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The whole story started last year in September, when some of the members of the trekking-ultraleicht.de forum were looking for a destination for their inaugural winter tour, called TUFWT 1.0 (stands for Trekking-Ultraleicht Forums Winter Tour, in case you're wondering). I threw Finland into the round, the people liked it and so planning and organizing commenced.
Six black clad wanders.
Six brave UL backpackers arrived on January 29th in Tampere, and after making the last errands they all lay down to sleep in my apartment. Saturday morning I served them a good breakfast, and at 11 o'clock we sat in the bus to Kuru, from where we would start our journey. The first day we walked 12 km, and for whom this sounds not much let me tell you that if you have seven persons in total you are smart when you plan short distances, as different people have different speeds, need breaks at different times, and generally the whole process is a lot slower as if you're alone or with just one other person on the trail. Anyhow.
The first kilometers along a street were easy and quick.
But soon we were walking in the forest, and the speed decreased.
We arrived at dusk at the lean-to shelter, and quickly a fire was made and the sleeping spaces picked - all seven slept in the laavu that night! Snow was melted, some beers were opened, food was made, and laughter and chatter could be heard over the hill till late at night.
The party gathers around the fire.
Seven pairs of snowshoes!
The crew behind their backpacks, in front of the first night's camp place.
It took me a while to get them six all packed up, fed and ready to walk the next morning, but by noon we were finally on the trail. Photo breaks, re-hydration breaks, and snack breaks all took their time, and around four o'clock in the afternoon we reached a lean-to where we made a lunch break. By the time we left the lean-to we still had five kilometers to walk, while night fell. Four of the seven had a Fenix HP 10, which is a splendid headlamp if you need to walk at night - my Tikka Plus is rubbish for night hiking, and a Fenix HP 10 shall find its way to me soon.
Walking in line.
Finland Winter Wonderland.
It was around eight o'clock when we reached the campsite in the Seitseminen National Park, and pitching the shelters started. A Gatewood Cape, a Vaude Power Lizard, a MYOG Laavu and three (!) Laufbursche Tanzpalast shelters soon stood on the ice and under the trees. A fire, very welcome with the strong wind and snow we had, was made and the group huddled around the flames while food was made.
Well fed we all crept into our sleeping bags and quilts and called it a night. I was sleeping under a Laufbursche Tanzpalast, a tarp/ shelter hybrid made of silnylon. The weather forecast said that we wouldn't have lower temperatures than -6°C, so that I only packed my GoLite Ultra 20° for the trip, together with my Klättermusen Loke and Rab Microlite Vest for the torso and a MYOG down pants which I borrowed from Markus. The missing piece in this list was the VBL suit I planned to make but didn't have the time for. Around five a clock in the morning I woke up, quite cold from above (my mats kept me super warm from beneath!). The GoLite Ultra 20° had collapsed and I could feel the ice between the inner and outer layer. Realizing that I could forget about sleep now, I got up and started a fire again, which worked after the second try. Warming myself up, I watched the moon disappear behind the trees and cherished the sun which rose. A look on my small Suunto thermometer told me the temperature was around -17°C that morning.
Drying the Ultra 20° and my Primaloft clothes for the coming day.
Two brave UL backpackers pitched their shelters on the middle of the lake, on 30 cm thick ice.
Dawn.
Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Silynylon pitched as shelter on the left, and Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Cuben pitched as tarp on the right.
And once more the Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Silynylon from behind.
After all were up, melting snow and eating breakfast commenced, and by 11 o'clock we were again on the trail. It was a sunny yet misty day, and we walked in peace through the National Park. We made our lunch stop at the old Kovero croft at three o'clock, where my feet started to get cold from the lack of movement which kept them warm during the afternoon. Again not having VBL socks made me realize that its an important piece of equipment in this time of the year. Happily my fellow backpackers came to my aid, and gave me 6l plastic bags and a pair of dry liner & merino socks before I would have gone ahead with my stupid idea of pouring hot water over my shoes (Why is that stupid, you ask? Mpemba Effect, they told me). With fresh socks and a VBL my feet soon were warm again, and the last five kilometers to the Teerilampi Cabin we walked in a good mood, knowing that a Sauna, fresh vegetables and beer would be waiting for us.
On a snow covered lake, the sun shines down on us.
More Finland Winter Wonderland.
The next four days and nights we spent at the cottage, talking gear and trips, went ice fishing, build an igloo, went to the sauna and swimming in the icehole every night, and enjoyed the pleasant surroundings of not seeing anyone else around. Small daytrips from the hut were made, playing Carcassonne and enjoying the good food; we really had a good time in fantastic company.
Our quinzee at dusk.
Lessons learned? Skills and knowledge are more important than gear. I reckon if I hadn't been able to get a fire started after my quilt collapsed, things could have taken a turn to the worse. Fire making is an essential skill if going to the outdoors, to be able to melt snow/ boil water/ cook food/ get warmth is so important that I will practice making fire now even more.
It wasn't too smart of me to trust the weather forecast and only take gear which kept me warm till around -12°C. The missing VBL will be made asap, and no winter tour will take place without one for me in the future. Also the idea of having a Platy filled with a hot bouillon when going to bed, from which one can take a mouthful when waking up at night, will be adopted by me for future trips. At some point my body just doesn't produce any warmth anymore, and a mouthful of warm soup will be enough to keep my body going and produce more warmth for the rest of the night, giving me a good sleep.
Self portrait.
More on gear that worked and gear that didn't this coming week, when I find the time between getting healthy and work. However, most importantly, I'd like to thank the six for coming here and go hiking in Finland Winter Wonderland with me. We were strangers as we met, but left as friends. So thank you, and I hope we meet soon again for more UL madness!
The whole story started last year in September, when some of the members of the trekking-ultraleicht.de forum were looking for a destination for their inaugural winter tour, called TUFWT 1.0 (stands for Trekking-Ultraleicht Forums Winter Tour, in case you're wondering). I threw Finland into the round, the people liked it and so planning and organizing commenced.
Six black clad wanders.
Six brave UL backpackers arrived on January 29th in Tampere, and after making the last errands they all lay down to sleep in my apartment. Saturday morning I served them a good breakfast, and at 11 o'clock we sat in the bus to Kuru, from where we would start our journey. The first day we walked 12 km, and for whom this sounds not much let me tell you that if you have seven persons in total you are smart when you plan short distances, as different people have different speeds, need breaks at different times, and generally the whole process is a lot slower as if you're alone or with just one other person on the trail. Anyhow.
The first kilometers along a street were easy and quick.
But soon we were walking in the forest, and the speed decreased.
We arrived at dusk at the lean-to shelter, and quickly a fire was made and the sleeping spaces picked - all seven slept in the laavu that night! Snow was melted, some beers were opened, food was made, and laughter and chatter could be heard over the hill till late at night.
The party gathers around the fire.
Seven pairs of snowshoes!
The crew behind their backpacks, in front of the first night's camp place.
It took me a while to get them six all packed up, fed and ready to walk the next morning, but by noon we were finally on the trail. Photo breaks, re-hydration breaks, and snack breaks all took their time, and around four o'clock in the afternoon we reached a lean-to where we made a lunch break. By the time we left the lean-to we still had five kilometers to walk, while night fell. Four of the seven had a Fenix HP 10, which is a splendid headlamp if you need to walk at night - my Tikka Plus is rubbish for night hiking, and a Fenix HP 10 shall find its way to me soon.
Walking in line.
Finland Winter Wonderland.
It was around eight o'clock when we reached the campsite in the Seitseminen National Park, and pitching the shelters started. A Gatewood Cape, a Vaude Power Lizard, a MYOG Laavu and three (!) Laufbursche Tanzpalast shelters soon stood on the ice and under the trees. A fire, very welcome with the strong wind and snow we had, was made and the group huddled around the flames while food was made.
Well fed we all crept into our sleeping bags and quilts and called it a night. I was sleeping under a Laufbursche Tanzpalast, a tarp/ shelter hybrid made of silnylon. The weather forecast said that we wouldn't have lower temperatures than -6°C, so that I only packed my GoLite Ultra 20° for the trip, together with my Klättermusen Loke and Rab Microlite Vest for the torso and a MYOG down pants which I borrowed from Markus. The missing piece in this list was the VBL suit I planned to make but didn't have the time for. Around five a clock in the morning I woke up, quite cold from above (my mats kept me super warm from beneath!). The GoLite Ultra 20° had collapsed and I could feel the ice between the inner and outer layer. Realizing that I could forget about sleep now, I got up and started a fire again, which worked after the second try. Warming myself up, I watched the moon disappear behind the trees and cherished the sun which rose. A look on my small Suunto thermometer told me the temperature was around -17°C that morning.
Drying the Ultra 20° and my Primaloft clothes for the coming day.
Two brave UL backpackers pitched their shelters on the middle of the lake, on 30 cm thick ice.
Dawn.
Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Silynylon pitched as shelter on the left, and Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Cuben pitched as tarp on the right.
And once more the Laufbursche Tanzpalast: Silynylon from behind.
After all were up, melting snow and eating breakfast commenced, and by 11 o'clock we were again on the trail. It was a sunny yet misty day, and we walked in peace through the National Park. We made our lunch stop at the old Kovero croft at three o'clock, where my feet started to get cold from the lack of movement which kept them warm during the afternoon. Again not having VBL socks made me realize that its an important piece of equipment in this time of the year. Happily my fellow backpackers came to my aid, and gave me 6l plastic bags and a pair of dry liner & merino socks before I would have gone ahead with my stupid idea of pouring hot water over my shoes (Why is that stupid, you ask? Mpemba Effect, they told me). With fresh socks and a VBL my feet soon were warm again, and the last five kilometers to the Teerilampi Cabin we walked in a good mood, knowing that a Sauna, fresh vegetables and beer would be waiting for us.
On a snow covered lake, the sun shines down on us.
More Finland Winter Wonderland.
The next four days and nights we spent at the cottage, talking gear and trips, went ice fishing, build an igloo, went to the sauna and swimming in the icehole every night, and enjoyed the pleasant surroundings of not seeing anyone else around. Small daytrips from the hut were made, playing Carcassonne and enjoying the good food; we really had a good time in fantastic company.
Our quinzee at dusk.
Lessons learned? Skills and knowledge are more important than gear. I reckon if I hadn't been able to get a fire started after my quilt collapsed, things could have taken a turn to the worse. Fire making is an essential skill if going to the outdoors, to be able to melt snow/ boil water/ cook food/ get warmth is so important that I will practice making fire now even more.
It wasn't too smart of me to trust the weather forecast and only take gear which kept me warm till around -12°C. The missing VBL will be made asap, and no winter tour will take place without one for me in the future. Also the idea of having a Platy filled with a hot bouillon when going to bed, from which one can take a mouthful when waking up at night, will be adopted by me for future trips. At some point my body just doesn't produce any warmth anymore, and a mouthful of warm soup will be enough to keep my body going and produce more warmth for the rest of the night, giving me a good sleep.
Self portrait.
More on gear that worked and gear that didn't this coming week, when I find the time between getting healthy and work. However, most importantly, I'd like to thank the six for coming here and go hiking in Finland Winter Wonderland with me. We were strangers as we met, but left as friends. So thank you, and I hope we meet soon again for more UL madness!
TUFWT 1.0 trip report
Looks like a fantastic trip Hendrik. Guess finding firewood in Finland is easy :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos and report of what must have been a brilliant experience Hendrik. Looking forward to your kit reviews too. Brave guys indeed for camping on the frozen lake, I wouldn't be able to sleep thinking about whats keeping me from slipping under the water! That quinzee looks cozy. I had a down sleeping bag collapse on me last week. It's not fun!
ReplyDeleteNice reading your report from the winterland.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos from great nature.
No fun when you sleeping bag collapse. Could be dangerous in some situations. But as long your able to make fire you can keep comfertable.
That's life at it's origin.
ReplyDeleteNice report! Sounds like you had real fun!
ReplyDeleteHey. About the platy tip... I should give it a try too, but I have never been brave enough. Something bothers me about this: Do you entirely rely on the platypus, or do you secure the hot beverage with something else?
Hendrik, a great report and wonderful photos, obviously plenty of snow there which makes for great snow shoeing and camping. A bit of worry though with the collapsing of quilt, certainly highlights the importance of being with a group. I need to remember to pack my VBL socks in winter, I usually forget. I looking forward to the gear reports as there is an interesting array of gear in the photos.
ReplyDeleteThese are great pictures!
ReplyDelete"Skills and knowledge are more important than gear" well said indeed. I think that was a fantastic trip report and honest about the challenges you faced. You learnt a lot and the help from experienced backpackers must have been invaluable.
ReplyDeleteA great trip report Hendrik, the snowy landscape looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteSeems like you had good time, and even learned something. Things couldn't have been better, right?
ReplyDeleteI doubt a bit if VBL would make a major difference... But I haven't tried so I don't know. I'm eager to know how it works out!
A hot water bottle is a good help if your sleeping system is too lite, but it's not a permanent solution in my opinion. I use heavy but reliable hard Nalgene bottle. Not the lightest but not too many bottles can take boiling water and be trusted enough.
And you made a quinzee! That's one solution if weather turns out to be nasty. It would have been between -0C...-5C inside there if made properly.
And a hint: If you need to move many people efficiently you have to use some "military leading". Make a timetable that everyone agrees and stick with it. For example leaving at 0900, walking 55 minutes at a time followed by 5 minutes break and lunch after X hours of walking followed by Y hours on walking and then camp or walk until you reach your destination. Not the nicest thing but higly efficient.
And I forgot to say that there is a lighter and nearly as powerfull headlamp coming from Fenix. It's called HP15 (or in some places HL15). Basically it's HP10 that uses 2 AA batteries and is thus lighter. It should be out in march because of some delays concerning the upgrading of HP10.
ReplyDeleteI'm also using Zipka and it's barely enough for walking in the dark forests. So I'm waiting for the new HP15. =)
Thanks Hendrik,
ReplyDeletefor the great report and the organisation!
Hope to see you again in finland
Fraser, finding firewood is very easy, they pile it up for you in woodsheds here ;)
ReplyDeleteJoe, I am sure our adventure is going to be similarly epic! Kit reviews coming this week. The two guys on the lake slept very well, the bit creaking of ice didn't bother them, they said. I don't know either if I'd do it.
Thank you Roger! Yes, making fire is of the utmost importance I'd say. Happily I got the quilt dried fairly quick.
Basti, next time you should also come along!
Xavier, I'd put the Platy in a cozy which I will make. I filled my Platy every evening with hot water and took it in the quilt, no problems there.
Roger B. the kit review should hopefully come along this week. Too much to do :/ I now use the 6l freezer bags as VBL socks and that works very well, and its a cheap alternative in comparison to buying (or MYOGing) "real" VBL socks which do the same.
Thanks Mike for the comment, good to see you around!
Martin, thank you! I even got a call from Don Kevilus (from Four Dog Stoves) yesterday evening who gave me a few more tips on staying warm in winter (he read the report and rung me up). Its very valuable to go hiking with other folks, as you learn from them every day. And yes, I think its good to be honest if it helps other people to learn from my mistakes.
Thank you James, you too had a bit of snow on your last trip!
Lightening up, that's completely right! I saw that the others were feeling very good in their VBLs and had no problems, by wearing nearly the same as me. So I believe a VBL could have made a difference - and at least my quilt wouldn't have collapsed. It was very warm in the quinzee, so it could have been a good place to sleep. I'll keep the military leading strategies in the back of my head for future trips =) HP10 is already on its way, I might pimp it though to save some weight.
Thank you Jonas for coming, and welcome again!
Winter backpacking is hard at best. Doing it in an ultralight fashion is even more difficult. Andrew Skurka points out in his " Ultralight in the Icebox: Post-Trip Report" that it is an environment that offers little leeway in mistakes. In his "Five Tips For Winter Backpacking" Number 2 says "Never mess up, ever." Since he was alone, that is true. For you, working with a group, you were able to adapt to your problems and overcome them. This would be a good example of why traveling alone in the wilds is not always a good idea. Especially in winter conditions.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, lots of people do winter camping alone, but you are far safer to do it with other people. If you do it with the right people, it can be a lot of fun. One of the great joys of your outing must of been sharing all your experiences around the campfire with others.
If I were reflecting on your little jaunt I would take away some other lessons:
1. Provided there is snow, building a snow shelter provides greater warmth and comfort. It also takes greater time to make. That would have to be built into the travel timetable. (Goes to skill and knowledge.)
2. Taking liquid to bed with you has to be in a bombproof system. Getting wet is not an option. Maybe a Platy in a Aloksak. A Nalgene bottle is another option, as pointed out by others here. One that Everest types use because it works and it does not leak.
3. Eating before you go to bed makes the stomach work, generating heat. Maybe a bit of hard food rather than a liquid is another way to go. Test it out and see if there is a difference.
4. Working in group dynamics is really hard. Hard, hard, hard. How your trip went was great, because it is what the group wanted to do (At least that is how I understand by what you wrote.). If you want things to happen differently, then that is an area to work on.
Great trip report, warts and all. The greatest benefit of all this is that all of us get to learn from your experience. Please keep up the great work.
I looked through the comments, so I apoligize if I missed this.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I was curious what the crane like structure was hanging over the fire of your quinzee? It's hard to make out it almost looks like sticks and snow together.
So schön! Ich wäre so gerne dabeigewesen.
ReplyDeleteBesten Gruß, Mario
Like to echo your comment about fire-making as an important wilderness skill. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteharttj, thanks for the insightful comment. I'll do my best to keep up the good work =)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, the crane like structure is a piece of art two of the group thought our igloo should have, its that simple! And it are indeed a big stick covered in snow and ice.
Ja Mario, nächstes mal dann!
Thank you Roman!
I was previously Anonymous. Thanks for the reply. I thought it looked pretty cool and was curious if it surved anyther purose I wasn't thinking about.
ReplyDeleteHi Henrik. Thanks for the hard work, you're blog is one of my absolute favorites! I'm dying to hear what you intial impressions about the new Vaude UL tent was! There aren't really any opinions about it out there yet - and I've been googling hard!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
P
Hei Pingu, thank you for the kind words! Well, I saw the Vaude UL tent only in the morning, and then it looked like a saggy sack. There were apparently some problems with the front and rear struts in the morning, they weren't able to be put together (frozen). Q said it was very nice warm inside, but he also had a super warm sleeping bag on =) It looks OK I'd say, though I wouldn't get it. The Tarptent Moment is similar but only a single wall shelter, but should be a lot easier to set up and is lighter.
ReplyDeleteQ from http://qbloggt.blogspot.com/already wrote a small review about it, if you check out his blog you will find much more information. I hope that helps!
Hi Hendrik
ReplyDeleteNice blog. Finland is an excellent place to be. I was up in Lapland for a ski trip this New Years Eve. Here's a little summary about it http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/66262/day-one-1
Reading your posts few questions came up.
What does it mean that a quilt "collapses"? Is it due moisture that builds up on the outer layer of the quilt, freezes and forces the quilt to collapse or something else?
The second question is about wearing sneakers in winter. I see little problem when the snow is powdery and temperatures moderately low, but at spring when snow becomes wet and heavy even in Finland. It should make your feet wet pretty quickly even if you use snowshoes. From the comments I red that you use freezer bags. I assume that those are actually regular plastic bags - meaning no breathing. Wont your feet get cold with all that moisture nowhere to go?
Again nice work
Janek from Estonia
Hei Janek, thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment!
ReplyDeleteCollapsing means the evaporation of my sweat (every person sweats at night, some more, some less) froze inside the quilt because the dew point lay inside the quilt, and that made it collapse. The down clumped. Your thus pretty close, but instead of the outer it was inside. Happily I was able to dry it out and use it the rest of the trip without problems.
I was wearing liner socks, the freezer bags, thick merino socks, then Goretex socks and the trailrunners; that combination helped me to keep my feet warm and warm them up quickly after I had cold feet. I know that it sounds counterproductive, and yes, you will have pretty moist feet in the evening, but they will be warm. I recommend you read the science behind Vapour Barrier Liners from www.backpackinglight.com as they explain it way better than me.
On my trips in Repovesi and Salamajärvi I went without the plastic bags, though, and I was fine as well. Both socks (liner + thick one) were moist but kept me warm, so I decided to go without the freezer bag. But if you get cold feet on a trip, putting those freezer bags on definitely helped me to get warm feet again. And of course I always had the Goretex socks on to keep wet snow out!
Hei Janek, thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment!
ReplyDeleteCollapsing means the evaporation of my sweat (every person sweats at night, some more, some less) froze inside the quilt because the dew point lay inside the quilt, and that made it collapse. The down clumped. Your thus pretty close, but instead of the outer it was inside. Happily I was able to dry it out and use it the rest of the trip without problems.
I was wearing liner socks, the freezer bags, thick merino socks, then Goretex socks and the trailrunners; that combination helped me to keep my feet warm and warm them up quickly after I had cold feet. I know that it sounds counterproductive, and yes, you will have pretty moist feet in the evening, but they will be warm. I recommend you read the science behind Vapour Barrier Liners from www.backpackinglight.com as they explain it way better than me.
On my trips in Repovesi and Salamajärvi I went without the plastic bags, though, and I was fine as well. Both socks (liner + thick one) were moist but kept me warm, so I decided to go without the freezer bag. But if you get cold feet on a trip, putting those freezer bags on definitely helped me to get warm feet again. And of course I always had the Goretex socks on to keep wet snow out!
I looked through the comments, so I apoligize if I missed this.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I was curious what the crane like structure was hanging over the fire of your quinzee? It's hard to make out it almost looks like sticks and snow together.