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The Ontario Parks Commission is sponsoring winter camping training at Fontenac Park.

Winter Camping Trip Planning (01/17/2009)

Accurate pre-trip planning can minimize many of the discomforts associated with extended forms of back country travel during the winter. This presentation provides the novice and the experienced tripper with the opportunity to share ideas and concerns about low-impact winter camping and trip planning. Topics include; route selection and assessment, equipment construction and appropriateness, menu planning, physical fitness and conditioning, safety, and the different forms of winter travel. A portion of this presentation will be held out-of-doors, so please come dressed for the weather conditions and the trails. NOTE: this workshop is a prerequisite for the winter camping instructional weekends. Location: Park Office/Trail Centre Time: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost: Park daily vehicle permit.  Register early - space is limited for this session. Please call (613) 376-3489.

Winter Camping Instructional Weekend  (01/31/2009 to 02/01/2009 and 02/07/2009 to 02/08/2009)

Two weekend sessions which are designed to introduce participants to snow houses, tents and general winter camping skills. Learn how to stay warm, prepare meals and use a map and compass. An equipment checklist will be provided. Food is included in the course fee. Register early - space is limited for these sessions.  Maximum 12 persons each session. NOTE: The Jan 17th planning workshop is a prerequisite for winter camping instructional weekends #1 & #2. Cost: $60.00/person plus interior camping fee (food is provided) Time: 10 a.m. Saturday to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.    Please call (613) 376-3489.

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The Adirondack Express Weekly had a nice article on cold related injuries.  As they state in the conclusion “The best treatment for cold injuries is to recognize the early warning signs and take action.” Hopefully, with care one avoids the prospect of injury.

With the cold winter months upon us, it’s always a good idea to remain cognizant of possible injuries from the cold. Of course, our hands and feet are the most susceptible to cold injury primarily because they have a high surface to volume ratio, which makes them efficient at radiating heat. In addition, your fingers and toes are the last stop on the circulatory system’s route and the warm blood from the body’s core has cooled by the time it gets to them. Your toes are at further risk because they can also lose heat by conduction against the cold ground, ice or snow.

If your feet or hands are cold, now is the time to do something about it. If you don’t, you may be heading for frostbite. If you still have the sensation that an extremity is cold or even feels “freezing,” you have not yet entered frostbite. As the skin cools, blood flow decreases creating that cold or freezing feeling. As your skin continues to cool, a protective reaction called cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) occurs. CIVD is also called the “Hunters Response.” Your blood vessels will dilate at short intervals to bring warm blood to the skin’s surface. Eskimos and Nordics have developed a strong CIVD response. However, if the skin temperature continues to lower, circulation will withdraw completely from the surface and CIVD will stop. The heart and core organs are not as efficient as the cold blood is circulated through them so the brain shuts off the blood flow from the extremities in order to protect the organs of higher priority.

The initial stage of frostbite is when your skin starts to feel numb due to the lack of blood flow.  However, numb skin is not necessary frozen. To test for actual freezing, dent the skin with your finger nail. If it remains dented, you have superficial freezing, which can be passively re-warmed. You can vigorously shake your hands or whirl wind your arms to restore blood flow.  Although a bit harder, you can do the same with your feet and toes. Once the feeling returns, head for warmth as soon as possible.

Re-freezing after initial warming can cause permanent damage to blood vessels and nerves. If you attempt to dent the skin with your nail and you can’t, the underlying tissue is frozen. You now have a serious medical emergency. Initial treatment for frostbite is to warm the part as fast as possible without causing any damage to the tissue. The best method is to use warm water. Water transfers heat 30 times faster than air and won’t damage the fragile frozen tissue. Passive re-warming by shaking can damage tissue and warming by radiant heat (holding the frozen part over a warm fire) isn’t fast enough. The water should be just warm, not hot, and circulated or changed to maintain a constant warm temperature until feeling occurs. The thawing of a frozen body part will be very painful. As the re-warming occurs, you can gently wiggle your toes or fingers, but do not massage them. After the feeling returns, protect the digits with dry cloth and immobilize while on the way to a medical facility.

Hypothermia, a condition where your body is losing more heat than it can produce, is an often talked about environmental injury. Most people would say they have a rough idea of how to recognize hypothermia and what to do about it. I don’t necessarily believe that’s the case. I have seen the initial stages of hypothermia in children playing outside in the snow and no one has been the wiser.

Fortunately, they seem to come in before the situation progresses. The initial stages of hypothermia simply include constant and uncontrollable shivering. The person or child is still alert and coordinated but just can’t stop shivering on their own.

If introduced into a warm environment, with dry clothes and a hot drink, the condition quickly subsides. However, there is a fine line between stage one and stage two hypothermia. In stage two, continued exposure to the cold affects the brain’s metabolism.  In addition, the cold heart is much less efficient at pumping oxygenated blood to the brain and vital organs. Slurring of speech, loss of coordination and confusion will occur.  In stage two, the shivering has stopped. Re-warming a stage two hypothermic requires the placement of heat packs against the torso, under the armpits and against the neck. Never warm the extremities first or massage a stage two victim. Massaging the skin of the extremities will only stimulate circulation returning very cold blood to an already overworked and oxygen deprived heart, which can trigger ventricular fibrillation. Stage two hypothermics should be evacuated immediately.

In stage three, or profound hypothermia, the body is stiff and unresponsive. Attempting to re-warm a stage three victim in the field is not practical. Re-warming in the field will most likely result in a sudden drop in heart temperature (when the very cold blood from the arms and legs returns) causing cardiac arrest. The recommended treatment for a person in profound hypothermia is to prevent further heat loss by removing all wet clothing and wrapping the person in warm clothing, linens, sleeping bag, etc with immediate evacuation. All hypothermics should be handled very gently as a jar to the cold vital organs can damage them.

The best treatment for cold injuries is to recognize the early warning signs and take action. It also wouldn’t hurt to watch the others around you while on the ski slope or snowmobile trail. Often, in a group setting, when one person is struggling and the others are not, that person’s first reaction is to cover it up. Speak up if you think someone is in trouble and help them out. Sometimes a warm drink, energy bar and an extra stop is all it takes.

Tags:   cold injuries · frostbite · HypothermiaNo Comments.

Tags:   Adirondacks · Winter CampingNo Comments.

We have mixed experiences using sleds to transport winter camping gear.  In the right circumstances a sled offers advantages over backpacking.  It easy way to move a lot of gear - up to 18,000 cubic inches and 200+ lbs - more than one can comfortably stash in a backpack. So if you are setting up a base camp, hauling supplies to a cabin or outfitting a scout troop, you might consider a sled.  One can just hook into the harness and pull your winter gear rather than carry it.

Sleds work best in the right circumstances.  This usually means adequate snow cover and a reasonably level, wide trail.  In steep terrain a sled benefits from lashing the gear inside and stiffening of the sleds and/or harnessing.  The addition of a rigid harness system is what differentiates a sled from a pulk.

Toboggans

Some winter travelers prefer the traditional toboggan design. Toboggans carry large loads, fit in a set of snowshoe tracks and due to their length they are very stable.  They don’t work well in steep terrain or with cross-country skiers.  Honestly, I have never used a toboggan, but the Canadian-based WinterTrekking has a nice article that gives a lot of information on toboggans.

Sleds

Our 1st sled was a $12 sliding model from the local Super-Mart that we modified with lashing, but they proved to be thin and the plastic cracked under the abusive conditions of winter camping.  Carrying a broken plastic sled out of the woods is not fun.  Unless you are only going in your neighbor’s woods, they are not to be recommended.

A more durable sled is the 5 lb, bright orange Paris Expedition Sled, which I have used as-is.  The Paris Expedition Sled is made of .125 mm linear polyethylene and it has metal grommet reinforced tow holes with additional holes along the side for a towing harness and/or lashing. It tends to track straight and is a tough sled for the price.  It is also a popular model for modifying into a home-made pulk.  These sleds can be found at local hardware stores or ordered through Walmart or through REI ($33).

Last year I purchased a small Otter sled  at Gander Mtn.  Otter Outdoors offers 8 different sizes of their sled.  Originally marketed for ice fisherman (some models even come with ice shack accessories), it supposedly will not crack even at -40 degrees.  The sleds are deep (10-14″) and stable.  It is my new favorite winter camping sled when a sled is warranted.  Cabelas sells two small Jet Sleds ($25) that look like the Otter Outdoors design.

Commercial pulks

At the high end are commercially available pulks such as the ones from Granite Gear, Kirafu, Snowsled, WildernessEngineering or Fjellpulken.

• The Granite Gear Expedition sled weighs 17 lbs and has a capacity of 15,000 cubic inches.  With a crossed fiberglass stay system, flexible nylon connecting rods, and a zero play full body harness, this sled pulls and turns easily. The lightweight hull offers a low coefficient of friction (drag) over the snow. There is a durable cover with 3 compression straps to secure gear and a full-length zipper for access. The hull has molded-in ski runners and there is a brake prevents sled from sliding backward on slopes. The harness poles are constructed in such a way as to allow for hip rotation.
• Kirafu offers three models: Expedition ($825, 15lbs/18000 cubic inches), Armadillo ($638, 12 lbs/12000 cubic inches and Military sleds (MILSPEC verisons).
• Snowsled makes a variety of pulks for short 2 week expeditions to lengthy multi-week trips, adventure racing models and day trip versions.
• WildernessEngineering offers an 11,000 BaseCamp Pulk and a 6 page instruction booklet.
• Fjellpulken from Lillehammer, Norway offers a broad assortment of models for children, disabled, touring and expedition, rescue and dog racing.  You can download a brochure here.
• Northern Sled Works offers the Siglin Sled and Siglin Pulk as well as models for towing behind a snowmobile.

Build your own pulk

If your winter camping doesn’t warrant an expedition pulk there are resources for making your own pulk.  Some that we like are:

• My Cheap Snow Camping Sled by Michael Krabach who starts with a sled model called the HO! by Recreation Inc.
• Build yourself an arctic sled
• Mark Harris has a simple, cheap and quick to build design.
• Penob Bob gives instructions for modifying a Paris Expedition Sled into a pulk
• Here is a good discussion thread with pictures from individuals making their own sleds
• PiceaRubens offers modifications to the Penob Bob design.
• Mad River Rocket offers a pulk kit, material list and instructions.
• Or visit skipulk.com and download the Pulkbook

Tags:   pulk · snow sledNo Comments.

We asked Outdoor Magazine Gear Guy

We do a reasonable amount of winter camping in both Adirondack lean-tos and in tents. Typically I use some combination of an emergency space blanket, a closed-cell pad, and an inflatable Therm-a-Rest pad. A couple years ago I had a hip replacement so padding comfort is a big factor. My question, then: Are the pricier down-filled sleeping pads like those from Exped really that much warmer?

And he replied: Concerning your commitment to wintertime activities, all I can say is: I doff my cap to your outdoor hardiness.

As for your provisional choice of pad, the good news is Exped’s Downmat 9 ($149; www.exped.com) has an R-value—an insulation rating—of about seven (higher is better). A standard Therm-a-Rest, in comparison, has an R-value of about three (depends on the model). Adding a Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest ($20 in regular size; www.thermarest.com) to the self-inflating pad—an excellent cold-weather practice—adds another 2.6 of R goodness for a total of about 5.6. As you see, that’s still some way off the Downmat 9’s grand total. So one Downmat more than equals two regular pads—a self-inflating and a closed-cell pairing—in insulation. And while I’ve never used one of the new-generation down-filled pads, I am told they are molto comfortable.

You also win on weight. A Downmat 9 weighs two pounds, while the two Therm-a-Rest pads will end up at three pounds six ounces. That’s quite a difference! You could even add a regular-sized 14-ounce RidgeRest and still have no more weight to lug than before. So while it’s true the down-filled pad is fairly expensive—about $60 more than a pair of pads from other makers such as Cascade Designs (inventors of the original Therm-a-Rest)—it performs extremely well. I’d go out and buy a Downmat 9, and look forward to a good night’s rest in the mountains.
From November 18, 2004 outdoor gear question

As yet none of us have tried a Downmat.  I have always been concerned about the pump and getting moisture inside the mat.  If you have used one, please leave a comment on your experience.  Thanks

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We love the Kirafu Tipi for winter camping.  It is light and easy to set up.  It accomodates 4-5 campers with a wood stove and wood.  If you want to be warm - it can get very warm.

This collage is in honor of the tipi.  Read our full review here or check out the Kirafu web site.

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NOAA’s National Operational Hydrological Remote Sensing Center has an Interactive Snow Information Map for the US.  It is a great mapping tool for analyzing snow cover.  The map is highly configurable.  You can re-center the map anywhere in the US. One can map Hourly Snow Analysis, Driving Conditions, and Daily Snow Analysis.  You can look at historical data.  One can select overlays to be plotted such as Hydrologic, Political, Point or Transportation features for reference purposes.

Tags:   snow cover · weather planningNo Comments.

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is advising visitors to the Adirondack backcountry to be prepared for snow, ice and cold and to use proper equipment. “Winter offers some great opportunities for outdoor recreation, but it also creates conditions that can be troublesome, and even dangerous, to the unprepared,” DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said in a news release.  He notes that the snow cover in the Adirondacks is more than three feet deep in the higher elevations.

DEC forest rangers recently rescued two people in separate incidents in the High Peaks wilderness. Neither of them was fully prepared or equipped for the winter conditions they faced, accoridng to DEC.  One man spent two nights in the wilderness in sub-freezing temperatures before being located and taken for medical treatment.

The use of snowshoes or skis is required on trails in the Eastern High Peaks and strongly encouraged on all other trails in the Adirondacks. Ice crampons should be carried for use on icy mountaintops and other exposed areas.  In addition, back country visitors are advised to:

• Dress properly with layers of wool and fleece — not cotton — clothing; a wool or fleece hat; gloves or mittens; wind/rain-resistant outer wear; and winter boots.
• Carry a day pack with an ice axe, plenty of food and water, extra clothing, a map and compass, first-aid kit, flashlight/headlamp, sun glasses, sun-block protection, ensolite pads, stove and extra fuel and bivy sack or space blankets.
• Drink plenty of water; dehydration can lead to hypothermia.
• Eat plenty of food to maintain energy levels and warmth.
• Check weather before entering the woods. If the weather is poor, postpone the trip.
• Be aware of weather conditions at all times. If weather worsens, head out of the woods.

Contact DEC at 897-1200 to determine trail conditions or check Adirondack Trail Information on the DEC web site at: www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7865.html.

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