Our Richard's listed some of his top tips, but what's he missed?

Here's one for starters: always carry your water bottle upside down, that way if the water starts to freeze, it's at the bottom of the bottle rather than blocking the outlet at the top.

Make sure you fit zip pullers to your jacket / rucksack and that they're long enough to allow you to work the zip with your gloves / mitts on.

Si(C)

Small quantities of lipsalve around the top of a SIGG bottle also stops lips freezing to the metal as well. (Never a good look). Similarly some gaffer tape around the body of the bottle, or better still elastic sticky bandages, helps holding on in gloves.

And always, always have a pee bottle a different size and shape from your water bottle...with a lid that doesn't leak. (See Ashton, Wade and Brockway: The Great Culra Bothy Pee Tsunami, Cicerone, 1995).

Ben B

(back from NZ, now stuck in Hampshire with a bad back - doh!)

Along with two hats, always take a spare pair of gloves (or two pairs!). Gloves never seem to stay dry, and they can be a right pain to get on when both they and your hands are wet.

Also, once you put your goggles on, then leave them on. If you take them off they always seem to get fogged up, and are impossible to get clear again!

Si(C)

PS Good to hear from you Ben. I think that tome of great hardship and adventure is out of print at the mo. Would you hapen to have a copy ;-)

Hi Si (C)

Very short print run, but the details burn bright in my mind still.

Top tip for packing sleeping bags away: even the largest down bag can be packed within a second into a tiny stuffsack (when threatened by approaching tidal wave of cold pee).

Don't know if this is just me but I always keep a pair of socks, gloves & a fleece hat inside my sleeping bag.
Always got warm & dry gear for sleeping in, can be extended to a set of thermals if it's truly kin freezing.

Pee bottle be damned. Zip lock bags are the way forward!!

and you can even share one between 2 eh John!

As long as you don't get sloppy second...

As long as you don't get sloppy seconds...

I'm so glad I started this thread...

What's with this 'carapace of ice' thing? Sounds like something from Starbucks!

They ARE surprisingly briliant gloves though. Great to carry for emergencies.

About te only other thing I can think of for winter is that velcro is rubbish. If you get snow / ice on it when its open, it wont shut. Helpful. Not.

Someone else must have something helpful to add?

Si(C)

Don't run with scissors?

Oh, when you practice ice axe arrests (or go for a bum slide), tuck your jacket into your trousers.....

...and when performing an inpromptu glissade, wear gaiters outside yer pants....or you'll get packed snow filling yer pants from ankle to knee...just prior to it sliddering down into yer socks/booties....
I've never done that...oh no...(hides head in shame)

There are different grades of Velcro though, some works in snow, some doesn't. The savvy manufacturers have worked this out, a surprising number haven't.

With Velcroed wrist fastenings, make sure the Velcro's the right way round. There's nowt worse than exposed hooks for sticking to everything fleecy, though most have sussed that one by now.

Gloves - good idea to carry a back-up pair in serious winter conditions, also - if you're climbing to rig some sort of loop system with shock cord so you can't drop them.

Further to practicing ice axe arrests, remember to have your ice axe in your hand when you launch yourself down the slope. (Not me but I have seen it done).

Back to Richards winterisation list, no down jacket!! My ME Lightline is always in the sack come winter and if it is a really nasty day, the BIG duvet comes out. Granted, the big duvet is waterproof, but in snow, the dri-lite liner has done me proud.

My gear tips:
You can lose a surprising amount of heat through the collar area, whatever you're wearing, but a neck gaiter or scarf reduces this.

To cover the gap between glove top and jacket cuff that you tend to get when climbing, you can make wrist gaiters. Remove sleeves from a child's fleece or jumper (remove child first of course). Make a thumb-sized hole in the side seam about 2" above each cuff. Then just slip these on under other layers, holding them in place by putting your thumb through the hole you've made. The fact that your forearms are beffier than the average child's ensures the rest should fit snugly.

If you're not taking a stove, then a thermos is well worth its weight. Nothing like a hot drink to pick you up at the end of the day when you're knackered. I usually take blackcurrant or another fruit tea. Real tea and coffee are diuretic and not very nice when they've been sitting for several hours.

Real jelly babies don't freeze as easily as other sweeties, so make the best snack choice on a really cold day.

I rate a thermos flask as one of the most important bits of kit you can take out with you.

NOTHING like a hot drink, or a nice warm soup to improve morale, at any time of the day.