Winter’s Wonders
Not everyone can enjoy the cold weather. They might find the snow wet and annoying, or the cold blasts of winter air bone chilling and numbing. They may hate not feeling the tips of their fingers or their feet. Or maybe its the numbing sting of the wind in their eyes and the tip of their nose turning bright red.
For me however, winter is amazing. All of these feelings that otherwise might stop someone from enjoying the winter drive me to experience it more. I know it sounds crazy, but I like the challenge and the fun that winter weather brings. In no other season could you reasonably fall from height and have a soft pillowy substance to catch you. The brush is too thick in most other times of the year to easily glimpse wildlife, not to mention the ease of tracking animals in snow. All of these things (and many more!) bring me pure joy during the coldest months of the year.
Enjoying winter is about mastering the art of staying warm and dry. This mastery comes from developing three key skills:
Layering
Climate adaption
Insulation
All of these skills can be very simple to understand, but dependent upon the needs of expedition, they can be logistical nightmares if not properly learned and applied. Hypothermia and exposure are not challenges anyone can easily overcome!
Layering
While layering is an important outdoor skill in general, and other blog posts will be written to cover the topic as it applies to other seasons, there are a few specifics that make winter layering unique.
Material matters - wool base layers, while not necessarily as moisture wicking, keep you much warmer when wet than the average synthetic version. This is especially important when taking part in less rigorous winter activities such as snowshoeing and birdwatching.
What Works for Water, Works for Winter (sometimes) - when paddling, one of the greatest comforts upon settling into camp is changing out of wet shoes and into dry socks. In winter, the same goes for our snow boots. They can become filled with sweat, which once we stop moving can freeze. To avoid the inevitable frostbite that comes with it, having a good pair of warm socks and insulated booties or camp shoes to change into is an easy remedy. Don’t forget to try and dry your boots as much as possible so you’re not inserting your feet into icicles the next morning!
Bathroom Breaks - the one thing many people forget about is the ease by which they can deconstruct their preferred warm and cozy layering when nature calls. When choosing bottom layers, think about how easy it’s going to be to remove them when you need to use the “facilitrees”.