2010 National Scout Jamboree

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"I want to personally thank you for coming to Camp Dietler this past week! The size and energy of your group really made this a special week for me and my staff. I hope everyone learned a lot about their merit badges and patrol cooking, but even more about themselves and their Scouting friends from across the country! I hope to hear about Eagle Scouts and other accomplishments out of Troop 1876 in the coming Scouting year!"

Yours in Scouting,
Phil Kuestner
Camp Dietler Director
Arapahoe District Executive

Why Bother?

Why do we camp in the winter? Why bother freezing, when we could, instead, be couch potato-ing at home? Four simple reasons:

1. It's a challenge: Winter camping will challenge you, but not in a painful, "I want to die" way. It's a conquerable challenge that you can do, and you will enjoy it.
2. It's fun: Winter camping has a lot to offer: tubing, making quinzees (snow caves to sleep in) and all sorts of surprises.
3. We can: With the right tools and gear, winter camping's not torturous, it's fun. So, if we can do it, why not?
4. Bragging rights: Not many people can say they've camped outside in below-freezing weather, but now you will be able to.

Packing List: Clothes

How you dress outdoors can make the difference between staying warm & dry and having fun or getting cold & wet and being miserable. What you wear has two important factors:

1. Fabrics and what it's made of
2. What you actually wear

Outdoor fabrics to choose from:

If you take anything else away from this, let it be this...

COTTON KILLS — NEVER, EVER WEAR COTTON!

Let's see what the properly dressed person wears into the wilderness:

Always remember to layer! When winter camping, bring plenty of dry clothes to change into.

1. Long johns first: Wool or polypro-no cotton! Synthetics wick the best and keep you dry! Option B: panty hose (seriously) Planty hose is just a dense layer of tiny cells that trap and hold heat.
2. Socks: Wool or wool blend-never cotton in any form. Use polypro sock liners fro added moisture control.
3. Pants: You've got a few options here. You could go with wool or polar fleece pants, which are good as long as you won't be playing in the snow. If you do want to get wet, though, ski pants are great! Remember that if your outer layer is waterproof, you'll stay drier.
4. Shirt: Wool shirts are very good-versatile, relatively inexpensive. Worst case, wear something that wicks liquid or even cotton (again, WORST case), just make sure to wear plenty of outer layers.
5. Plenty of jackets: Wear lots of layers of jackets. Polar fleeces (like the red Troop 1876 ones) are good, as are shirts like the North Face TKA 100, which are synthetic, hug relatively close to the body and help trap heat.
6. Hat:This is a must! Most of your body heat escapes through your head. Bring a wool or fleece hat (it's great if it can pull down over your face, like a ski mask, but not necessary)
7. Boots: Choose some sort of snow boot (not ski boots) and certainly NOT HIKING BOOTS (even if they're waterproof they'll freeze).
8. Mittens: Mittens work best over your hands, but gloves are okay, too. If possible, find mittens, though, because they keep the fingers closer together and, therefore, warmer.
9. Wind Layer: Over your shirts and jackets, wear a ski coat or something that is very good at keeping away moisture (windbreakers don't cut it). When it's cold and snowing, you'll need to stay dry.

Packing List: Other Essential Items

Always remember your Ten Essentials:

1. Water (In winter, you need water even more than summer to help keep you warm!) No CamelBaks, they freeze
2. Extra clothing
3. First aid kit
4. Raingear (not as important if you have a waterproof shell)
5. Sun protection (In winter, this is even more important because the snow reflects the sun, making it twice as intense)
6. Flashlight or headlamp
7. Trail food
8. Matches
9. Map and compass
10. Pocket knife

Other things you'll want:

1. Sleeping Bag
   Your bag should be 0 degrees or less, plus you may want a liner to help keep in heat
2. Sleeping Pad
3. Tarp
   If you sleep in a quinzee, you will want a tarp to help keep you and your stuff dry
4. Between you and your tent buddy, a tent
   Even if you're in a quinzee you may have problems and need a tent
5. Mess kit
6. Shovel
   For making the quinzee
7. Hand warmers
   The kind you shake up and they get hot

Complete Checklist

Download Complete Printable Winter Camping Packing List.html

Special thanks to OKPIK Secrets of Winter Warmth publication from Tahosa Alumni Association for information on this page.

Troop 1876 is Chartered by the Susan M. Duncan YMCA in Arvada, Colorado
Website Maintained and Designed by Michael A. and Jim Auslen, Webmasters
webmaster@troop1876.org