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Camping in the winter requires slightly more planning an effort than at any other time of year. The ground is frozen and the weather is highly changeable, not to mention dangerous in some conditions. However, by taking the right precautions on your camping trip, even the most inexperienced adventurer need not worry!
A secure tent is absolutely necessary for safe winter camping. Cover the ground with a groundsheet (branches will do in a pinch) to keep your gear dry and always close the tent flaps to conserve heat. Some types of tents feature a flap that rests on the ground around the perimeter - once you have driven the pegs into the ground using a mallet, heap snow on these flaps to keep them down. This will ensure that your tent is not disturbed by any strong winds, and will also prevent heat from escaping.
Cooking can be difficult in the winter. Store firewood in your tent if necessary, but never light a fire or even a propane stove inside a tent. Instead, if the weather is too foul for outdoor cooking, consider alternative meals - for example, a popular meal for winter hikers is a hot dog wrapped in a layer of foil, several layers of newspaper, and placed in a milk carton. The carton is set on fire and left in the snow until the newspaper has burned away…at which point the hot dog is cooked enough to eat! Brainstorm your own innovations, but also pack plenty of food that can be eaten cold and/or dry, in case of extreme weather. Warm up each morning and supplement yourself during the day with hot drinks and snacks - soup or stew is perfect for this, as is hot chocolate and coffee. Keeping yourself well-hydrated will also reduce any risk from overexertion in cold air.
When camping in the winter, you will be alternating between periods of exercise when doing outdoor activities and periods of rest in which it is easy to become chilled, especially if you have worked up a sweat. Dress in layers and don't hesitate to remove some if you find yourself becoming overheated - it is better to remove a bit of insulation than it is to allow your inner clothing to become damp. You are also more likely to become overheated at night when in a warm sleeping bag, so strip down to one or two layers of clothing, but do not take too much off, keeping in mind that by morning the air in the tent will have settled and become chilly.
A lantern can do wonders for warming up a tent while providing you with adequate light at the same time. Always fill your lantern outside your tent and far away from your fire, however, to reduce risk of injury. Keeping fire safety in mind, never hang a lantern too close to the ceiling of a tent or set it too near to items such as clothing or brush. Even when a lantern has just been extinguished it poses a fire risk, so hang it partway down the tent pole or place it away from flammable materials.
Though it may be more difficult to coordinate even for an experienced outdoorsman, a winter adventure has elements lacked by summer camping, such as the need to improvise and innovate. If you’re up to the challenge, winter camping is an experience that shouldn’t be missed!
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