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Hi All,
I thought I would join this forum to share and gain more knowledge of this wonderful joy in life that is winter camping. Admittedly, I do not do as much of it as I darn well should, but with a growing family and soon to have 3 kids under 6, needless to say I have a bit more time before I can really start getting after it with my homegrown expedition team. I've called Alaska my home for the last 13 years, having lived mostly in Southcentral, but also spending several years in the state's Interior, living out in remote villages along the Yukon River. I had the privilege of being an Iditarod volunteer in 2014, but the real treat was in 2015 when I skied about 100 miles of that year's trail, from Nenana to Manley Hot Springs. Alaska's winter exploits are diverse, and that makes all the camping styles such as well. Prior to Alaska, I was born and raised in Upstate NY, and my teeth were cut cold camping in lean-to shelters up in the Adirondaks, where I climbed all 46 of their 4,000'ers in less than 2 years. Snowshoes and crampons were my main thing there...but it wasn't until I moved North that I finally strapped two planks to my feet. Telemark was a dream to learn, and it's a bit of a shame that technology for AT bindings advanced so rapidly that I abandoned Tele for AT in my backcountry setup. My wilderness skills progressed to the point where I started participating in race events, namely the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic. I learned then that the weight of your ski touring setup is paramount to just about anything you're carrying on your back, even though some guys would ski with a pulk. As a result, my "Nordic Tech" setup is a bit unorthodox: Dynafit rando race boots & toe binding (no heel), skinny Madschus Voss skis @ 190cm to offer the option for both skate and classic, and DIY dual-grip ski poles with upgraded powder basket and super sharp carbide tip, again to facilitate all scenarios, on-trail or off, skate or classic, even the option to double-pole across/along river ice. I still use this setup almost exclusively, even when I'm at my local trail system, because it is so versatile. Going ultralight often generates the assumption that the person is cold camping. I tried to buck that trend with a Seek Outside setup that provided a hot tenting package at right around 5 pounds. Combined with a custom down quilt-bag rated to -40, I was ready to take on the worst conditions Alaska has to offer in terms of cold.
Then I got married...
Six years and nearly 3 children later, my winter pursuits have been focused less on myself and more on them, specifically towards making them comfortable (I have dreadful memories of winter outings as a kid with improper footwear and nearly frostbitten feet), but we still have our own adventures. They get to either ride in the pulk, or shuffle along in their glacier paws. With more time to reflect on the past, I've had great opportunities to plan for the future, and for me in the realm of winter camping, I am looking to tradition. Wool and canvas now make up the majority of my clothing and shelter. Knowledge passed down from Mors Kochanski led me to start building super shelters and long fires. Lure of the North was my gateway drug to sewing my own gear that is better than anything you can find on the market for its purpose. So I guess you could say I'm spending less time on trips to increase that experience, but I am making up for it with much more time banking knowledge and skills to apply on future trips. I've also networked "locally" (Alaska is both a big and small state, if you know what I mean) in order to connect with and support one of Alaska's finest craftsman, who is one of the few remaining masters of the art of building Alaskan style snowshoes.
So that's my truncated story. I hope to meet some great people on this forum who share in the passion of the cold.
I thought I would join this forum to share and gain more knowledge of this wonderful joy in life that is winter camping. Admittedly, I do not do as much of it as I darn well should, but with a growing family and soon to have 3 kids under 6, needless to say I have a bit more time before I can really start getting after it with my homegrown expedition team. I've called Alaska my home for the last 13 years, having lived mostly in Southcentral, but also spending several years in the state's Interior, living out in remote villages along the Yukon River. I had the privilege of being an Iditarod volunteer in 2014, but the real treat was in 2015 when I skied about 100 miles of that year's trail, from Nenana to Manley Hot Springs. Alaska's winter exploits are diverse, and that makes all the camping styles such as well. Prior to Alaska, I was born and raised in Upstate NY, and my teeth were cut cold camping in lean-to shelters up in the Adirondaks, where I climbed all 46 of their 4,000'ers in less than 2 years. Snowshoes and crampons were my main thing there...but it wasn't until I moved North that I finally strapped two planks to my feet. Telemark was a dream to learn, and it's a bit of a shame that technology for AT bindings advanced so rapidly that I abandoned Tele for AT in my backcountry setup. My wilderness skills progressed to the point where I started participating in race events, namely the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic. I learned then that the weight of your ski touring setup is paramount to just about anything you're carrying on your back, even though some guys would ski with a pulk. As a result, my "Nordic Tech" setup is a bit unorthodox: Dynafit rando race boots & toe binding (no heel), skinny Madschus Voss skis @ 190cm to offer the option for both skate and classic, and DIY dual-grip ski poles with upgraded powder basket and super sharp carbide tip, again to facilitate all scenarios, on-trail or off, skate or classic, even the option to double-pole across/along river ice. I still use this setup almost exclusively, even when I'm at my local trail system, because it is so versatile. Going ultralight often generates the assumption that the person is cold camping. I tried to buck that trend with a Seek Outside setup that provided a hot tenting package at right around 5 pounds. Combined with a custom down quilt-bag rated to -40, I was ready to take on the worst conditions Alaska has to offer in terms of cold.
Then I got married...
Six years and nearly 3 children later, my winter pursuits have been focused less on myself and more on them, specifically towards making them comfortable (I have dreadful memories of winter outings as a kid with improper footwear and nearly frostbitten feet), but we still have our own adventures. They get to either ride in the pulk, or shuffle along in their glacier paws. With more time to reflect on the past, I've had great opportunities to plan for the future, and for me in the realm of winter camping, I am looking to tradition. Wool and canvas now make up the majority of my clothing and shelter. Knowledge passed down from Mors Kochanski led me to start building super shelters and long fires. Lure of the North was my gateway drug to sewing my own gear that is better than anything you can find on the market for its purpose. So I guess you could say I'm spending less time on trips to increase that experience, but I am making up for it with much more time banking knowledge and skills to apply on future trips. I've also networked "locally" (Alaska is both a big and small state, if you know what I mean) in order to connect with and support one of Alaska's finest craftsman, who is one of the few remaining masters of the art of building Alaskan style snowshoes.
So that's my truncated story. I hope to meet some great people on this forum who share in the passion of the cold.
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