Being someone who goes to high and cold places on mountaineering, winter backpacking, and backcountry winter camping adventures, I need a sleep system that can handle severe temperatures (below 0 Fahrenheit or below -18 Celsius) but also not fill up my pack and break my back with weight. Here's my personal journey from nearly 4.5 down to 3.0 pounds (1.4 kg) for a winter bag and sleeping pads along with the gear changes I made to get there.

I've seen extreme temperature ranges in the winter. So, when I head out for a winter climbing, backpacking, hiking, or camping, I need to have the right clothing layers. And the same clothing that works for 50 degrees (10 Celsius) doesn't work for -35 degrees (-37 Celsius). And if I always have a down jacket and rain shell, then the difference in clothing needs to be made up by the baselayer and midlayer. Here's my four favorite baselayer and midlayer combinations I use to adjust to progressively colder days in the winter.

Camping in winter - either for its own enjoyment or as part of a climbing, backpacking, or mountaineering adventure - can be done warmly. There are lots of little things you can and should do to keep everyone in your group comfortable as possible. But if you were to only do three things, I would make these three things the ones to do, as I have found they have had the biggest impact on my ability to control my temperature at night and make for a good night's sleep.

Either poor vision, like me, or sun reflection off of the snow may drive the need for wearing glasses or goggles in the winter on hikes, climbs, while backpacking, and even camping. Unfortunately, glasses and goggles tend to fog up, as your breath and body heat mix with the cold air. Here is my journey of various attempts to solve this issue, moving from marginally effectively solutions to something that has finally worked for me on even the coldest mountaineering expeditions.

I started getting into the outdoors by hiking to summits. Eventually, I got into technical climbing and mountaineering. The gear I bought for the hikes didn't quite cut it when it came to the climbs. So, for any budding mountaineers and alpinists, here's what I've come to value most in design of various insulating jackets. If you can buy with your future outdoors activities in mind, you can save the money I didn't save. Learn from my mistakes!

After teaching high altitude climbing to lots and lots of different people, here are the four most common (behavioral) reasons I see people get cold hands in the mountains along with what to do about it.

In this fifth and final video of the Cold! Series, we talk about keeping morale up. How do we keep our team - whether that team be our climbing partners, our life partners, or our kids - in a frame of mind to be proactive and to enjoy their time outside, even when harsh conditions set in?

This is the fourth video in the Cold! series and it's about a potentially serious issue: avalanches. Avalanches are a complicated topic, and this video can not be an end point to anyone's education, but it can and does introduce the basic principles and provide resources to learn more.

This is the third video in the Cold! series and it is about the small behaviors you can focus in on, and help your kids and family with, to make your winter backcountry excursions a bit more enjoyable and likely to succeed. These are small "personal management" practices that can make all the difference between getting cold and uncomfortable (or maybe even finding yourself in a dangerous situation) and feeling in control of your adventure.

This is the second video in the Cold! series and is about how to match winter traction devices like snowshoes, crampons, or MICROspikes to the particular conditions you are facing on the type of snow or ice or frozen ground you need to travel. We also discuss some considerations on how to be place your feet given the slick surfaces of winter.

We are presenting this series called "Cold!" and it's all about making backcountry adventures something fun for the whole family, despite the more challenging conditions of winter. This is first video in the series is all about clothing, and we take a look at the layering systems, and clothing accessories you need to maintain safety and comfort when out in the wild during the winter months. We also spend some time talking about budget friendly options for most of it, too.

When fall comes and our family heads out into the mountains, we need to be ready for extremely variable conditions. Cold mornings, warm afternoons, and wind all make layering our clothing extremely challenging. Throw in the safety need of being prepared for an unplanned overnight stay, and we have to be sure the right hiking clothing is on our bodies and in our packs.

When I take climbing partners new to the alpine up into the high routes, I often get asked if there is a "usual" set of gear to bring. There are a few items I always bring, but the gear for placement while lead climbing really does need to be specific to the route and conditions.

Mount Bancroft (13,250') one of the Colorado 13ers, makes a very good introduction to technical alpine climbing. With both a one pitch rappel and one pitch class 5 climb along an enjoyable ridge scramble, it allows a climber who is new to alpine climbing to experience much of what makes moving technically in the alpine so much fun. I provided this experience for my nephew, recently. Besides recommending this route as a first (or first few) foray into alpinism, here's a route review so that climbers wanting to attempt this route can feel confident and informed as they plan their climbs.

I was there when my 8 year old nephew climbed his first 14er, and I was there again - 9 years later - when he did his first technical, class 5 climb on a classic alpine climbing route: Mount Bancroft's East Ridge. High winds and intermittent clouds made for a day demanding focus and confident movement.

Climbing and cycling helmets are different. They are built to respond to different types of forces and have different safety standards. The Petzl Picchu helmet meets both sets of standards, giving your kids one helmet that can safely cover both activities.

My twin boys are changing. They are growing up, gaining confidence, and improving their mountaineering skills. After a spring time working on ice axe techniques, the boys wanted to take on "a real snow climb." With feet too small for front-point crampons, we did a summer time climb of a permanent snowfield: the remnant of the glaciers that used to dominate the Rocky Mountains over ten thousand years ago. Like my boys, the mountains are changing, too.

Kids are more susceptible to the damage UV rays can cause. And while sunscreen and clothing are keys to protecting them, so are sunglasses. We had a hard time finding sunglasses that had quality lenses and were made of materials that would stand up to heavy hiking and climbing use. Then we found the Duco Kids Polarized Sunglasses. Here's a review of how they've been working for us after a year.

Most hikers have strong opinions on trekking poles and their pros and cons. But like me, those opinions are primarily based on anecdotes and assumptions. Let’s go into what the scientific research has to say about how trekking poles help hikers and climbers and how they may be a hinderance. Will the research change your opinion one way or the other?

If you are wanting to move from class 1 and class 2 alpine hikes, like those found on many 14ers, and move on to class 3 and class 4 climbing, you may need to make some adjustments to your preparation, focus, equipment, and movement. This video walks you through 5 foundational tips for climbing 14ers, 13ers, and other alpine peaks.