Winter’s Ultimate Escape Ski Camping Lets You Break Away Into A World Free Of Crowds, Noise - And Pesky Mosquitoes

All creatures make adjustments for winter Robins fly south. Snowshoe hares and ptarmigans turn white. Elk grow a coarse coat of insulating fur.

Bears don’t have much choice, but it’s a pity so many people seem to hibernate, wasting three good months of the year.

With a little adjustment, they could be camping.

Winter camping isn’t all that much different from camping during summer. Both versions have just the right proportions of misery and pleasure.

During summer, you get sunburn. During winter, you get frostbite. In one season, you contend with poison ivy. In the other, it’s frostbite.

Blisters appear in both seasons. A bee sting can kill some people just as dead as an avalanche.

But winter offers some appealing advantages.

Finding a campsite is never a problem. Virtually any unplowed mountain road will lead to one. With a little experience, the Selkirk Crest becomes inviting. Lookout Pass or even the Canadian Rockies will warm you with cold-camping possibilities.

Crowds are a major difference between winter camping and summer camping. You won’t find them in winter. No boomboxes, ever.

Of course, backcountry camping on skis requires a few skills and items of equipment in addition to those needed for basic backcountry touring.

You should learn to dig a snow cave or purchase a light mountaineering tent.

For warmth, a winter-rated down or fiberfill sleeping bag is necessary as well as a good system of layered clothing.

A dependable camp stove is essential.

A winter camper must always keep one thing in mind: The enemy is wetness.

Modern fabrics such as polypropylene, Capilene, pile and Gore-Tex have radically lightened and improved the way winter campers dress. The all dry quickly and offer warmth when wet. The key is to layer the clothing.

The first layer - top and bottom, including liner socks - should be polypropylene-type underwear, which wicks away body moisture. I prefer a zippered turtleneck top that can be opened for ventilation during periods of exertion.

The second layer on top is a wool or polypro shirt or sweater, followed by a pile jacket.

A light windproof jacket over a pile jacket will keep you warm in breezy conditions. A lightweight down jacket can be stuffed compactly in a pack and will be a welcome layer after you’ve cooled from a long day on the trail.

A Gore-Tex parka is the last layer to carry. Gore-Tex is a remarkable fabric that’s both waterproof and breathable. It sheds snow and keeps your insulation dry. It’s not perfect, but backcountry skiers won’t find any better alternative for shell clothing.

Even with Gore-Tex, ventilation is important while under exertion. Most serious backcountry skiers wear parkas with underarm zippers to reduce heat buildup and minimize sweating.

On my lower body, pile pants make the second layer while I’m in camp. However, while traveling on skis, I’m usually comfortable with Gore-Tex or nylon wind pants over my polypro underwear.

Both gloves and mitts should be packed, as well as two wool or pile hats - one for day and one that will always be dry for sleeping.

The best sleeping bag on the market won’t keep you warm without some sort of pad to insulate you from the snow.

Consider taking two pads. I combine a closed-cell foam pad with an ultralight Therm-a-Rest.

Once the proper equipment has been assembled, your winter camping enjoyment will be directly proportional to your understanding and execution of proper technique.

For example, the transition between skiing and making camp is critical. The warmth of exertion can vanish in minutes, leaving you with frostbitten fingers and toes and on the verge of hypothermia if you don’t add proper clothing and make your camp quickly.

You have to stomp with skis on to make a tent platform in the snow. Let the snow set up before pitching the tent.

Put a piece of foam pad under the camp stove to help it maintain pressure on the cold snow.

Work at drinking plenty of liquids and eat plenty of fat and carbos to stoke your internal furnace.

You’ll have plenty of time. Darkness forces winter skiers into their tents by 5 p.m., although March - perhaps the best month for winter camping - offers more daylight, firm snow for traveling and a better chance for sunshine.

It takes practice to learn how to keep clothing dry from both sweat and the elements. After a few outings, you’ll learn the value of down booties and stuffing your boots in a stuff sack at the bottom of your sleeping bag to keep them from freezing into blocks of ice overnight.

Experience has taught me to melt snow and fill a leakproof bottle with boiling water before I go to bed on bitter cold nights. The hot water bottle is wrapped in a sweater and stuffed in my bag to warm my feet. This also assures that the water won’t be frozen solid in the morning.

Save precious stove fuel by minimizing the amount of snow that must be melted for water. Especially on ski trips of more than five days, I try to make at least half of the camps near streams or lake outlets where fresh water often can be found with minimal digging.

Compile a list of gear before you go ski camping. Check it twice. Forgetting a mitten might be enough to abort a trip.

You can leave out the mosquito repellent, but don’t forget the sunscreen, sunglasses and other gear listed previously in this Outback Skiing series.

Hone your skills by skiing to backcountry shelters at first. Then try an overnighter in a tent close to a road before plunging deeper into the wilderness.

Once the skills are mastered, winter camping is just as enjoyable as summer camping, only a bit colder.

MEMO: This is a sidebar which appeared with story: Outback skiing Last in a three-part series about crosscountry skiers who are breaking away from groomed tracks.