Three Hacks for Warm Winter Camping

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Let’s assume I have the right clothing for my winter adventure. Let’s assume I have the right sleeping bag, inflatable mattress, and foam pad. Let’s assume I know how to pick a good safe site for a night’s rest. Could I do it without a tent?

Why would I want to, you might ask? Well, on big alpine climbs on steep slopes, there often isn’t room for a tent. Or, maybe something has gone wrong and I don’t make it to a planned campsite and have to spend the night out in the open. This is part of why the sleeping bag and pads go with us, as we move up the mountain: so that we always have them, in case.

The point is that I could, not that I should or want to, but I could. I could do it by doing the three things that I have described in my video. With clothing, a sleeping bag, and the sleeping pads, that is enough to get me through a night out in the open, in winter, on a high altitude climb.

I don’t expect people reading this and watching the video to be wanting to do any of that. I don’t really want to do any of that. But I have been able to do so. That’s how I know that these three simple things are enough to make even the coldest night a warm enough one for a good night’s sleep. Add in a tent - like most sane people would - and now it is practically luxurious.

Tangential but analogous point: I used to be a tournament golf professional; not quite a good enough one to be famous and on TV, but I tried to make a living at it for a few years after college. Anyway, I used to practice on the driving range and the practice fairway bunkers by giving myself bad lies: putting the ball in divits in the ground. I wanted to make practice more difficult than the game. This is kind of like that. If I can stay warm in a situation when I’m not in camp or in a tent, than I certainly can stay warm when things are more normal.

So, take it from reluctant and unplanned field testing: these three things work and can make all the difference when you are having a rough night in the cold. They can even make the difference when there isn’t anything else around to make a difference in any other way.

You can find the funnel I use for pouring the boiling water here and the somewhat lighter version of wide-mouth Nalgene bottles here.