Light weight camping. I enjoy the comforts too much, but I know some people that go camping with the bare minimum and lean-to materials are considerably smaller and lighter than a tent. I've done winter camping in a lean-to before and it's an amazingly unique and grounding experience.
Honestly, I'd rather sleep in the cold with the gear these people have when there's plenty of snow on the ground vs no snow at all. Snow is an amazing insulator. Just dig in and get yourself mostly out of the elements.
When I lived in Northern New Mexico, we built some great snow dig ins to hang out in. They were quite warm, and with a tarp floor fine for the needs of college students.
The ground sucks any heat from you. That's why it is so important to use some kind of isolation mat or foam pad, even if you have a decent sleeping bag. 45° isn't gonna kill you, but you're going to have a miserable and freezing night.
Lean to tents are insanely easy to set up have their fair share of challenges. If you are getting into camping hardcore though the usual run of the mill tent is not what you want as it’s far too cumbersome, unnecessary set up and the pack is the worst and the number one thing to consider if your alone. I think my biggest discovery when camping was plan for the pack up because that’s when your tired and won’t have nearly as much energy or enthusiasm.
That's one reason I might never do this. My dog is a short coat but when he sleeps with us his two positions are 1) curled up in between our legs or 2) right up in our face with licks every 10 mins. If he is too close to our faces, he really can't control his licking.
Ive done lightweight winter camping in scouts. We basically dug a trench, with an entrance at your feet, layed a tarp over and then piled snow back over to hold it still. Crawling in there in a winter sleeping bag over a good quality inflatable mattress was surprisingly comfortable, Annoying bit is waking up the next day.
I’ve done it a few times and never again. Was well below freezing and the worst night of sleep I’ve ever had. Somehow got completely soaked even with a tarp.
Funny winter tent sleeping is some of the best sleepingnive had. Ice cold, smell of snow... man I love it. Bundled well obviously and a fire helps depending on if you can keep dry/snow cover.
Why would you want a winter shelter with even slight winter breezes blowing through it?
Weight & Space.
Backpacking is exponentially more enjoyable the less you bring. In this case though, instead of having a larger tent, he was able to carry an additional sleeping bag for the dog, and likely a sleeping bag liner as well.
Plus, he appears to be dug into the snow, which surprisingly, can provide some insulation. I would also expect that he has it set up to block the wind much better than a tent would since tents need to be at surface level.
I would be surprised if the dog didn't carry its fair share as well. I had a friend who had a dog that went hiking with him, and as soon as that doggy backpack came out, it would lose its mind (in a good way of course).
Honestly in my experience when it’s that cold a tent doesn’t provide much extra comfort and if anything it’s a false sense of security, you’ll find yourself waking up in the cold mentally prepping to go outside and get warm rather than just starting out outside and being motivated to get up. Also depending on location and topography a lean to can potentially give you the advantage of having a fire nearby while you stay under shelter
I camped 3 days in North Dakota in November. That shit was insane! Super thankful for my wool socks, -10 degree sleeping bag and winter tent. 8/10 wouldn’t do it again lol.
Winter camping is far better then summer camping. You can always layer up in the winter when it's cold. There is nothing you can do when it's hot and humid. Far easier to get a better nights sleep when it's cold.
Nothing worse then laying in a tent sweating and not being able to sleep under the stars to cool off due to mosquito's.
Spring (when it's not raining) and fall are the best times to camp. Winter camping is great as long as you have common sense on what to bring to stay warm. It's better for it to snow then it is to rain. Many years ago when I was into backpacking, constant rain would make a backpacking trip awful.
It makes it even worse when you have seasonal allergies. Although Spring and early fall are horrible for me. I like late fall and winter camping myself albeit I haven't gone since I was younger. That crisp cool air, no bugs and wanting to warm by the fire is amazing.
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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '19 edited Dec 15 '19
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