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Winter camping
Sleeping warm in the snow: what goes under you, what goes in the bag with you, and how to wake up with water that is not frozen.
What you need
- Two sleeping pads: a closed cell foam pad under an inflatable one
- A sleeping bag rated below the coldest night forecast
- Dry clothes kept only for sleeping, and a toque
- A hard water bottle that can take boiling water
- A stove that works in the cold, and extra fuel for melting snow
How
- Pick a spot out of the wind, and not in the bottom of a hollow where the cold air settles.
- Stamp the snow flat with your boots or snowshoes and let it set for half an hour before you pitch the tent.
- Lay the foam pad first, then the inflatable on top. The ground is where the cold comes from.
- Before bed, change into your dry sleeping clothes. Put the day's damp layers in the bag's foot or under you to dry.
- Eat something with fat in it and drink something warm just before you get in.
- Fill the hard bottle with hot water, close it tight, and put it in the bag with you.
- Go pee before you settle. Holding it keeps you cold.
- Keep tomorrow's gloves, boot liners, phone and batteries in the bag so they are warm in the morning.
- Leave a vent open in the tent. Breath turns to frost on the walls and drips on you otherwise.
Do and don't
Do
- Store water bottles upside down in the snow or in the bag so the lid does not freeze shut.
- Melt snow in a pot with a little water already in it, so the pot does not scorch.
- Start the day's first hot drink before you get out of the bag.
Don't
- Do not sleep with your face inside the bag. Your breath soaks it.
- Do not run a stove inside a closed tent. Carbon monoxide kills. See Camp stoves and fuel.
- Do not go to bed cold. Do some sit ups or walk around first.
Watch for
Danger
- A tent under a dead tree or a loaded snowy branch can be crushed. Look up before you pitch.
- Sweat from the day freezes in your layers overnight. Change before you cool down.
- A person who stops shivering and gets clumsy is in trouble. See Hypothermia.
Notes
A good winter camp is quiet, bright under the moon, and has no bugs at all. The work is all in staying dry.
A wall tent with a small wood stove turns winter camping into cabin living. Treat the stove like the cabin one. See Heating with wood.
Updated 2026-09-22
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