Don't Freeze

           Waking up one morning I saw my breath; it was cold, really cold.  Freeze your balls off cold.  But there was nothing for it, I had to pee.  Nature called.  As I worked my way towards waking up with the realization that my bladder was about to explode, I thought, “What in the hell am I doing here”?

            I was winter camping; the most insane of all outdoor activities.  This fine past time is usually reserved for the most hardy of all individuals; you know, people who like to climb Mt. Everest.  Yep, there is nothing better then being surrounded by ice and snow, and being perpetually cold.  Got to love it.  I mean really, you got to love it, or really really want to be there, if you don’t, then you’re doing the wrong weekend activity.

            I don’t care what equipment you have.  When you camp out in the winter and there is no heat source, you’re fucked.  You will never get warm again until you get back to a place with central heating.  But don’t get me wrong, winter camping can be a blast!

            I should clarify; I have been winter camping many times and always had a good time.  However, I always froze my ass off too.  Was it worth it?  Yes, the experience was worth the effort and in at least one case it turned out to be a real adventure due to the danger involved.  I.E. my friend who I was doing the trip with was in serious danger from exhaustion and exposure.  We survived the night buy staying in a ski lodge at the top of a mountain.  Amazingly enough and to our good fortune, the ski area didn’t lock their lodge at the end of the day.  Not that I’ve tried that more then once.  But hey, any port in a storm.

            In that particular case my friend and I were trying to get to a cabin by skiing into it on a trail.  We had a late start and by the time we were getting up into the high country it was getting dark.  I don’t know if we were ever on the trail or not, but I honestly think we were getting close to the cabin and may have been able to make it.  However, we had set a time limit on making the destination and turned back when we hit it.  Maybe not the best decision of the trip because we were closer to the cabin then the parking lot where we had left the car.  There was no way we would make it back in the remaining light.  Fortunately for us, the ski lodge was relatively close. We eventually arrived after dark with the aid of head lamps.

            This scenario could have ended much worse then it did, but I believe we would have survived the night outside.  We had all the necessary equipment to do so.  Not that it would have been pleasant. 

            I guess my point in this whole thing is: winter camping in the Rockies is not something to be taken lightly.  If you are going to attempt it, be prepared to be cold.  And don’t even try it if you don’t have at least the basics in equipment, and some knowledge of winter hazards.  Many experienced mountaineers have perished tempting the elements of the winter Rockies and elsewhere.  Don’t become a statistic.