The Headlamp

A headlamp is a lightweight necessity to carry on any any camping trip or excursion. This Petzl lamp has 3 settings and a handy red lense that flips up--it will allow you to maintain night vision: this can be quite handy for nighttime photography, late night tent duties, and general utility. It also won't blind your tent mate. These lamps are LED and cost anywhere from $25 to $45, depending on what you want. They are great for lighting personal space and are very economical on battery usage. I have had this headlamp for 7 years.This is the only light source I will carry on this trip.

Shaving Weight

We now have everything we want packed and organized. Now is the time to really sit back, relax, and go through your gear again mentally. What do you want and what do you really need? What gear can you leave at home without compromising safety and overall comfort? Its easy to say, "Well, I'm already hauling 100 pounds of gear, what's another pound or two?" This is the time to reflect and eliminate, if possible, and thats just what I've started doing. I will return to this post as necessary and keep this list updated.

• Gale Force pants--not coming.I already have wind shells, insulated pants, and longjohns. I will ski every day in longjohns and shells. If I get really cold, I still have my Chugach Pants. The Gale Force pants are a luxury, they are staying at home. I may miss them out there, but I won't die without them.
• Emergen-C drink mix--I already have vitamins in my breakfast pack.We have lots of dry beverage packed, these little drink mixes are not a necessity, and the ziploc was substantially dense for such a small item.
• 5 pounds of cocoa-- We're not ready to leave this extravagant bundle of joy at home just yet...but we are going to spoon out our servings in a portion-controlling manner. We think we may be able to drop it down 2 pounds. If we come up short, we have plenty of tea. Still just a thought at this moment, because I'm not willing to give up steaming cups of hot cocoa. Your body will need the sugar content to stave off hypothermia--its more important than the actual temperature of the cocktail!
• FLIP Ultra HD Video Camera--staying at home. I already have 2 still digitals and am more concerned with becoming overwhelmed with battery and camera care than the weight. Leaving this at home will allow me to focus more time on still photography and thats my goal anyway. Both my still cameras have video capabilities but I won't dream of using it due to battery conservation. There is also no intent to review pictures in the field for the same reason.

Coping with the Cold

I'm not going to spend an extremely long amount of time on this subject ( I very easily could) , but I will tell you that everyone deals with the cold differently. Some people get cold hands, some cold feet (that would be me), some cold cores, and some don't get cold at all. If you are new to cold weather camping, or just looking for a refresher course, I suggest you do some internet research or buy a comprehensive book. This book is one that I keep as reference in my library, and I reread it recently in anticipation of this trip. All the modern gear in the universe can't help you in a cold weather scenario unless you spend some time in the outdoors and find out how your body copes with the cold. Hypothermia can strike quickly,  and frostbite can be almost instant in certain weather conditions. You need to know how to recognize, treat, and avoid these dangerous scenarios.  I will share some tips: when traveling use the buddy system; my partner Jeremy and I will be keeping a close eye on each other. Shivering indicates the onset of mild hypothermia, and must be treated immediately in a wilderness situation before it is allowed to escalate into moderate symptoms. If  I become irritable, complacent, or start slurring my speech I am showing signs of mild to moderate hypothermia and it also needs to be addressed immediately. If Jeremy has white blotches on his cheeks and nose he is being frostbitten, and this also needs immediate attention.  The very best way to deal with these issues, and others, is avoidance through experience and knowledge. Hydrate often and regularly; observe the color of your urine--it is an excellent indicator of dehydration. Dress for the conditions. Eat regularly--keep the fire burning inside you.  An old military acronym we used was COLD: keep it Clean, don't Overheat, dress in Layers, keep it Dry. The cold is no joke, learn how your body deals with it and practice in it before you fling yourself into a scenario that leads from fun to fatal. Every great warrior has a chink in his armor, find out where yours is before you go into battle. And go into battle hydrated: dehydration is an insidious contributor to cold weather injuries.

The Route--Click on the map for an enlarged version

Our route will begin at Denali Park Headquarters, where Park Rangers start their dog team patrols at the Kennels. We will climb above treeline on the Hines Creek drainage, which will deliver us onto a low mountain pass and Jenny Creek. From here we will cross the Savage, Sanctuary, and Teklanika Rivers , encountering sparsely forested areas on an otherwise exposed stretch of taiga. Passing Igloo and Cathedral Mountains, we will ascend Sable Pass and then drop down to the East Fork of the Toklat River. A large board valley will allow us to avoid climbing the potentially treacherous Polychrome Pass and will deliver us to the Toklat River. Proceeding west, we will encounter boxed mountainous regions as we climb Highway Pass, Stony Hill Overlook, and Thorofare Pass on our way to Eielson. Panoramic views of Denali and the Alaska Range will be our constant companion as we continue west above the Muldrow Glacier and McKinley Bar on our way to Wonder Lake. From here we will head north to Kantishna and our pre-arranged bushplane extraction. If time and weather allow, a potential side trip will be Bear Draw on the Toklat River. Clicking on this map should bring you to an enlarged version.

Christening of the Snow Ships

The pulks/sleds/snow ships have now been christened with cheap boxed red wine. I have chosen the name "S.S. Kid Karstens" for my ship,  in honor of the first Superintendent of what was originally named Mount McKinley National Park. Harry Karstens was often referred to as "the kid", but was revered as an honest, hardworking, and highly dependable mail deliverer, musher, river man, and steward of what is now Denali National Park and Preserve (he was equally despised by poachers, moonshiners, and trespassers). Jeremy Bahr of Fairbanks has chosen the name of his ride to be "S.S. Broad Reach", which is a sailing term. It's a point of sail when wind is at the beam.

Recommended Reading

Some are dated, all are spectacular reading...

Miscellaneous Additions

I have added some miscellaneous items to my kit. I have my dry beverage pack which will house an entire days supply of tea, hot cocoa mix, Emergen-C vitamin powder, Kool-Aid, and sugar/dry milk mix. A mixing spoon is attached by a lanyard, and this bag will eliminate the need to break out bulk items for hot drinks on the trail.     I am also packing a dozen Hand Warmers as a backup to my heating system for keeping camera batteries warm . Keep in mind that the warmer they are when you open them the better their performance will be. I also have two drinking nalgenes and their arctic covers. I have taken old wool socks and cut additional covers for them; this will act as an extra insulator but will be even more useful in the evenings when I fill a nalgene with hot beverage and put it in my bag ( along with myself). The sock will keep the nalgene from burning me. Its a good idea to carry your nalgenes upside down. Ice will form on the upper end exposed to oxygen first, and your lid will not be frozen shut.  I also placed my simple mess kit into the stove bag: I have a 2 quart thermos, a lexan mug, fork, and spoon, and an insulated tea mug. Thats all I'll need. As I mentioned earlier, the thermos will be filled with boiling water every morning before making trail. Hot drinks of our choice will then be available at any time by accessing the thermos. Last, but not least, is a pee jug. Thats right, I will urinate into my color coded nalgene rather than exit the tent in the middle of the night. I have two  wraps of colored tape for identification purposes, and multiple wraps of Gorilla Tape for general purpose. You may think that peeing into a bottle inside your tent at night is an offensive and disgusting idea, but after one night of serious winter camping you would be a dedicated convert--especially after going to bed with a separate hot nalgene full of tea. Trust me.

The Complete Winter Kit

And there you have it: the complete winter kit; I have my bombproof customized military poles and Karhu skis, my large backpack containing down jacket and stout GoreTex windshell in the main body, backup gloves in the outer left pocket and backup hats in the outer right pocket. My extreme weather mittens and down hat are in my Mountainsmith Organizer. Navigational instruments are located in the outer back pocket along with goggles, glacier glasses,Nat Geo topographical maps and my SPOT. The bottom compartment of the backpack contains my NEOS Overshoes and my Brooks Ranger Overboots. My camera bag is clipped onto key rings on the front of the pack and has my Canon G11,spare batteries, anenometer,stove schematics and camera manual, tally book and pencils, knife, whistle, customized daily map and my pre-programmed GPS--and its heated, with some bandanas in place to catch condensation. 25 feet of 9mm climbing rope are fastened to the bottom of my pack for multiple uses.  My pulk is hooked to the pack with carabiners and the poles are crossed which greatly improves tracking, stability, and manueverability. The sled is loaded with the remainder of all my gear: sleeping bag and thermarest, spare clothing of numerous design and utility, cookgear, stoves and fuel, shovel, tent, snowshoes, sleeping kit, repair kits (general utility and stove), first aid and survival equipment, toiletries,tripod, and trash bags. Everything is lashed down with heavy duty rubber bungees ( the rope can also be used here in case of bungee failure). I have a few miscellaneous items that still have to be worked through on my list but everything is currently ship-shape: equipment has been tested, repaired, organized, packed , and labeled. I have a 14 day supply of food and dry beverage for an 11 day, 10 night trip. I'm ready.

Just for fun, lets talk about weight. I speculated in one of my first blogs that I thought my entire winter kit would weigh between 75 and 85 pounds. The entire kit pictured above weighs 105 pounds. However, I am hauling all the communal gear : cookgear, fuel, stoves, repair kits, first aid, survival, navigation, shovel, and tent with an extreme winter kit in itself. My partner will be inheriting some of this gear upon arrival in Talkeetna on February 26th, and the tent kit alone weighs 15 pounds. He'll be getting a little more than just that, so its safe to say I can subtract at least 20 pounds from my complete kit. That puts me back at 85 pounds. I can handle 85 pounds in the pulk, but now I will be concentrating on shaving a few pounds off that, too. Also, my kit will lose weight every single day: I will consume approximately 3.5 pounds of food daily and we will burn approximately 8 ounces of fuel. There will be no opportunity whatsoever to pick up beer, unnecessary baggage,  restock, or buy souveniers. The only significant addition of weight will come from the water we haul every day, and I expect that to be 3 quarts each (6 pounds per pulk). Right now, I am right where I want to be....packed, prepared, organized, physically fit  and frothing at the mouth!

     Again, and just for fun, lets talk briefly about what may have crossed some of your minds; that I am a gearhead with a boatload of money invested in this kit. It's true. I won't break it down item by item but I can tell you that nothing has been purchased since 2005 for this trip other than the Zippo Handwarmer ($20),the Capilene union suit (a gift from the wife), the Action Packers ($19 each), and the food and beverages. All other gear and clothing has been in my personal arsenal for anywhere from 5 to over 20 years. I am not advocating running to your local outdoor store and shopping until you drop, but I will advocate buying items as you need them as long as you use them. As you can see, I have been at this a long time. If you build an inventory of gear around you over time and use it in varying situations in the pursuit of outdoor activities then you are serving yourself well!

A conservative estimate would put my entire winter kit pictured above at approximately $4,800  (thats a rough estimate of what I paid when I paid it--some of my gear is no longer available and some has risen considerably in price)and that doesn't include food, fuel, any camera gear,  incidentals (like Bic lighters or zipties), or the gear I am lending  my partner Jeremy ( there is still a considerable ocean of gear in my armory). Lots of it was bought on sale, and for every high-end , top of the line item I own ( the Wiggy's Antarctica sleeping bag was $475--I got the Patagonia down jacket on pro-form for $150)  there was an item on sale--the Kelty RedCloud pack was $60! I bought the Brooks Rangers Overboots on Ebay still wrapped from OR for $30 from someone who intended to climb Rainier and never used them !  My point is....find what interests you and go for it. And always remember....If your gear takes good care of you, take good care of your gear!

The Pulk

When I was an Arctic Warfare Instructor in the Marine Corps an officer addressed our unit and said," How many of you went to Norway in 1984?". A few tacit nods in the crowd indicated that many had participated in those frigid exercises and were headed back. He then said, "Well, I've got good news for you. Good news is we got you dog sleds for your gear this time. Bad news is YOU'RE THE DOG!!". 26 years later and I'm still at it, playing the dog...
 The pulk, or sled, that I will pull in Denali this winter is the very same one that I haul firewood out of the forest with behind my Tundra. It has passed the test with flying colors and still comes back for more.
  My sled of choice for this trip is the Jet Sled, a beefed-up kids sled with high sides and a raised lip to reduce drag. I customized it (I should say "both" as I use two to haul firewood and am supplying Jeremy with my spare) by drilling holes into it and passing stout 9mm climbing rope in and out of the upper lip around the entire edge of the upper frame. This gives me tiedowns all around the sled and also eliminates weak spots where the rope meets the sled. Rather than being pulled by just two points on the front of the sled, the entire frame is pulled. I drilled large diameter holes to accomodate the climbing rope and smaller holes where I zip-tied the rope to the sled. Leave enough rope out of the front of the sled to pass through PVC tubing--this will keep the sled at an even distance behind you and it will not interfere with your kick-step when skiing. Cross the poles and you will get terrific tracking and maneuvering capabilities when cornering. Attach carabiners to the figure 8 knots placed at the end of the PVC and you are ready to clip into the belt on your large backpack.

The Big Backpack

I have a number of backpacks, each one is a different size for a different adventure. When it comes to backcountry winter tripping I break out the biggest one I own; its a Kelty RedCloud 6500. It has a removable lid on it that comes off for use as a daypack. I take it off alright, but I don't put it back on: underneath this lid is an expandable collar that allows me to easily reach in and pull out my down jacket or wind shell without messing with clips or zippers. It gives me instant access to the large storage area and what I deem to be the pertinent equipment inside it. I also attch a 25 foot coil of rope to the underside of it; rope is a mandatory piece of equipment--it can hang your dehydrated food, allow you the freedom of crossing a frozen river on recon and then dragging your kit across behing you, and it can be knotted and trailed along behind you under your pulk to act as a brake when descending steep mountain passes. You can also use it on steep sections for belaying your sled down in front of you ; you'll be thankful for your snowshoes if you find yourself in a scenario like this. Carry a section of rope on wilderness trips--I guarantee you will use it--rope is your friend.

The Camera Bag

Lets take a moment and discuss my camera bag. Its a recycled Eagle Creek handbag that I modified expressly for winter tripping. I mentioned in an earlier blog that alkaline and nickel cadmium batteries have a lot of water in them which renders them pretty much useless. You can buy lithium batteries , which will perform very well in cold temperatures, and put those into all your electronics that will accept them. But what about my Canon and Sony cameras? What the hell am I gonna do? I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna build an insulated camera bag and heat it.     I started with two layers of foil sided bubble wrap, and I put velcro tabs on it to keep it closed and seal the heat in. I also cut out a small window on the inner layer of wrap and inserted a small thermometer which can be easily read upon opening the bag. At the bottom of the bag I added 4 additional layers of heavy foil, and I cut a small external opening in the bag and inserted a small tube.All of this was carefully duct-taped down in a typically anal fashion. (What the hell did the world do before duct tape? Seriously!) The small tube will provide make-up air for my Zippo Handwarmer, which is a flameless catalytic heat source. It needs oxygen (hence the tube providing make-up air) , and will "burn" continuously for 12 hours providing an internal source of warmth and keeping my cameras and their sensitive batteries alive. Just fuel it, light it, place it in its carrying case and tuck it home with the cameras and batteries. It will be a relatively airtight unit, except for the air supplying the handwarmer with the necessary oxygen to provide catalytic combustion. Voila! Warm batteries and extended electronic life.     In the front pouch I have a small tally book that will serve as a journal (this has an adhesive calendar from a local gin mill in it and 5 crossword puzzles clipped from the local paper). I will also carry  a watch ( as much as we would like to avoid setting an alarm winter trips like this will take about two hours to break camp every morning), two pencils(pens are useless in these temperatures), a few instructional papers, my NatGeo carabiner with razor sharp knife, and my all-important whistle. The camera bag is designed to clip quickly and easily onto the sternum strap of my pack for instant access. An external side pocket will house my anenometer, which reads temperature, dew point, and wind chill. It can give instant readings or be mounted on a tripod for longer periods to record averages over time.  You may think this is little more than a snazzy gadget, but it will ultimately dictate whether or not we break camp and move or chew up one of our valuable weather days. I have seen wind chills in excess of negative 100 F on Alaska's arctic coast and  negative 55F in Denali in late February. Wind is no joke.

Post Script: The camera bag tested at -25F in my freezer maintained an internal temperature of  +48F.
It has also spent 3 nights on my deck in below freezing temperatures with Handwarmers and the Zippo in it and maintained overnight temperatures of +75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I really need this to work in the field, though, and the true test is still to come. Promising for now.

The Sleeping Bag and Pad

For sleeping, you need a good ground pad and a good sleeping bag. I haul a large ThermaRest pad, big enough and thick enough to get my entire body off the ground.

They claim to be self-inflating but thats not totally true. You usually end up blowing air into them to fully inflate them. I've heard it said that this is a bad idea because it introduces moisture into the pad in winter which subsequently freezes. If you're worried about that, try a closed cell product. I've never had a problem.

The bag is a Wiggy's Negative 60 Antarctica and is the warmest I have ever owned or slept in. Lots of folks are hooked on down sleeping bags because they are so light and they compress to such a small size, and thats true. I know because I own one. One of the pitfalls of down is that compression can eventually take its toll on the insulation, and more importantly, down bags are subject to moisture issues on extended trips. Your body will put moisture into a bag, and sooner or later, the down feathers will lose their insulative quality, possibly wadding up and freezing.
Wiggy's bags are lamilite insulated, and will conduct water out of the bag. On a long journey, it is inevitable that moisture finds its way into a bag ( NEVER exhale into a bag when sleeping), and I plan on drying my socks in my  Wiggy's bag with no ill affects what-so-ever.The lamilite is cut from one single sheet, so there are no baffles to create clumping of insulation and cold spots.The bags are designed to drape over your body for superior insulation, employ stout YKK #10 zippers and come with a complete guarantee.
One of the first camp chores I do in the morning is pull my bag out of the tent, turn it inside out and let it air . Pack it away when you are in the final stages of breaking camp and your bag will be fresher and drier.
 Wiggy's bags are happy visiting the washing machine and don't mind being compressed. I have slept quite comfortably at -30 F in this setup. I own 4 sleeping bags with different ratings made from different insulating materials;down, polarguard, quallofill, and lamilite.When it comes down to hard-core winter camping, I choose Wiggy's. No quality bag is cheap--you get what you pay for--and this bag is aces in the cold.

The Storm Tent

There are lots of tents out there on the market, and lots of them are damn good. Everyone has there own opinion of what is best, but whatever you choose make sure that the tent is appropriate for the particular conditions and season. For this particular excursion I will bring out my big guns, the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2.1. Its a 2- man, 4- season , double wall storm tent capable of withstanding strong winds and heavy snow loads, and thats what you'll need if the feces hits the oscillating rotator. I stuff my tent in the bag: fly first, body second, footprint last; the exact way it  was broken down the last time I used it. Note the shovel, you'll need one on any serious winter outing--use it to level the sleeping area by moving snow if necessary and then compacting it with your skis or snowshoes. Lay the body on the footprint and lock the first poles in. I typically go through the footprint holes before the tent body holes because it keeps the footprint secure and locked in place. No surprises.


Start assembling the tent, putting your primary corner poles up first and getting the center of the body up.
Now put up your secondary poles and start clipping your C-Hooks around the poles, shutting the gates over both sets of poles and creating a locking pattern.



Throw the storm fly on now and make sure that the moon roof window on the fly lines up with the one on the body. I have my body marked with indelible ink indicating which end of the tent will line up with the windowed vestibule visible in this picture; note the 5th pole, its insertion will give form and strength to this vestibule.
Start working your way around the tent now and clipping all the fasteners together, but don't start tightening them down yet--thats best done with your partner so you don't end up with the tent too tight on one side and kinda slack on the other. Another tip is to always make sure that ALL your webbed tighteners are completely loosened during tent disassembly; this will aid your tent erection--you won't be fighting unnecessary tension  and will end up with a more taut tent all around.
Stake out the 4 corners first, driving stakes (if possible, depending on conditions) in a clockwise fashion--pull the tent taut at ground level as you work your way around--this will ensure that the floor is at its maximum size and is not loose, creating a wonderful spot for wind and snow infiltration.Continue to work your way around attaching all fasteners and once thats finished you can now start to tighten the fabric in an even and orderly manner. Start to stake out sides of the tent now and then go do the same on the vestibules. Don't neglect to stake out your guy lines every time, regardless of how lovely the weather looks at set-up time: remember the feces and the rotating oscillator; it'll get you every time and usually when you are fast asleep. Take a few moments and do it right the first time.
 Always think about the wind when setting up too. Offer the wind as small a profile as possible by pointing one of your tents vestibules directly into the wind. You don't want the wind blowing into your tent from the side--meet it head on. All double wall tents function on the premise that there will be a layer of circulating air between the fly and the main body of the tent. If you allow the wind to push your fly into the main body of the tent you are compromising warmth, moisture control, and comfort. Sometimes its inevitable, but don't invite it.
This tent has 2 vestibules, the larger one with the weather window and a smaller one. I typically put the smaller one upwind and use it as an entrance. The large vestibule is pointed downwind and I  often boil  water in it , being sure to keep it well ventilated in the process.


The moonroof has a ventilation port in it to keep condensation at bay, and can be easily and quickly adjusted to match changing conditions.



The Trango also has an internal guy system that starts in the corners and criss-crosses at the apex of the tent. It can be easily tightened once the tent is completely set up and adds uncompromising stability.

The large vestibule can be used to boil water in if you encounter exceptionally nasty weather, but be sure to keep it well ventilated.I can't express enough how careful to be when introducing any carbon monoxide producing element to an enclosed area. Thats why I keep it downwind.Oh yah,  flames and tents don't match up too well either...keep your head screwed on straight when priming and firing your stove. You may want to do that outside the tent.
The small vestibule is a nice upwind entrance.
Sponge, regular stakes, some seam seal, extra guy lines, winter snow stakes, and snow anchors round out a good winter tent kit. I even pack along a little metal mallet (it was a meat tenderizer in its former life) that I picked up at Salvation Army for 50 cents. It will pound stakes into frozen ground and even has a little hook on the end to aid in pulling them back out. When snow conditions allow, your skis can also be used to anchor the 4 corners of your tent--thats what the loops are inteneded for. Upside-down ski poles can also be used as stakes, and you'll still have your snowshoes to utilize on short missions if necessary.
The last item I pack when breaking camp in the winter is my tent. This allows any condensation or moisture that accumulated during the night to freeze solid and shake out upon disassembly. You should never have to worry about packing up a wet tent in freezing temperatures. My travel partner Jeremy Bahr of Fairbanks has the exact same tent and will be bringing extra poles from his set so we will have a back-up plan in case of damage. Otherwise, I would currently be extolling the virtues of a comprehensive proactive scenario in case of pole breakage.

Documenting

I will be bringing a Canon PowerShot G11 ten megapixel camera, a Sony Cyber-Shot  ten megapixel camera, a tripod, and a FLIP Ultra HD video camera. The FLIP has a rechargeable nickel cadmium battery that can be removed and replaced with AA batteries, and I plan on doing just that. I have purchased lithium batteries to put in the FLIP, the GPS, and the SPOT. Nickel cadmium and alkaline batteries have a much higher water content so they freeze quicker at cold temperatures and become useless. The battery from the Sony will be removed, and the camera will be placed in reserve. A spare battery for the Canon, the Canon camera itself,  and all other backup batteries will kept warm at all times. More on this in a later blog.