Winter boots with crampons
I’m mostly a three-season hiker; I seldom hike in winter. Yet, I’ve always enjoyed it, especially when the snow is light and easy to walk through. I’ve never gone on an extended winter hike, but I’ve attended workshops to educate me.
You may ask, as I did, why hike in winter? It’s cold, raw, and icy; it can be dangerous; it seems like a big hassle. All true, but the rewards are great. The pristine beauty of nature, fewer people, peace and quiet, those things make up for a lot. Plus, it’s a superb way to lose weight and toughen up. Proper clothing and equipment will keep one warm and safe.
To start off, here are just a few of the things I learned at a winter workshop:
1) Don’t dress too warmly while you are moving; save your warmest clothing for whenever you stop moving. Your sweat needs to be wicked away. If you are covered in a puffy down jacket while moving, you trap all that moisture. That explains what I saw once when a cross-country skier unbuttoned his thick puffy jacket—the inside was all frozen. Not good.
2) Keep food handy, bite sized, and ready to eat. You will burn an enormous amount of energy, as you can imagine. You need to snack often, and conditions aren’t good for sit-down cooked meals. If you are wearing gloves, and are bundled up, you need food accessible in handy pockets. Pre-open the snacks and put them in baggies or containers that you can open or unscrew with gloves. Cut the food up ahead of time into mouth-sized portions.
3) Store your water bottle upside-down. Water freezes at the top; when you turn the bottle right-side up, you won’t have ice.
4) Fasten pull-ties on those little zipper handles. When you have to void, you can keep your gloves on if you have ties on those tiny zipper handles. Use shoe lace, trash bag ties, anything. When you snack, you can keep your gloves on as you unzip pockets.
There is so much more. We’ll take it a little at a time. Happy trails.
Image via Wikipedia
Ray Anderson 