Pointing your skis downhill as fast as you can is something that millions of us do every year when taking in any one of several ski resorts or cross country touring centers around the globe. Each skier has sought out a bump or jump from time to time, and all can appreciate the rush that even a small launch into the air can provide. That thrill has driven skiers to seek jumps for as tong as there have been skis. Read the rest of this entry »
When you get really cold, the body transfers warmth from the skin surfaces to the body centre in order to maintain core heat. This causes shivering as the skin tries to generate heat and can lead to frostbite. Frostbite is a term which means an actual freezing of the flesh, until ice actually forms in the tissues. A less serious, but still painful form is frostnip, where the skin becomes burnt and blistered by the effects of exposure to winds and low temperatures, but swift action in covering the affected parts and re-warming the flesh can quickly prevent this, or reduce the effects.
Slight frostbite is usually indicated by a whiteness of the skin and a loss of sensation. The ears, toes, fingers, nose, cheeks and chin, are particularly vulnerable. If such signs are noticed and the areas concerned covered and re-warmed at once, then no further damage need result. Read the rest of this entry »
Because of the effect of chill on the body and the need to work hard in order to stay warm, dehydration becomes a possibility at below-zero temperatures. It is important to drink lots of liquids in winter and up to a litre a day may be needed just to keep the body fluids in balance. Tea and hot chocolate may be found to be more refreshing than coffee, but neither tea nor coffee by itself, without the addition of milk and/or sugar, offers any calorific support at all.
Both are possible in the winter and must therefore be guarded against.
Getting a peg to hold in snow or soft ground can be a real problem, especially in high winds. Hammering a peg into frozen ground can be very difficult. In winter carry some thin steel pegs to cope with the latter difficulty and take a selection of long wooden, serrated plastic, or aluminium pegs for better holding insoft ground.
If they still fail to provide sufficient grip, you can use a `deadman’. These are flat metal plates which you can bury in the soft ground or snow, and their shape offers good holding properties. You can, however, use your initiative and construct your `deadman’ from your normal pegs, or whatever aids come to hand. Read the rest of this entry »
A full set of ’shell’ clothing, giving protection against wind and water, is essential in winter. People maintain that with the waterproof protection of shell clothing, you can wear down garments and thus keep them dry, and in theory to a certain extent you can. However, I have tried this out in prolonged bad weather, and in practice you still get wet, if not from rain, then from condensation. Condensation is the real enemy of the winter camper.
Porous materials like GORE-TEX may well provide part of the answer to the condensation problem, for they permit body heat to evaporate and yet prevent rain droplets from beating through. Read the rest of this entry »
Many outdoor enthusiasts avoid the winter entirely, put away all their gear, and go into hibernation until well into the spring. This is quite unnecessary and rather a shame because in spite of generally inclement weather, winter has a great deal to offer. It is a challenge to your skills and the crowds have either departed or are much reduced. When the snow and cold weather set in, a whole new range of knowledge and technique is necessary to ensure your comfort and survival.
As a personal choice, I prefer the winter season, and would urge all outdoor people to extend their season beyond the autumn and see what the cold-weather camping has to offer.
If you live in temperate latitudes with few extremes in the weather, then the winter is less of a problem, except where, as in the U.K., the weather is always unpredictable. Where winter sets in with a vengeance, in such northern latitudes as the Eastern U.S.A. or Canada, or in the high mountains, then your complete range of equipment, clothing and technique must be extended. All must be capable of coping with whatever weather can hurl at you. Read the rest of this entry »
