Water for winter camps when there's no snow

As we all know, when the temperature drops below zero water freezes. And that can be a problem for winter camping if there's no snow to melt. Fill your water bottles at night and find them blocks of ice in the morning. Insulate them from the ground, wrap them in spare clothing, turn them upside down so any water can still be accessed. These all work to some extent. But they can all be awkward, inconvenient, and inefficient. Much easier to just let the water freeze and then melt the ice.

I do this in two ways. Firstly I fill my pots at night and then put them on the stove in the morning. I don't carry big pots though so this doesn't give me that much water. So I also carry flexible water carriers with wide openings. If these freeze overnight I just break up the ice by bashing them with a boot and then shake it out. This doesn't work well with rigid bottles! I have two flexible Platypus containers I use for this, the latest being the Water Tank.

Of course you can carry an insulated flask and fill this at night. I often do. But again it doesn't hold that much water. Or you can leave your tent and go and collect water from a nearby source if there is one. On a freezing stormy morning this isn't very appealing though. I much prefer to have hot drinks and breakfast without leaving my sleeping bag. Plenty of ice is the way to do that.

The picture was taken in the morning at my camp on the Moine Mhor in the Cairngorms earlier this month and described here.

Winter Collection

Over the years I've posted quite a few pieces on the skills and gear and pleasures for the winter hills. As they are scattered throughout the blog I've put together links here.

Wild Camping In Winter

Survival In Winter

Lightweight Gear In Winter

The snow's here! Skis or snowshoes?

Ski touring

Snow Shelters

Twenty Tips for Winter Camping

Ski Backpacking

The Joy of Winter Backpacking

Some Thoughts On Lightweight Flexible Footwear In Winter 

Some Thoughts On Ice Axes

Winter Is Coming! What I Wear And What I Carry

Winter Gear Laid Out

In Praise of Snowshoes

Twenty-Four Hours of Winter Perfection

Sunset from the Moine Mhor

Winter conditions in Scotland are erratic and unpredictable most years but have been exceptionally so this season. Cold weather and snow has only come in short bursts, followed by longer periods of milder wet and windy weather with rapid thaws. Making the most of the times when the snow is crisp and the sky clear has meant watching the forecasts and seizing any sign of calm. When there was such a prediction for the very end of February with maybe twenty-four hours of settled cold conditions an overnight trip seemed a good idea.

Glen Feshie was cold and still as two of us hefted our packs on our backs and started the long haul up to the Moine Mhor. The snow in the glen was thin and patchy. A walker coming down said there was a strong bitter wind on the tops but by the time we were there it had died away to nothing. Ahead vast snowfields stretched out to distant summits. Under snow this is always an amazing place with a real feel of the arctic, a sense of huge wildness. I love it!

Crossing the Moine Mhor

We tramped across the snow, sometimes sinking in shin deep, sometimes just biting into the surface. The clouds that had swept across the sky as we climbed began to dissipate, creating beautiful patterns in the sky. Out west there was a wide strip of cloudless blue. The sun would soon be shining there, lighting up the snow and the clouds. I paused, letting Mark march on far ahead. As the crunch of his boots and click of his trekking poles faded I was enveloped in silence. Not a sound anywhere, not a single tiny sound. The world felt huge and pure and ecstatic. For that brief moment there was perfection.

After sunset with Venus high above

The sun cut under the clouds and the mountains and the snow glowed. Slowly it sank into the far west and the sky began to darken through shades of blue. As we began to descend the planet Venus appeared big and bright in the sky ahead. With no wind we didn’t feel cold while moving though the temperature never rose above zero. 

A starry camp

Down in Glen Feshie headlamps came out for the walk through the woods to find a spot to camp. Once the packs were off the cold began to bite. Tents up we were soon inside making hot drinks and soup. Then the night sky lured me out to stare at the brilliant starscape above the silhouettes of the trees. A wonderful night. Still virtual silence, though I could just hear the trickle of the river and occasionally an owl called.

A frosty morning

Dawn came with a hard frost. The tents were white. The temperature was -7°C. A real winter’s night. Soon the sun came and the world brightened. Wandering down the glen we admired the magnificent old pines and the youngsters below them, well-established regeneration bringing health and continuing life to the ancient forest. 

Erosion

Two day walkers talked of avalanches. I wasn’t sure what they meant but on reaching the confluence of the Allt Garbhlach and the River Feshie I knew. Here a high cliff of soil and stone, the side of a moraine sliced through by the ever-changing river, was eroding before our eyes. As the sun melted ice in the cliffs rocks, stones and pebbles were released, tumbling into the river and sending spurts of water into the air. We watched fascinated then walked on to the finish. By early afternoon we were in a café in Aviemore. I looked out of the window. Snow and sleet was sweeping down the street. The twenty-four hours of calm had been just that and had given us a memorable winter trip.

A Kit List for Winter Backpacking

Having been asked for a winter backpacking kit list from someone about to visit the Highlands for wild camping later this month I thought I'd post one from an overnight trip in the Cairngorms a year ago. I wrote about that trip here. Many of these items were on test but the list is typical of the gear I take on winter trips.

Pack:      Lightwave Ultrahike

Shelter:  Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid XL + Nest

Sleeping Bag: Salewa Fusion

Insulation:  Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Regular/OMM Duo Mat

Kitchen :    Optimus Vega gas stove/foil windscreen

        :      Primus Eta 1 litre pot

        :      Insulated mug

        :      Go Outdoors long plastic spoon

        :      Sea to Summit spoon       

        :      dishcloth                           

        :      FireSteel/lighter                            

        :      GoLite 700ml water bottle           

        :      2x Platypus 2 litre bottles    

        :      250 gas cartridge

Footwear:  Ecco Biom Hike boots

Clothing: Wigwam Merino Comfort Hiker Socks

       :       SealSkinz Midweight socks

       :       Mountain Equipment G2 Windstopper trousers

        :      Montane Primino Zip Neck base layer

        :      Didriksons microfleece top

        :      Sherpa Nangpala Primaloft Down Gold jacket

       :       Patagonia Ultralight Down Vest

        :      Paramo Fuera windshirt

        :      Montane Further Faster Neoshell jacket

        :      Mountain Hardwear Stretch Plasmic overtrousers

        :      Smartwool boxer shorts

       :       Montane Primino long johns

        :      Smartwool Woody Creek Hat

       :       Paramo Cap

       :       Buff

       :       Smartwool Liner gloves

       :       Montane Sabretooth Powershield gloves

       :       The North Face Windstopper gloves

       :       Extremities Tuff Bags overmitts

       :       Bandanna       

 Snow:    Camp Corsa ice axe

        :      Hillsound trail crampons          

       :       Snow shovel 

Accessories:  Pacer poles

        :      Petzl Tikka XP & RX+ headlamps            

        :      Compass & whistle               

        :      Notebook, pens        

        :      Harveys maps

        :      Reading glasses

        :      First Aid Kit                   

        :      Repair Kit    

        :      Sony Xperia SP smartphone, ear phones, battery charger                 

        :      Suunto Ambit watch

        :      Kestrel 4500 Weather Station

        :      SAK knife

        :      Mini binoculars

        :      Wash kit/loo paper

        :      Sunscreen     

        :      Salomon Dark glasses    

        :      Ski goggles          

        :      Kindle e-reader

Cameras :     Sony NEX 6 & 7 cameras

        :      Sony 10-18mm, 16-50mm & 55-210 mm lenses

        :      Smartcards, batteries & filters

        :      Velbon V-Pod tripod