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  1. #1
    New Member Skipper's Avatar
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    Looking for advice on cold weather hanging

    I have done my homework and I am planning a day before Christmas Eve day hang at around 10,000+ feet in the Rockies west of Fort Collins where it may get to below zero over night. I am going by truck so weight is not an issue.
    I have a Snugfit , GG pad, mylar sheet, two gas and two alky stoves, Nalgene bottles, NF Big Kazoo (for over quilt), those packaged hand warmers, down jacket, Goretex jacket and pants, ski pants, ice pack boots, hats and mittens that should keep me good to 40 below and a chain saw.

    What else might I want?

  2. #2
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    Do you have a tarp, or something to keep the wind off of you, and something to breathe through?
    Youngblood AT2000

  3. #3
    New Member Skipper's Avatar
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    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a 10 by 13 tarp. I figure if it is windy I can do the poor man's winter tarp configuration. BTW, thanks YB for the SF, it ROCKS!

  4. #4
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skipper View Post
    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a 10 by 13 tarp. I figure if it is windy I can do the poor man's winter tarp configuration. BTW, thanks YB for the SF, it ROCKS!
    How thick is your pad? That Snugfit will need a pretty good boost for below zero, although your mylar blanket will help some.

    Do you have a double layer hammock or an SPE?

    How warm is a Big Kazoo rated?

  5. #5
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Skipper- You doing Long's Peak? A 10,000 foot camp is pretty daring this time of year. Just remember that thin air up there makes keeping warm a bit more difficult. You probably already know that, but I would feel remiss if I didn't mention it. I would say you are just about guaranteed to see sub zero temps at that altitude. That also puts you pretty close to the tree line which means plenty o' wind.

    Sounds like a wonderful idea, but I'm a little 'off' about winter camping . Although, this is the very first time I've seen "chainsaw" listed as a piece of gear; way cool.

    Hopefully you are carrying at least a 1/4" GG pad, but otherwise I think you'll be fine with what you've listed, other than maybe the Big Kazoo. I'm familiar with the "blue kazoo", is yours just a larger version? If so, that bag is only 'rated' to 20F. I'm not saying that's not enough, but people differ on how warm they sleep. It's going to be all about site selection as the wind is going to be your primary adversary. I'm assuming you are going to be wearing all that clothing while you sleep. Use that mylar sheet before you need it!

    Sure wish I could join you! Too close to Xmas for me to be able to get away with it. Just be sure to post your results and I'm personally always looking for good sites along the front range, so feel free to share.

    Hang happy and warm.
    Trust nobody!

  6. #6
    Senior Member SkyDog's Avatar
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    Staying warm

    Quote Originally Posted by Skipper View Post
    I have a Snugfit , GG pad, mylar sheet, two gas and two alky stoves, Nalgene bottles, NF Big Kazoo (for over quilt), those packaged hand warmers, down jacket, Goretex jacket and pants, ski pants, ice pack boots, hats and mittens that should keep me good to 40 below and a chain saw. What else might I want?
    An Exped DAM (Down Air Mattress). Know about those? I am totally sold on using the DAM. On-The-Ground rating is something like minus 45F. I have been toasty to minus 17F (no wind) in my Speer hammock. Speer's "SPE" needed if you toss & turn off the DAM. ALTHO"... Using the SnugFit may keep the sides warm enough.

    10,000 Feet..?!?!? Trees up there? If not, no need for packing the chain saw.
    Happy Trails,
    J.D.

    I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skipper View Post
    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a 10 by 13 tarp. I figure if it is windy I can do the poor man's winter tarp configuration. BTW, thanks YB for the SF, it ROCKS!
    Yeah, I think you should consider blocking the wind from the get go if you are in an exposed site in that environment. The wind has a nasty habit of sneaking up on me in the middle of the night. When you think about it, we rarely, if ever, set up our equipment during heavy winds but we sometime find ourselves in heavy winds and have to take our shelters down during heavy winds.

    Glad you like your SnugFit Underquilt (SF) and hope you can stay warm using it with your closed cell foam pad (ccf) and clothing in the conditions you find yourself in. All insulation has its limitations and combining various insulation is a great way to extend the range so that you end up with what you need.

    My experience in cold weather camping has been that I need something to breathe through during the night just to be comfortable and not have such a dry/cold throat. I haven't camped in the conditions you are and have been okay with just a cotton bandanna and/or the fleece of my neck gaiter. What is your strategy?
    Youngblood AT2000

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by SkyDog View Post
    An Exped DAM (Down Air Mattress). Know about those? I am totally sold on using the DAM. On-The-Ground rating is something like minus 45F. I have been toasty to minus 17F (no wind) in my Speer hammock. Speer's "SPE" needed if you toss & turn off the DAM. ALTHO"... Using the SnugFit may keep the sides warm enough.

    10,000 Feet..?!?!? Trees up there? If not, no need for packing the chain saw.
    Hey JD! You know, I think you may have been the 1st SPE customer. It was good to see you at Trail Days this year, it seems like it had been a long long time since I crossed paths with you and Sky Dog.

    Which Exped DAM do you have? I'm thinking you got yours before they came out with the 7 series. If so, you would definitely have the thicker and warmer 9 series. The 9 is 9 cm thick and the 7 is 7 cm thick, or 3.5 in and 2.8 in, respectively. Looking at my copy of Exped's catalog they have the 9 with a 8.0 R-value and a -36F rating. The 7 they have a 5.9 R-value and a -11F rating. But hey, who cares what the rating is, they are both great insulators... unless you are at -17F and one keeps you toasty warm and the other one doesn't.

    Are you venturing down south to ring in the New Year with us this year?

    P.S. ... if I think it is going to be -17F, I will cancel even though I have 2 DAMs. I'm not sure Georgia could survive -17F. I think it got to -8F one time in Atlanta. When it warmed up, they found out a whole bunch of water pipes had burst. I did okay with the water pipes but broke an expensive woven stainless steel jacket that protected something on my little diesel car because I had started it up in the cold weather. I just started it up to see if I could at those temperatures (glow plugs and diesel you know) and the metal jacket was frozen solid and couldn't flex... didn't have anywhere to go.
    Youngblood AT2000

  9. #9
    Senior Member Roadtorque's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Youngblood View Post
    ...
    My experience in cold weather camping has been that I need something to breathe through during the night just to be comfortable and not have such a dry/cold throat. I haven't camped in the conditions you are and have been okay with just a cotton bandanna and/or the fleece of my neck gaiter. What is your strategy?
    I find this interesting. I do at least 2 winter campouts a year up in utah and I have never thought you would want something over your mouth while sleeping. Guess I have never thought about it before but it seems like at those temps the moisture from your breath would freeze or at least make damp and cold whatever you are breathing through. Any negative experience with this? It never has bugged me to breath in cold air at night and I almost prefer it, somehow I just sleep better when its cold outside as long as my bag is warm enough! I dont know what it is about me but I have somehow made it out winter camping on a couple of record low nights. That was before I could afford any good gear, man those made for some long cold sleepless nights.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    The idea of a mouth/face covering is not new to me. I will occasionally do that during the day in <0 F highs. Rather than freezing, the mouth cover "preheats" the incoming air. This is particularly recommended for older folks/infants where very cold air can negatively affect their breathing abilities.
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

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