II: camp life in the winter-forest

General conditions

Allowance: The Outdoor Recreation Act

To check if we are allowed to do what we have planned, we have to consult the ORA. It allows us to camp in the forest for one night. It also allows us to make a fire, since it is still wintertime.

To see the detailed regulations see assignment I: the outdoor recreation act.

Where? – a little risk analyses

As can be seen in the picture we started at UiA heading into a general North-West direction. We stayed on the paths til the very end. This guarantees that everybody will be able to find his way back.

In case of an emergency: Civilization is easy accessible at any time (about 1h on skies). Cell phone coverage is good.

Weather

You should always check the weather first so that you can pack according to the weather. The weather-forecast can be found on www.yr.no. (But don´t trust it a hundred percent, always make sure, that you could handle a weather-change.)

The weather-forecast showed that it would snow. That means that clothing should be water-resistant.

 

How to pack the backpack

In general you should pack the heaviest pieces close to your spine in the lower half of the backpack. The sleeping bag is furthest down. For skiing you should be aware, that all the weight that you carry in the upper part will influence your balance. Small pieces that you need often (for example the ski-wax and something to eat) should be packed in the top or in some outer pockets that are easy to reach. You wear the backpack ON your hips. Take your time to adjust the backpack otherwise you will not enjoy the tour.

Essentials for a night in the winter forest:

  • Sleeping bag
  • Sleeping mat
  • Tent or tarp
  • Map and compass
  • First aid kit
  • Clothing (extra layers and change)
  • Ski wax
  • Cooking system: Trangia stove (plus Red spirit or Gas), MSR or gas-cooker
  • Dishes and pots
  • Food
  • Knife
  • Thermos
  • Spare gloves and hat
  • Phone
  • Sunglasses/skiing goggles
  • Sun-cream (according to weather)
  • Candle: if you have it in the tent/snowhole during the night, it will warn you when the oxygen-level is low

How to stay warm

The most important thing to stay warm is to stay dry. When you are wet you will lose heat 17 times faster than when you are dry. That means firstly that you have to avoid sweating by taking of clothes and putting them back on when you take a break. And secondly that you need to have a waterproof outer-layer in case of rain or wet snow.

The best way to dress is the layer system. With it, you can adjust to weather- and bodytemperture-changed easily. You can call this ”klær etter vær”  (clothes for weather). The layer system has the second advantage that it will keep you warm more effectively because you have air between the layers.

There are three layers: first layer, insulation layer and outer layer.

  • The best first layer is woolen underwear because wool will keep you war even if it is wet and it will also not stink as fast as synthetic underwear.
  • Common second layers are fleece jackets, down jackets or primaloft jackets.
  • The outer layer should be water- and wind resistant. Herefor you can use rubber clothes or gore-tex jackets. The gore-tex has the advantage, that it is supposed to be breathable that means to transport out your body moisture.

You should also wear gaiters, especially when skiing in deep snow, so that your shoes will stay dry.

If you feel your toes and fingers getting cold you should move them in your shoes and gloves. They  are dangered of cooling off first, because they are at the very end of the blood-circuit and only covered by a thin layer of flesh and skin. In general you should not wear fingered gloves but mittens. In the fingered gloves your fingers are isolated and can´t warm each other.

After eating you should get moving because your body will send a lot of blood to your stomach to digest. If you are inactive your body will not send a lot of blood into your extremities and you will get cold. Moving reminds to also send blood into the muscles.

You should drink warm or hot drinks otherwise your body has to waste energy to heat up the drink to body temperature. Tea and coffee is also not the best choice since they will make you go to toilet which makes you lose water.

 

How to move safely on skies in a big group

There are certain things that you should be aware of, when you are in a big group:

  • Make stops now and then and before continuing check if everybody is ready
  • Everybody needs to see the person in front all the time
  • Pass on signal to the one in the front if something´s happened (somebody fell, somebody needs a rest, somebody can´t see his front-man etc.)
  • Leave some space when going downhill

How to set up camp (tent…)

First principle when you take a tent is to check if all the parts are in in before you leave into the wild! Otherwise you might end up in trouble especially if you are dependent on the tent. And make sure that you know how to build up the tent. (For the mountain tents: first build up the outer tent with the poles then clip in the inner tent.

A good spot to build up a tent should be flat and have some space to move around.

When you found a good spot for your tent you need to flatten the area. First use your ski: stomp to compact the snow. After taking off your skies you might need to stomp and compact it even more by feet.

Use pine branches and put them on the flattened area. This is a very effective insulation against cold from the ground.

After building up the tent you should find a place to leave the common stuff (shovels, ax, saw, tentbag, cooking system etc.) so that every member of the tent group knows where it is and can reach it easily in the night.

 

How to build a fireplace

Find a place big enough for the whole group, where no pinebranches are above – they could catch fire easily. Then flatten it or shovel the area free.

Then you should collect and chop wood. Don´t start the fire before collecting enough wood to keep it burning for some while. Take branches that are already dead (the have no needles).

The best way to make a fire in the winter is a “pagode” (see picture). You put the big pieces down and the smaller ones on top. You can use your ax or knife to carve strands into it so that it will catch fire faster. In the end you put some tinder into the middle and light it.

It might often happen to you that the wood that you have collected is wet. In that case put it close to the fire before putting it on so that it will dry.

 

How to build an outdoor-toilet

Find a spot, that is a little apart from the tents and the fireplace and in the best case behind a little hill or tree. This is especially important when you are a big group – it protects the person on the toilet from curious eyes.

Dig a hole and built a snow wall around it. You might even put a big branch horizontally so that people can sit on it.

Make some kind of signal on the way to the toilet that tells people if it is occupied (for example two crossed branches).

 

How to prepare dinner – what to eat when outside (nutrition)

“Just like a car needs fuel to drive, so does the human body need food and drink to build up the energy needed to walk.” (From http://drblackoe.blogspot.no/2012/04/nutrition-for-outdoor.html)

When you are outside – and especially when you are outside in the cold with your body moving a lot, you need to take care that your body gets all that he needs. First of all: drink enough! (and like mentioned above, drink warm drinks!)

Secondly when you start to think about which food you want to take for a night in the winter forest there are some principles that you can follow:

  • the food should be warm
  • It should contain enough carbohydrates, proteins and (for longer trips: vitamins) to give your body enough nutrition to stay warm and healthy
  • The dishes should be comparatively easy to prepare since you don´t have the options of a well equipped kitchen (cutting boards, different knifes and a lot of dinnerware) and you also have only one/two pots and cookers (depending on how much you want to carry). So sometimes outdoor cooking is a perfectly planned procedure with a certain preparing and cooking order that you really have to think of.

What I have learned

  • How to make an excellent mushroom-soup
  • How to use the trangia (although it would not be my chosen outdoor kitchen, because it is really slow).
  • Leave nothing lying in the snow, when it snows all night
  • How to flatten an area with a lot of snow (and that it is actually really good training for your legs) and how well the pine branches work as isolation
  • Which type of wood you have to use for what (birch for the tinder, then pine and oak if you want the fire burning for a long time)