venture outdoors on foot or on snowshoes with proper clothing no matter how rugged the weather, a blizzard, in truth, being preferred....succumbing wholly to enervating comfort is gradually to surrender, much to early, life itself." He and I are kindred spirits, we are.
Portions of this book rely heavily on a purview of mid-20th century camping gear, which may hinder some readers. While these were not the most fascinating sections of the book, I do read these types of surveys with a keen interest on the way things were. In fact, most gear today has descended from these early prototypes, and others, like the fur robe, are truly transcendent in their usefulness for sub-zero weather. Other focal points are similarly less pertinent, since, for example, I doubt I will ever be a dog musher. A partaker in extreme wintertime outdoorsmanship, yes, and so the best parts of the book for me were those that focused on routine every day survival activities in these conditions. Although, these sections did make me ponder alternative methods, like maybe pulling a man-hauled toboggan in deference to the traditional backpack. Perhaps I have never trudged far enough in snow deep enough to merit this necessity. That's something I will have to remedy.
The otter, the mink, red squirrel, moose, timber wolf, whiskey jack, chickadee, wolverine, fox, caribou, weasel, and snowy owl. The black spruce, balsam fir, white cedar, jack pine, tamarack, and maple. The Cree, backwoods trapper, hermit, and runaways. The teepee, bark-lined cabin, birchbark lean-to, and even igloo. The toboggan, the sled, snowshoe, mukluk and moccasin. The double bit axe, flint stone, file, and belt knife. All of these and more paint a wonderful picture of winter camping in a beautiful wilderness area before civilization encroached to where it is today, backed all the way up to the furthest possible extent, only to be bordered by lands regulated by Federal law.
If you haven't spent consecutive nights in the winter backcountry, perhaps this book will kindle that desire. If you have no intentions of doing this, perhaps it will provide you with an appreciation for it. If you have no intentions of doing this like you once did, perhaps it will instill a fireside armchair nostalgia for times well spent. Either way, the reader will enjoy another North Country classic from the Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series.
Portions of this book rely heavily on a purview of mid-20th century camping gear, which may hinder some readers. While these were not the most fascinating sections of the book, I do read these types of surveys with a keen interest on the way things were. In fact, most gear today has descended from these early prototypes, and others, like the fur robe, are truly transcendent in their usefulness for sub-zero weather. Other focal points are similarly less pertinent, since, for example, I doubt I will ever be a dog musher. A partaker in extreme wintertime outdoorsmanship, yes, and so the best parts of the book for me were those that focused on routine every day survival activities in these conditions. Although, these sections did make me ponder alternative methods, like maybe pulling a man-hauled toboggan in deference to the traditional backpack. Perhaps I have never trudged far enough in snow deep enough to merit this necessity. That's something I will have to remedy.
The otter, the mink, red squirrel, moose, timber wolf, whiskey jack, chickadee, wolverine, fox, caribou, weasel, and snowy owl. The black spruce, balsam fir, white cedar, jack pine, tamarack, and maple. The Cree, backwoods trapper, hermit, and runaways. The teepee, bark-lined cabin, birchbark lean-to, and even igloo. The toboggan, the sled, snowshoe, mukluk and moccasin. The double bit axe, flint stone, file, and belt knife. All of these and more paint a wonderful picture of winter camping in a beautiful wilderness area before civilization encroached to where it is today, backed all the way up to the furthest possible extent, only to be bordered by lands regulated by Federal law.
If you haven't spent consecutive nights in the winter backcountry, perhaps this book will kindle that desire. If you have no intentions of doing this, perhaps it will provide you with an appreciation for it. If you have no intentions of doing this like you once did, perhaps it will instill a fireside armchair nostalgia for times well spent. Either way, the reader will enjoy another North Country classic from the Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series.
January 29, 2019
Overall a fun book to read, with lots of great tips on winter camping and staying warm in the cold in general. Some of the techniques and technology are outdated now but are still interesting to read about. I enjoy Rutstrum’s can-do attitude. Limited budget and need a dogsled team? No problem; just go collect a group of stray dogs from the inner city and train them! (Ha ha). On that note, it’s the optimism and writing about mental mettle that are most enjoyable about this book, which he gets across in the first chapter: as long as you have enough to be warm, it doesn’t matter if you live in a remote area or the city; just get out there and enjoy winter.
February 7, 2017
Reading this is like listening to your grandfather tell stories about the good old days on a snowy afternoon. But Rutstrum's stories are strictly of the no nonsense variety, focusing more on everyday life in the back country and useful information, than harrowing tales of survival in arctic conditions.
Despite the serious tone however, Paradise Below Zero is still a very entertaining book, especially if you're into the outdoors. Rutstrum recounts his adventures in saving stranded campers, hanging out with Indians, and visiting backwoods hermits, all the while instructing his reader on the basics of winter trail life. After you finish the book you'll have a good idea of what gear and food to carry, how to travel (dog sled, snow machine, or snow shoes) and how to setup your camp.
Despite the serious tone however, Paradise Below Zero is still a very entertaining book, especially if you're into the outdoors. Rutstrum recounts his adventures in saving stranded campers, hanging out with Indians, and visiting backwoods hermits, all the while instructing his reader on the basics of winter trail life. After you finish the book you'll have a good idea of what gear and food to carry, how to travel (dog sled, snow machine, or snow shoes) and how to setup your camp.
April 12, 2012
Truely a work of art in the human phsycology and physiology in adapting to cold climates. Many of the techniques may seem antiquated, but they are a window into a time when human life depended on inginuity and adaptability with the most basic and minimal of resources. The real gem hidden in this work is that humans can adapt, survive and even thrive and live a full and free life in the colder regions of Earth.
November 5, 2020
Blood curdling to contemplate, but interesting. He isn't kidding about surviving in cold temperatures. One tip--if you're wearing a shirt and a sweater, you would be warmer wearing the shirt over the sweater, because the tighter knit traps warm air inside the looser cells of the sweater and holds it next to your skin.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews