March 1st. SnowShoeing

This is snow camping. It is going to get cold. Let me say that again. It is going to get cold. It is also going to be one of the most beautiful times you are going to ever have. The parks are not heavily frequented and in winter possess a stark beauty I find unrivaled.

From the mail of steverod:

In December of 2000, it got down to 18°F *inside* the tents. It is entirely possible, if unlikely, that a surprise storm could blow in and push the temperature below 0°F -- YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THIS. Have layers of warm clothing, long johns, mittens, gloves, etc.
Start Date: March 1, 2002
Return Date: March 3, 2002.
Meeting Place: Network Appliance Parking Lot
Meeting Time: 4:30pm
Destination: Currently there are two possibilites based on weather. Lassen is the first choice.

Lassen Yosemite
Forecast here Yosemite
Snow Conditions (530) 335-7029
(530) 595-4444		 (209) 372-1000

It is a one night trip and will involve carrying packs/tents. If you don't know what top bring realize that when you are walking through the day you are going to have no problems being warm. You will be working so hard you are going to get hot and sweaty. So the idea is to stay dry, and keep the wind off you without melting.

When you make camp and stop moving around is when staying warm gets hard. At night the wind gets worse and the temperature is going to drop. Then thick heavy clothes come out.

So you need to have flexible outfits. Don't bring that ultra heavy winter parka. Instead bring a goretex jacket to break the wind, a tshirt, and a heavy fleece that is easy to remove. All personal equipment you need to know about is on the Equipment Checklist.

You can purchase most of this stuff from REI and Western Mountaineering. Western has a snow camping rental deal. It includes crampons, poles, snow shoes and boots for something around 40 bucks. It is the way to go. Communal Equipment