Whats The Coldest Or Most Snow Your Troop Has Ever Encountered?

[SpEdScouter 6]

Tell us, what is the most snow or coldest temperatures your scouts have ever encountered?

 

Any tips?

 

Do you all have tent stoves or heaters?

[MattR 2659]

-20. About 2 feet in a weekend. These were two different campouts -- when it gets that cold there isn't much moisture for snow and the snow creaks.

 

No heaters are allowed in tents. That's a BSA rule.

 

Tips in random order: Layers. No cotton. Head, wrists, ankles and necks need extra insulation and protection (hat, neck and ankle gators, mittens with long sleeves). Mittens are warmer than gloves. Inner layer is wicking (includes feet and hands). Middle layer is insulation. Outer layer is protection against wind and water. Change into dry long johns and socks before going to bed. Nothing dries once it's wet. Don't wear too much in your sleeping bag. Balaclava for sleeping. Good insulation below your bag (I use r-9). Get an army surplus wool blanket and cover the entire floor of your tent. Eat massive amounts all the time, lots of fat and protein before going to bed. Have a snack ready in case you wake up cold (food = warmth). Do Not Sweat, keep yourself comfortably cool. Move if you're cold. Stay away from fires and warm places unless you'll be there for at least an hour (the heat will slow down your metabolism). Stay hydrated! Keep a small water bottle inside your coat so you are drinking warm water. Boots need removable liners, like Sorrels. Put them in the bottom of your bag at night. Replace the cheap foot beds with something with better insulation. Put newspaper in your boots at night to keep them in a shape that you can put on in the morning when they are rock hard. Fill a Nalgene bottle with boiling water, wrap with insulation, and place on your thighs at night to warm your entire body. For us old guys, keep a bottle in your tent when you wake up to pee because it will take 20 minutes to put all your clothes on. Layer sleeping bags - use a second bag as a blanket over the first (prevents tight spots that compress insulation) or get an old Hollubar down bag (so nice compared to high tech insulation). Bring extra gloves/mittens. Bring a good attitude. Don't sit in snow. Rather than dig the snow out from under your tent pack it down and let it harden - snow is great insulation. Bury all your water bottles under a foot of snow else they will be rock solid. Those little green 1 lb propane cans are worthless in cold weather, we got 5 lb tanks. When setting up tent do not put warm tent poles in snow as they will melt the snow, get wet, and freeze. The first symptom of kids getting hypothermic is them feeling sick. Tell everyone to look out for each other. Have fun and keep busy playing.

 

There is nothing better than bragging to your office mates that your 11 year old kids slept in something considerably colder than their freezer and had fun doing it.

[Cambridgeskip 658]

If you're on a hike put your water bottles in your rucksack upside down so that the ice ends up in the bottom of it rather than the top. And use plastic not metal!

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

No snow. Coldest was about 29-32 degrees F.

[Stosh 3452]

-10, snow, no heaters, no tents. The boys built snow caves.  I just "meadow crash".or use a poncho to keep the snow off my face..

[Gone 435]

-10, snow, no heaters, no tents. The boys built snow caves.  I just "meadow crash".or use a poncho to keep the snow off my face..

 

Temp without wind was around -5F. Snow was 3ft deep.

[KenD500 77]

15.  Light snow.

 

Change into clean, dry sleep clothes before going to bed.  Put tomorrow's new clothes in the bottom of the sleeping bag.

[Torchwood 177]

Here are some great videos from Northern Tier. The outdoor sleeping system works just as well inside a tent.

 

http://www.ntier.org/Videos/WinterInstructVids.aspx

[blw2 433]

When i was a scout... this would have been early 1980's in eastern NC....

our troop was camping and it came a freezing rain in the night.  Woke up to everything in a nice thick clear ice layer....

Everything was soaked..... nobody could start a fire.  I just remember eating frozen hot dogs for breakfast and packing up

 

I'd rather camp in snow any day.

[SpEdScouter 6]

I see one problem in winter camping in general, it gets dark too fast. Usually by around 6 pm. You can do some campfire things but cold and dark usually isnt fun and you 2-3 hours until everyones ready for bed.

[walk in the woods 888]

Around 0 degrees with maybe 8 inches to a foot on the ground.  In my opinion winter is the best time for night hikes and star gazing. 

 

Tips: All of what @@MattR said.  Be aware of the "umbles" (mumbles, stumbles, fumbles, grumbles) when looking for signs of hypothermia.  Sitting in a camp chair will make you cold.  I prefer my white gas stove in the winter.  

[NJCubScouter 1389]

Five below zero. We were in a "cabin" but it didn't didn't really help. As I recall, three of the Scouts decided to go outside and sleep in tents.

 

The most snow I ever saw on a camping trip (as an adult) was 3 or 4 inches but I know there was one last winter with more snow, don't know how much.

[Stosh 3452]

I see one problem in winter camping in general, it gets dark too fast. Usually by around 6 pm. You can do some campfire things but cold and dark usually isnt fun and you 2-3 hours until everyones ready for bed.

 

Oh, but the best and warmest one is during winter camp is in the sleeping bag.  The long night makes the trip worth it.  

 

The boys also like the night because they crawl into their snow caves and play cards half the night.  One can't tell if the boys have their lights on or off in the caves.  

 

No fires for the whole weekend.

 

White gas is best because propane doesn't work below 32 degrees.  Alcohol is way too dangerous.  Even white gas can be dangerous if spilled on the skin.  It'll cause instant frostbite.

[T2Eagle 902]

-10F, 10 inches of snow between lunch and dinner (two different trips).  We always kind of hope for one or the other.

 

I'd quibble with one or two small things in the posts but mostly good advice so far.

 

The key is proper equipment and training, training, training before you go.

 

One thing I have learned that I don't think has been mentioned is doing a pack check --- you need to see everyone's sleeping gear and clothing before you go, scouts and parents will ignore things like properly rated bags, sufficient boots, and no cotton clothing.  The difference between a winter camp and other times is that improper equipment is a safety issue that you the adult have to be responsible for rather than just a hard learned lesson the scout is responsible for.

[Stosh 3452]

Do not attempt cold weather camping without training. 

 

My kid brother (ASM in another troop, further to the south) wanted to learn how to winter camp and he asked me to train him.  I agreed and we went out.  The first thing I did was mark out a doughnut pattern in the snow.  Then I began shoveling the doughnut into the hole.  He watched me for about 15 minutes and then said, "If I wanted to shovel snow I could have stayed home and done the driveway."  I smiled and kept at it.  About another 5-10 minutes and he said he was getting cold.  I said I wasn't.  He then went over to the truck got a shovel and he was warm in no time at all.  

 

After that he watched very closely, took a lot of notes and learned rather quickly what winter camping is all about.