Survival tips for winter camping
After the excitement of setting up my tent, I was looking forward to my first night in my home-away-from-home. I had pictured a quiet, restful evening snuggled up cozily in my sleeping bag, reading a book, journaling, munching on some camp snacks, and drifting peacefully off to sleep in complete, deafening, Antarctic silence.
I could not have been more wrong. Although I did eventually get some sleep, I spent the better part of the night huddled up in my sleeping bag and FREEZING my butt off!
You might be thinking, "Well, duh!" but I can assure you, that is NOT what is supposed to happen. The tents and all the gear we use here are designed to make sure that we are warm and safe.
Eventually, after throwing a couple of hand warmers and a bunch of clothes into my sleeping bag, it finally warmed up and I did manage to get some sleep. However, considering that this was a relatively warm day at WAIS Divide, I knew that I needed to be better prepared for colder nights that were sure to come.
Expert Tips and Tricks
In the morning, I asked Erin (a professional Glaciologist, currently in her 12th Antarctic field season) for advice on how to stay warm when sleeping in the cold. I made a mental list as she was talking, and came away with the following ten tips:
1. Wear warm clothes to bed. This may sound obvious, but a lot of people (myself included) prefer to sleep in light, loose pajamas. I have even heard campers claim that it is warmest in a sleeping bag without clothes at all! Not here, though. According to Erin, it's best to sleep in lightweight warm layers that provide effective insulation against the cold. You can always remove them as your sleeping bag warms up.
2. Add more layers under you. At WAIS Divide, we are sleeping on top of 11,500 feet of snow and ice! The more distance you can put between yourself and that ice, the warmer you'll be. I already had 2 layers of thick cardboard, a thick foam pad, an inflatable Thermarest pad, a fleece blanket, and a fleece sleeping bag liner with a down sleeping bag stuffed inside, but Erin said that more layers couldn't hurt. She suggested using the empty duffel bag that our sleep kits came in, the cinch sacks from our tents, and anything else I might have around as added layers underneath the foam pad.
3. Let the down breathe! I put my down sleeping bag inside a fleece liner, instead of the other way around, thinking the down would be warmer and the fleece could trap the heat in. However, Erin taught me that if the feathers in the down sleeping bag are too compressed, they are less effective at holding in and distributing heat. She suggested that I switch my down bag to the outside, and the fleece one to the inside. I also decided to add a silk sleeping bag liner inside them both.
4. Add insulation. My instinct to put a bunch of clothes into my sleeping bag was a good one, apparently. Adding clothes, pillows, and other soft materials in your sleeping bag adds insulation. The less cold air there is to heat up inside your sleeping bag, the warmer you'll be.
5. Wear a hat. Some sleeping bags are designed to cinch up tight around your head and neck, but mine doesn't. Instead, Erin suggested going to bed wearing a hat and a neck gaiter, to keep your head, neck, and face warm. Again, these can be removed if you get hot later, but are good to start the night out with.
6. Add heat. Using chemical hand warmers can be effective, but they are small and not supposed to be in direct contact with your skin. These are best to place in between layers of your clothing, or between the liner and sleeping bag. Another common technique that many people use here at WAIS Divide, is to fill a heavy plastic water bottle (i.e. Nalgene) with hot water, close it tight, and sleep with it inside the sleeping bag. This is a great trick, provided that the bottle doesn't leak!!
7. Do sit ups. Doing sit ups or other exercises inside your sleeping bag helps you generate heat, and warms you and your bag up sooner. As an added bonus, you can keep up with your New Year's resolution to work out more ;)
8. Empty your bladder. Before you sleep go to the bathroom, or if you wake up in the night and find you have to go, don't hold it until morning! Although there isn't consensus on why this one works, it is agreed that this helps keep you warm at night. One theory is that your body wastes heat keeping your urine warm inside of you. Another theory is that the act of getting up and moving around to get to the toilet heats you up. As far as I'm concerned, it's just much easier to fall asleep when you're not concerned about using it or losing it!
9. Be hydrated. While this might seem like a contradiction to the one before it, being well-hydrated helps your body run more efficiently and optimally, maximizing your body's natural ability to thermoregulate, maintain good circulation, and keep your organs working. Rather than drinking a lot just before going to bed, it's best to keep sipping water or herbal tea throughout the day.
10. Eat fat. Yay! Fat is much more efficient for long-term storage of calories than carbohydrates and proteins. While carbs will give you a quick burst of fuel, fats will keep burning for a longer time, helping you stay warm throughout the night. Erin suggests eating butter, nuts, dark chocolate, or other foods high in fat before going to sleep, so your body has a fresh store of fats to burn to keep you warm.
And there you have it!
The next time you find yourself camping in the winter, or even just having a hard time sleeping in a room that's too cold, try one (or ten) of Erin's expert tips, and let us know how it goes!
In the mean time, sweet dreams!
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