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Camping in extreme cold


ChimpGrip

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59 minutes ago, BUFORDGAWOLVES said:

Did 26’ degree weather in Texas, taking piss was a mutha fucker. 
 

bgw

I was convinced to go with two buddies back in the early 80s, snowshoeing in with our gear on our backs and giving snow-camping a whirl. One of the guys had done it before, and was a boy scout and spent some time in the Outward Bound program. I had no experience whatsoever and had to borrower pretty much everything I brought.

The guy who knew what he was doing let us know beforehand that he had utensils and plates and everything. It wasn't until we began our first meal that he said what he meant was he had that stuff for himself, not for all of us. So two of us didn't have a cup or a plate or a bowl or a spoon or anything. We did have one six-pack of beer, so we cut off the top of two of the cans and used that as our means of drinking soup, careful not to cut up our lips. Ridiculous.

3 nights in the mountains in the winter, sleeping in a tent on top of the snow. The condensation from our breath at night would hit the inside of the tent and form little ice balls, and then a gust of wind would knock them off the tent so it was effectively snowing on us inside the tent.

The wind-chill was 30 below. Just outside of Fairplay, CO, home of South Park High School. Yep, THAT South Park.

We lasted one night and got the hell out of there.

It was miserable.

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1 hour ago, ChimpGrip said:

Just for the experience. I suppose if done safely it would be a neat experience. I think is one of the less ridiculous things I've talked about on here

take up some Alpine skiing....LOL

20's are nice and warm...

Almost always close to, or below 0 at the summit.

As long as you are athletically moving....

yer good. 👍

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I've camped plenty in the mountains at about 10,000' or so, when the night temps late Spring and early Fall get into the 20s and 30s. It's chilly when sleeping. But below 0 is an entirely different animal -- it's not very fun unless you have what you need. A stove for the tent would help significantly if you are car camping (or plan on dragging it in a sled behind you as you hike to your spot), and you better have activities planned during the day or you will either be bored in a tent or extremely uncomfortable out in the elements.

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2 hours ago, Troll said:

take up some Alpine skiing....LOL

20's are nice and warm...

Almost always close to, or below 0 at the summit.

As long as you are athletically moving....

yer good. 👍

I did some skiing down Orange Mountain in Colorado as well as some snowboarding, definitely not for me. Only thing I worry about in the harsh cold is losing a finger or toe to frostbite. I don't know how cold it has to be for that but would not be fun

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1 hour ago, maxchoboian said:

I've camped plenty in the mountains at about 10,000' or so, when the night temps late Spring and early Fall get into the 20s and 30s. It's chilly when sleeping. But below 0 is an entirely different animal -- it's not very fun unless you have what you need. A stove for the tent would help significantly if you are car camping (or plan on dragging it in a sled behind you as you hike to your spot), and you better have activities planned during the day or you will either be bored in a tent or extremely uncomfortable out in the elements.

Very cool story! Would two weeks be too much if you just wanted to hike every day? Is there a limit to how big of a tent you can use?

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6 hours ago, maxchoboian said:

I was convinced to go with two buddies back in the early 80s, snowshoeing in with our gear on our backs and giving snow-camping a whirl. One of the guys had done it before, and was a boy scout and spent some time in the Outward Bound program. I had no experience whatsoever and had to borrower pretty much everything I brought.

The guy who knew what he was doing let us know beforehand that he had utensils and plates and everything. It wasn't until we began our first meal that he said what he meant was he had that stuff for himself, not for all of us. So two of us didn't have a cup or a plate or a bowl or a spoon or anything. We did have one six-pack of beer, so we cut off the top of two of the cans and used that as our means of drinking soup, careful not to cut up our lips. Ridiculous.

3 nights in the mountains in the winter, sleeping in a tent on top of the snow. The condensation from our breath at night would hit the inside of the tent and form little ice balls, and then a gust of wind would knock them off the tent so it was effectively snowing on us inside the tent.

The wind-chill was 30 below. Just outside of Fairplay, CO, home of South Park High School. Yep, THAT South Park.

We lasted one night and got the hell out of there.

It was miserable.

Damn…. What a story!!!

bgw

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