What’s too cold to tent camp.

[Ben Sellers]

That looks like a good way to die of carbon monoxide poisoning if something goes wrong...

 

[Deleted member 16014]

If you have to ask random people on the internet whether it's a good idea for you...
It'd be like asking how fast you can drive in a snow storm. I just depends on about a hundred things.

 

[Sasquatchewan]

I've slept in a tent in -45C with nothing but a Coleman stove and lantern plenty of times. It's still cold inside the tent but a good sleeping bag does the trick.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Fire in a stove gives you a lot more than just heat.

Travel via sled ....

 

[dgc1963]

That looks like a good way to die of carbon monoxide poisoning if something goes wrong...

no carbon monoxide at all due to the fact the pipe draws air from below the log thats why the log is up off the ground

 

[rmauch20]

Fire in a stove gives you a lot more than just heat.

Travel via sled ....

Which shelter is that?

 

[thusby]

A little heavy for packing but I have a -30 degree bag and R7 pad that I have slept out in comfortably. A few nights tickled -20 below but I never noticed.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Which shelter is that?

First one is a Kifaru Sawtooth, second Kifaru 8-man tipi, and for comparison the Kifaru super tarp w/annex (use a small wood stove in this one as well) ........

 

[Brian in Montana]

I've known people to Nordic ski into the back country and build an igloo or a snow cave to sleep in. I'll confess, that ain't for me. But cold weather tent camping is doable. Ive camped in some pretty darn cold weather, but I'm probably not quite as tough as I used to be. Just make sure your gear is appropriate. I have a -20 rated bag, I also sleep in merino wool base layer with a balaclava and wool socks. I also put one of those chemical hand warmers you shake up in the bottom of the bag. That all works out pretty well. For getting fires going I keep a small can of sterno and a wind-proof lighter in my pack.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

If you have to ask random people on the internet whether it's a good idea for you...
It'd be like asking how fast you can drive in a snow storm. I just depends on about a hundred things.

Exactly.

Also there is the experience factor and suck tolerance, which is just so variable.

There are people that would be fine in the jankiest setups and others that are going to be in a whole lot of trouble with the best equipment available it's impossible to tell where someone falls from comments on an internet forum.

 

[bushman13]

I think a lot of ppl tell tall tales when it comes to camping and cold. I've been absolutely hammered by the cold on my only 2 elk hunts. 1st season last year and now 2nd season this year. It's completely frustrating because I'm not actually elk hunting, I'm trying to survive.
You know what they say about the best laid plans, this year I was confident I had it figured out. 13ft bell tent, full cast iron wood stove, 0 degree bags with multiple blankets. Setup camp on nice day at 12k, quickly devolves into the same exact problem I had last year. We couldn't get the tent above 32 degrees even with the stove absolutely cranking on perfectly split oak chunks. Even my dogs were like "wth, get us out of here." The only other non-camper/tent we saw at that high altitude had a double tent thing going on.

When I first moved out west 3 years ago, I met a dude at work originally from Montana who now hunts Colorado. He told me not to mess with rifle because the cold and the orange army, I'm starting think he wasn't BS'n. September sure sounds a lot better about now.

This year 2nd season. Arrive on a nice day. Fly the Florida flag to show how out of place we are and to foreshadow the upcoming problems.


This year's freezer, I mean camp.

 

[Khunter]

bushman13, you realize we have scads of elk from 5k to 9k feet as well...Do some research on hunt areas.

 

[COEngineer]

I think a lot of ppl tell tall tales when it comes to camping and cold... I'm not actually elk hunting, I'm trying to survive.

Setup camp on nice day at 12k...

bushman13, you realize people went to the South Pole using tents, right? Also, 12,000' is at or very near treeline in CO...so, no you didn't.

Maybe you should change your name to "warmSoftBedRequiredMan13"

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

bushman13, you realize people went to the South Pole using tents, right? Also, 12,000' is at or very near treeline in CO...so, no you didn't.

Maybe you should change your name to "warmSoftBedRequiredMan13"

Meh kinda depends on where you are in the state... timberline isn't a set altitude it's influenced by lots of factors there are lots of places in the state say the collegiates where you can find timber up to 12200'... "when he says 12k it's probably 11,750... but that's kinda splitting hairs.

Honestly I get super cold, even in September and August, just is what it is, the way I deal with it is just tons of layers and keeping moving. The worst times for me in the woods or most uncomfortable are right before or after bed... I'm kinda a pain to camp with because I don't like to linger around the tent, because I'm chilly. When I get to my camp I get my tent set up so that I can reach everything from my bag, then I make a mt house, eat and am in my bag. In the morning I make coffee while in the tent in my bag, then once I'm out of my bag I spend 10-15min around camp max before I'm hiking. I save breakfast for 10am once the suns up.

I don't bother with camp shoes, I don't do big elaborate camps, I have no use for stoves, lanterns, etc. That's not to say I begrudge others there stuff I just don't like hanging out being cold, If I want to sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows, I'll do that crap in July not in October when it's 20 degrees and there's a wind wiping.

 

[thusby]

The first half day in the cold is the worst. Your metabolism eventually evens out your internal temp. You probably don't want to hear this but going back and forth between hot and cold environments may be the problem. Also, the expectation of comfort might also be the problem.

 

[Big Slick]

Me.....I’m to old to tent camp. To old and stubborn to stop!

 

[bushman13]

When it comes to cold sleeping, TotalPussBushman13.

It was 11K and a lot of change.

bushman13, you realize people went to the South Pole using tents, right? Also, 12,000' is at or very near treeline in CO...so, no you didn't.

Maybe you should change your name to "warmSoftBedRequiredMan13"

 

[bushman13]

Plenty of "research" went into it. If research means sitting on ON-X for months at a time and trying to get to road-less areas with less hunters. In reality I want the adventure too, but I'm lacking in CO hunting experience and love of the "suck".
I live and scout in Unit 39 and know exactly where some bulls are during archery. But then I mistakenly day dream of far off places, good friends and wilderness hunting trips, getting me into trouble.

bushman13, you realize we have scads of elk from 5k to 9k feet as well...Do some research on hunt areas.

 

[COSA1]

It depends on the weather... Generally, if temps are below 10-15 F, you'll need a wood stove/tipi. It's some work cutting wood and feeding the fire, but really keeps the morale up when hunting the cold temps, and the ability to dry out. I'd say 15 is the limit with cold camping, unless you want to sleep with a cold water bladder.
Another factor to consider is water sources/filters freezing. Take tabs and know where a spring comes out of the ground

 

[COEngineer]

When it comes to cold sleeping, TotalPussBushman13.

It was 11K and a lot of change.

Thanks for having a sense of humor! I thought about deleting my post, thinking I had overdone it.

BTW, in case anyone thought I was exaggerating, these guys went to the South Pole in 1911, sleeping in tents with nothing more than Primus (backpacking) stoves to heat their food: AmundsenWikipediaPage
They turned around once when it was -72 degF, but on the successful expedition, it was around -40 degF when they left.