Winter backpacking in both New England where I grew up or my current home in the Rockies, means SNOW.
Turns out, that this white, fluffy substance can be intimidating to otherwise competent outdoors people.
The thought of venturing into the backcountry during winter can sound a bit off-putting.
But winter is not a time to be afraid of being outside. Instead, it is a chance to see something in a new way.
A popular and crowded lake in summer becomes a solo delight in winter as one example.
Winter does require some more preparation and an expanded skill set, however.
And one way to get some of this knowledge is a great book called Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book, Revised and Even Better!: Traveling & Camping Skills For A Winter Environment. Available in both paperback and Kindle format, this book is similar to other books of this type in the Falcon series.
Meaning the book is concise, is a quick and amusing read and has funny yet informative illustrations from Mike Clelland.
Though the title of the book is about backcountry skiing, perhaps 80% of the book is for general backcountry winter skills. And the part about skiing? It is aimed towards touring where distance and being out at least overnight, rather than a quick climb to make turns, is the objective.
The books cover turning techniques, basic avalanche awareness, layering, shelter preparation and other relevant backcountry winter skills. The book won’t tell you everything that is needed when it comes to backcountry winter skills. But the book will undoubtedly help you get started.
All in all, an excellent resource for someone who wishes to explore the backcountry in winter without necessarily reading the backcountry equivalent of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. (Or, if you have a more modern bent, GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire series… Less French. More Ice Zombies. Still a lot of snow.)
But if Jon Snow read this book, he’d know more about winter camping!
Disclosure: This book was purchased with my funds.