Winter experience close to home

Winter is coming to an end here in Oslo with spring just around the corner. Tell-tale signs are everywhere: small, furry buds are appearing on branches, the chorus of small birds outside our kitchen window is intensifying and easter candy in yellow wrapping is apperaring in the local supermarket. We did actually have 5-6 inches of snowfall last week, but that is all gone now. Yesterday (March 13th) the norwegian meteoroligists recorded a record high temperature of 16.1 degrees celsius which is quite amazing for early March in Norway.

I´ve never been much of a winter hiker/camper, much preferring the warmer months. I had however planned to do more of it this year, even some cross country skiing, but that didn´t happen for various reasons. What I did manage was an overnighter some weeks ago in the Østmarka area close to where I live. We´re not talking wilderness hiking far away from civilization here, but it´s still good winter experience to be had for a novice. Helen couldn´t join because of an injury that needed to heal, but I´m confident she´ll soon be hiking along me, making me laugh and enjoy life more than ever. I leave you with pictures from my hike and wish you all a great week.

Walking out to the campsite. Some of it was on prepared ski trails where I had no use for my snowshoes. They did come in handy later though.

While being passed by skiers I did realize that I wasn´t travelling in the most effective manner possible :).

I love the huge front pocket on the Paramo. It´s like 50 litres of capacity isn´t it?

Close to the campsite now, just had to take a right and climb a hill. Light was fading fast so I was eager to make camp.

After the Duomid was pitched I started cooking dinner, needing first to melt some snow. At this point the wind had picked up a lot and visibility was low . I was warm and comfortable though with all my layers on and didn´t mind having to wait for my hot water. It did take longer than usual with the wind blowing like that. I was quite pleased with how the duomid coped. All the pegs had been hammered into the frozen ground and I was confident that all my guyouts could be trusted to hold throught the night, which they did.

It´s so nice to lay in the sleeping bag, warm and comfortable, waiting for dinner to be ready while the wind is blowing hard outside.

I awoke to a beautifull morning, quite the opposite of the day before.

Melting snow for breakfast. It went quite quickly with the MSR Whisperlite doing it´s thing under beautiful, calm conditions.

Still, at this point I regretted not having carried more water :).

Hiking on and enjoying the morning immensely.

How to stay warm in -40 C

Earlier this week I found an interesting infographic showing what clothing Lars Monsen and Hardald Tunheim recommends to stay warm and without frostbite at -40 celsius (-40 F). I don't know anything about Harald Tunheim, but Lars Monsen is probably the most well known outdoors person in Norway. If I bring my stove on a trip people will often comment "that is so Lars Monsen". He's super experienced after being an outdoors person all his life, and after completing several challenging expeditions, like crossing Canada with dogsled. He's made several TV shows and written books about his expeditons and about gear and techniques.

Here's the infographic with a translation to english below:

How to dress for extreme cold
These are some clothing tips from harald Thunheim and Lars Monsen, both dog sled drivers. They have both experienced extreme cold and know how to dress to avoid frostbite.

Head
Wool beanie with opening for face (my comment: balaclava?).
(Harald Thunheim prefers a fur cap with sides that can be connected below the chin with velcro. He also uses goggles and a face mask if there is a lot wind).

Neck
The neck is covered with wool.

Upper body
Wool sweater with neck, vest or down jacket.
Two wool shirts, short and long sleeve.

Outer layer
Windproof jacket made out of a strong fabric, and with a solid hood. Should be long so that it covers the buttocks.

Hands
Outer layer: Sealskin mitts that covers much of the lower arm (windproof).
Inner layer: Wool mitts.

Legs
Two wool long underwear bottoms.
Outdoor pant or fleece pant, preferably with reinforced knees.
Thick, insulated field trousers.

Feet
Thick wool socks, two pairs.
Shoes made from pure wool.
Use shoes that are a couple of sizes too large. Insert thicker and better isolated insoles as the cold comes from below.

Don't shower every day
Lars Monsen thinks that a layer of dirt protects against the cold, so don't shower as often.

This clothing setup is of course mostly geared towards dog sled drivers and people staying mostly stationary in camp, as well as people who don't like deodorant. Any heavy physical activity would probably make a person hot and sweaty, needing to shed some layers, but then again : -40 C is pretty cold.

Staying comfortable and dry when moving in -7 C
I went for a walk today in the forest close to where I live and I learned something, I always do when I am out.  The temperature was -7 celsius (20F) with some light snow falling and no wind.

When I left I was wearing synthetic socks with wool socks on the outside, hikings boots, high gaiters, Woolpower long underwear bottoms, Lundhags pants (cotton/poly blend), synthetic baselayer from Stormberg, Patagonia R1 hoody, Polar Buff, beanie, Marmot Driclime windshirt, fleece gloves and MLD rain mitts. I started out a little chilly and then I felt my back getting warm, so I removed the windshirt. After a while my ears got chilled so I put on the hood/balaclava of my R1. This shedding of layers and putting them on again continued the whole trip, with the goal being to not get sweaty.

Now you might say that getting sweaty isn't a big deal, and in summer it isn't, well except for potentially scaring friends and wildlife with your body odor, but it is in winter. Imagine you're working hard, walking on snow with your snowshoes on. You've felt your baselayer getting wet from perspiration, but you've not stopped to take care of it because you're a lazy or you don't want to make your friends wait. After a while you decide to stop to eat something and snap some photos, but you're stilling wearing what you wore while moving, not adding any insulation. Now you're not moving anymore so your body isn't producing warmth like before. Since you're still somewhat warm you're still sweating some and the sweat is evaporating from your skin, taking warmth with it. After a while it stops evaporating, but your baselayer is still wet and water transports heat 25 times more efficiently than air, hard facts that you definitely don't like in that situation. So, you really want to be observant and shed layers when needed to reduce sweating, and you want to put on some insulation as soon as you stop. I knew all of this beforehand of course, but I haven't been this focused on it before, mostly hiking in warmer conditions. In winter it is essential to be mindful of this.