Most experienced campers realize there’s quite a big difference between summer and winter camping. The main difference of course is the weather conditions and the hours of daylight will also be greatly reduced. While it’s often easy to sleep under the stars during the summer, you usually need to wrap yourself up well in a winterized tent in the colder months.
Camping in the winter means you’re going to need some extra gear and clothing. And some extra camping skills will also help you out quite a bit as you’re likely to face a few different types of challenges.
While you might feel comfortable just winging it during a summer outing, you shouldn’t really leave home for a winter trip without planning everything out to the last detail.
It’s not recommended to go camping in bad weather conditions on your own. It’s probably going to be a lot more fun if you share the adventure and it’s definitely going to be safer. Traveling with experienced campers will help and there could be quite a bit of work to do on your excursion.
When going snow camping, you should so some research on the area you’re planning to visit and study maps of the local area. You need to figure out your travel time and how long it will take to set up your camp.
In addition, you need to know the quickest routes in and out of the campsite in case of emergency. This means you should find out where the closest emergency services such as hospital and search and rescue teams are located.
Don’t forget to check the weather forecasts to see what to expect. If there’s going to be a blizzard, you may want to think about camping somewhere else or postponing the trip. The same thing goes for the local trail and road conditions.
Avalanches can be deadly and you should be able to recognize and avoid areas that could be prone to them. You can also check avalanche forecasts and stay away from areas where the danger is high. If you’re traveling in questionable areas it’s recommended that you have some formal avalanche training to be safe.
After making the plans for your trip be sure to leave a copy of it with somebody so they’ll know exactly where you’ll be and when you’ll be returning. Make sure you leave contact information for everybody in the camping party as well as vehicle information for the autos you’ll be taking.
As with all camping trips, make a checklist of supplies you need to take and make sure you have one or more cellular phones with you and the batteries as well. It’s also a good idea to take some money with you just in case.
