Minnesota Frozen Butt Hang - January 7-9, 2011.

[gates]

Great early report and pics, Pizza. Amazing that your brain is functioning so soon after all that deep cold.

You all were in a lot of peoples thoughts over the weekend. Bet you'll all have some stories.

[RootCause]

Pizza:
Simply. Freakin'. Awesome.

I'm glad y'all did well, now you can trust your skills more to enjoy Minnesota's greatest season!

[Shug]

Wow! Looks like a terrific winter trip!!!!!!!
Loved your detailed report pizza........
Quite a good challenge.
Nothing like a good winter trip. Looking forward to reading all the reports.
Shug

[questtrek]

Can't wait to see em' all either .. maybe I will learn something about winter camping ... Great job you all ...

[Debi Jaytee]

Glad you guys made out ok!! I love the heated tent idea, that's MY kind of winter camping (I'm a wimp!) Awesome pics too Pizza!! Can't wait to see more and read the others' reports

[beep]

Great pics, Pizza! I'm glad everyone made it through the cold weather safely! I'm still jealous of your experiences and happy that the event came off. Good job everyone, especially to Fourdog and his network of friends!!

[Lonely Raven]

In this episode of Dual Survival (episode 1), Cody puts together a shelter just like what Fourdogs showed us. It really makes sense once you see it in person.



I'm downloading photos now (I didn't take many as it was challenging to keep the Nikon from fogging up). When I'm done I'll try to post something. But Pizza summed it up quite well.

[Jsaults]

It is interesting to see what you folks who venture into the woods in DEEP cold do to stay warm. I for one amjust beginning to dabble in cold weather hammocking, and need to make many adjustments. Trip reports such as this are great reads, both from an entertainment point of wiew and as a learning experience. I tip my hat to all of you!

Jim

[Lonely Raven]

Sorry, I'm at work and don't have time for a proper trip report, but I downloaded the photos off the camera. I had to throw away a bunch because the camera kept fogging up. It was cold enough out there, that the lube in the lens was freezing and the camera would have trouble with auto-focus. The Nikon body itself was rock solid though!

http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/p475354030

Those are unsorted photos...so sorry if there are duplicates or ugly photos in there. I'll sort through them eventually.

[tjm]

Thanks for the great report. Was thinking about you guys all weekend.

He acted as our guide and brought lots of extra gear and his knowledge and expertise camping in these conditions was most impressive. I learned a LOT from him.

Having an experienced hand is such an advantage. Being open to hear his words goes a long ways too.

Camping in these conditions is so much different than your typical three season conditions.

Definitely.

Night one was about -8F and night two was -15F.

Very envious.

1. The pulk is an absolute necessity in my opinion in doing trips in these temps. I won't do another winter trip without it.

I can't winter camp with a snow cover for my pulk so I know what you mean. Lots of winter climbers and XC skiers camp without pulks. Typically they will share a lot of the common group equipment in order to limit redundant gear. Tough to do and still hammock cause everyone is basically bringing his or her own winter tent.

2. It may be stating the obvious but the ultralight concept just isn't a viable option in these conditions. I can't imagine anyone being able to go out with an uber-light pack on their back and expect to have a safe and enjoyable experience. You need LOTS of insulation...especially if you are going to spend more than one night out.

I agree that the dangers associated with too little dry insulation means the winter pack is always going to weigh a lot more than the 3-season pack.
But you still apply the UL ideas. Backcountry skiers will bring a minus 40 deg F bag, a bivy, and a snow shovel to dig a snow cave. That is pretty UL.
As hammockers, we could limit luxury items, like the teakettle, the paperback, and the candle lantern. And try to have dual use items.
But so much time spent in camp in the winter that limiting luxury items would not be much fun for me.

Under insulation:
….
Top Insulation:
….
Lots of extra clothes!
MacCat Deluxe Tarp with 2Q/ZQ doors.

Thank you for posting this list. Extremely helpful even with typical caveats (everyone is different, hydration level, etc)
My winter set-up is similar and I have always wondered about the lower limits.

Built up snow walls around the tarp to eliminate drafts.

Love seeing this one as I think it really helps.

Some may call it cheating but it was real nice of fourdog's friend Paul to bring his big Cabelas tent complete with stove heating

I call this very smart ! What a great way to test your set-up in a safe environment.

Fourdog's demo of the super shelter (hammock enclosed inside reflective tarp and poly plastic on all sides creating a dome with a parallel fire in front) was really neat.

Would love to know exactly what the materials are. What do I get at Home Depot to try this set-up? Painter's plastic xx mils, etc

I'd like to see this become an annual event.

Thanks again for the report.