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Winter Backpacking: Your Guide to Safe and Warm Winter Camping and Day Trips (Heliconia Press) Cold-Weather Gear, Navigation, Cooking, First Aid, Survival, and Packing Lists for Adults, Kids, and Dogs
Backpacking in the winter months can be exhilarating, refreshing, and—with the help of this book—remarkably safe and comfortable too! All it takes is some good planning and learning some tricks to keep warm, dry and happy. Written for those new to backpacking in the winter months and looking to make the first experience as warm and enjoyable as possible, and for the practiced winter backpacker interested in making day trips and camping trips more comfortable.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2018
This should properly be titled Winter Backpacking for temperatures down to -20 C but no lower.
This is a very good introductory book to winter camping or even "shoulder-season" camping. It is a well organized and well thought out book that attempts to cover everything needed to start winter camping.
If you've never ventured out into the wilderness beyond the warm season then you should at least read this book before doing so.
I consider myself a veteran camper but haven't done any serious winter camping (however I've read and studied the subject quite a bit). The author is a veteran mountaineer who has spent more than his fair share of nights outdoors in the cold.
That being said I am now going to point out what I believe are some flaws in his book (but still don't take away from the overall value of it - just a reminder to get your information from a number of sources).
1. Exclusively devoted to modern synthetic materials. This isn't a bad thing because that's what is mostly available for people nowadays. And also his book is sponsored heavily by Mountain Hardware (makers of excellent if pricey outdoor gear) so he leaves out a very large component of winter gear that most people swear by. Namely traditional/natural fibre clothing especially wool.
Modern synthetics are generally fine for temps down to about -20C but the traditional layering system of one base layer, one mid-layer and a gortex outer layer has been found by some people to be inadequate in very cold temperatures. Therefore many of them have switched to a system of wool mid layers with an "anorak" of cotton as an outer windbreak layer - that's right cotton! Who knew!
2. When it comes to tents and shelters he doesn't mention hot tenting. This is very popular among winter campers and requires a different gear set up but many swear by old-tyme canvas tents with a stove jack and a small titanium or equivalent stove. In fact most people who camp this way swear they will never go back to cold camping. But the concept of hot-tenting is not even acknowledged in the book. Not even once, not even as an aside.
3 There is a whole chapter devoted to selecting and sizing a backpack. This is just filler as most people who are going to try winter camping would have already some camping experience and should already have a good backpack. In fact a great majority of the content in this book is the same skills you'd need for summer camping - so in one respect the book is a little too beginner oriented.
4. No chapter or any content on travelling across frozen lakes and rivers during winter. This is a very challenging and potentially dangerous part of winter travel. Lakes and rivers can look safe but may not be. At the same time they can be covered with a foul layer of slush but still be completely solid. Being able to read the ice conditions is a much more important skill that should be covered in the book as opposed to selecting a pack.
5. Seemed a little cavalier in how to keep your dog warm in a cold tent. It's fine for humans to snuggle down into a -40 sleeping bag but I am not sure rover would find the night in a cold tent so comfortable with just a small doggy coat and some sort of blanket. But then again I have never tried to camp in extreme cold with my dog so I am no expert. Each dog is different.
Again I don't think this should prevent anyone from buying this book and using it as a reference however you should pair it with the Connover's " Snow Walker's Companion" which is considered by many to be the bible of winter camping (however with an opposite view on clothing/tents)
Consider these two to be your foundation for your winter camping library.
This is a very good introductory book to winter camping or even "shoulder-season" camping. It is a well organized and well thought out book that attempts to cover everything needed to start winter camping.
If you've never ventured out into the wilderness beyond the warm season then you should at least read this book before doing so.
I consider myself a veteran camper but haven't done any serious winter camping (however I've read and studied the subject quite a bit). The author is a veteran mountaineer who has spent more than his fair share of nights outdoors in the cold.
That being said I am now going to point out what I believe are some flaws in his book (but still don't take away from the overall value of it - just a reminder to get your information from a number of sources).
1. Exclusively devoted to modern synthetic materials. This isn't a bad thing because that's what is mostly available for people nowadays. And also his book is sponsored heavily by Mountain Hardware (makers of excellent if pricey outdoor gear) so he leaves out a very large component of winter gear that most people swear by. Namely traditional/natural fibre clothing especially wool.
Modern synthetics are generally fine for temps down to about -20C but the traditional layering system of one base layer, one mid-layer and a gortex outer layer has been found by some people to be inadequate in very cold temperatures. Therefore many of them have switched to a system of wool mid layers with an "anorak" of cotton as an outer windbreak layer - that's right cotton! Who knew!
2. When it comes to tents and shelters he doesn't mention hot tenting. This is very popular among winter campers and requires a different gear set up but many swear by old-tyme canvas tents with a stove jack and a small titanium or equivalent stove. In fact most people who camp this way swear they will never go back to cold camping. But the concept of hot-tenting is not even acknowledged in the book. Not even once, not even as an aside.
3 There is a whole chapter devoted to selecting and sizing a backpack. This is just filler as most people who are going to try winter camping would have already some camping experience and should already have a good backpack. In fact a great majority of the content in this book is the same skills you'd need for summer camping - so in one respect the book is a little too beginner oriented.
4. No chapter or any content on travelling across frozen lakes and rivers during winter. This is a very challenging and potentially dangerous part of winter travel. Lakes and rivers can look safe but may not be. At the same time they can be covered with a foul layer of slush but still be completely solid. Being able to read the ice conditions is a much more important skill that should be covered in the book as opposed to selecting a pack.
5. Seemed a little cavalier in how to keep your dog warm in a cold tent. It's fine for humans to snuggle down into a -40 sleeping bag but I am not sure rover would find the night in a cold tent so comfortable with just a small doggy coat and some sort of blanket. But then again I have never tried to camp in extreme cold with my dog so I am no expert. Each dog is different.
Again I don't think this should prevent anyone from buying this book and using it as a reference however you should pair it with the Connover's " Snow Walker's Companion" which is considered by many to be the bible of winter camping (however with an opposite view on clothing/tents)
Consider these two to be your foundation for your winter camping library.
January 21, 2022
Great resource!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews