Great report, Mark! You'll be amazed how much difference proper ground insulation makes. The rule of thumb is a layer underneath = two on top. I use two full length foam Thermarest pads for those conditions (last year, not this year). Depending on the temps, the only way to keep the beer from freezing is to tuck them in pockets inside your jacket (same with water). Yes, everything takes roughly 10x longer in the cold. More, if you are setting up wind breaks around your tent. Brilliant call to go slow and allow your body's moisture to evaporate off. Moisture management is key to survival! If you end up doing this often, I find that heavy wool with ventile shell allows great flexibility and spectacular breathability in any conditions for during aerobic activity (take off the shell at the first sign of sweating, put it on at the first sign of chill). Down, as you describe, is the weapon of choice against cold for when you are still. I am delighted to hear you learned the few lessons without paying high price. The price in extreme cold can get very high very fast -- and you were within minutes of help if needed.
I find there is nothing quite like the feeling of crisp everywhere. The snow is crisp. The air crackles as you move through it. Breath is crisp. Great adventure in your own backyard! Fantastic! With abandon, Patrick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
