Will I be okay to sleep out in this weather?

[Fish]

I've never snow camped with a hammock....why the trench?

Well, this will be my first hang in the snow so I can only give my own personal reasons for it.

That being said, the anchor I use on the side of my shed is an eye bolt, which at the moment is only about 3.5 to 4 feet above the snow. To get an angle that I would be comfortable to sleep in, I didn't have much choice.

The other reason is that I don't have doors on my tarp, and to really be able to hunker down and get out of the wind, digging a trench just made sense to me. I can make sort of a wall of snow at one end of the tarp, closing me in fairly effectively on three sides.

Well, that's the idea anyways, not sure how it will work out in practice.

[TheFirePitGuy]

You always need to take winter wind into consideration. A hammock sock is very effective at blocking wind and will raise the inside temperature of your hammock. Digging a trench to help block wind sounds like a wise thing to do. Using a hand warmer also makes a huge difference but be careful not to overheat.

[VictoriaGuy]

That being said, the anchor I use on the side of my shed is an eye bolt, which at the moment is only about 3.5 to 4 feet above the snow. To get an angle that I would be comfortable to sleep in, I didn't have much choice.

The other reason is that I don't have doors on my tarp, and to really be able to hunker down and get out of the wind, digging a trench just made sense to me. I can make sort of a wall of snow at one end of the tarp, closing me in fairly effectively on three sides.

That all makes a lot of sense to me; thanks for the explanation.
A shovel is a good thing to carry when winter camping, IMO (either a light car shovel or one of the specialized 'avalanche' shovels from MEC).

[OneClick]

I've never snow camped with a hammock....why the trench?

I just pack down the snow by walking around with snowshoes. It's like walking on concrete after a short time and much easier to work on/around in camp.

[VictoriaGuy]

I just pack down the snow by walking around with snowshoes. It's like walking on concrete after a short time and much easier to work on/around in camp.

That's what I used to do--makes a very flat and comfy tent platform!

[OneClick]

That's what I used to do--makes a very flat and comfy tent platform!

Yeah I learned that the hard way waking up in a coffin my first winter/tent trip!

[tmckay2]

i dunno man thats pretty cold, i could see mid 20's maybe.