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A thread about staying warm, from a former Outward Bound wilderness guide. A lot of this will seem like common sense/intuitive if you've spent a lot of time working or recreating outside in cold weather, but I know from teaching it that small things can make a big difference.
1. It is easier to stay warm than get warm, always. Preserve body heat. Don't get wet. If you don't have a ready heat source, don't play in the snow.
2. You lose most of your heat from your head. "If your hands are cold, put on a hat." Put on a hat. Put on a hat. Put on a (warm) hat. Promise me you'll put on a hat. Not earmuffs. Not a headband. A hat or beanie or toboggan or whatever you call it.
3. Body heat is your most reliable source of heat, which is great because you can generate it on demand and have a nearly unlimited supply (unless things get real bad). Do 20 jumping jacks, do 50 crunches, jog in place for a minute.
4. If you have a sleeping bag, use it. Fight the urge to put on 50 layers of clothing and then get in your bag. Your bag is designed to trap body heat and insulate it to prevent heat from escaping. It does this more efficiently with fewer layers of clothing, counterintuitively.
Still wear the hat though. If your feet are still cold in the bag, put a thin down jacket at the bottom of the bag and put your feet inside the jacket. Best trick: do those crunches INSIDE the bag. You'll be toasty!
5. You can create a hot water bottle with a HEAT-PROOF water bottle. Old Nalgene bottles work great for this. Watch out--they get HOT, so throw it in a sock before you put it in your bag. Please for the love of god, make sure the bottle is HEAT-PROOF.
6. Stay hydrated but go pee. Don't make your body waste heat by heating liquids in your bladder.
7. If you're outside, and hopefully none of you are, put anything you can between you and the ground--leaves, pine boughs, anything.
8. Snow is actually an excellent insulator!
9. And for my final trick, dig a swallow trench the length of your sleeping bag/ground pad. Find some elk or cow patties and put them in the trench. Cover with embers and coals from a fire and fill in the trench with dirt. Flaming cow patties will keep you warm all night long.
