BASIC WINTER HILL-WALKING KIT
Walking in the hills and wild places in winter can be a wonderful experience. You might enjoy one of those beautiful cold clear bright winter days when the air is crisp and clear and you can see for miles. You might enjoy the beauty of a hoar frost with ice-crystals coating branches, rocks and the grasses beneath your feet or you might, like me, enjoy the fog at times, closing the world around down to a small personal, private world all of your own. Of course you might get out in the snow too, when everything is transformed and cloaked in a mysterious blanket.
But these winter walks, as lovely as they can be, pose their own set of risks. It might be wet, cold, freezing even. Visibility can be poor in snow or fog and the light is all too soon gone and you're walking home in the dark.
So to make the most of the winter and to stay safe there are basic pieces of kit you'll need and want. Some are vital for safety, others for enjoyment and some are there 'just in case'.
CLOTHING
Of course warm clothing is needed but what is best ? Some people swear by their fleece, some wont go out in winter without a down jacket. My personal preference is for layering. A snug base-layer starts me off, followed by another, looser, base-layer. These will be technical t-shirts or long-sleeved tees, one probably crew-necked and the looser one a half-zip and they will be man-made fibres or merino wool, absolutely no cotton. Cotton is nice on the skin but only when its dry and warm. It gets cold and stays cold and it gets wet and stays wet, the fibres absorb moisture, the moisture cools in the low temperatures and you freeze. Then comes the mid layer, perhaps a light fleece but usually now a smooth fabric top with a fleecy inside and again probably a half-zip neck. These half-zip, and of course full-zip, tops give you more scope for ventilation for while the air will be cool or cold you'll still warm up with exercise and you don't want to get damp with sweat only to have it cool on you later.
Having these layers long-enough to stay tucked in to your trousers always helps too. There's nothing worse than a cold draft (unless its in a pint glass in summer).
Next comes the warm layer - the insulation. This might be a gilet, or a fleece jacket, or a down or synthetic fill jacket. Fleeces are good at holding your body heat but poor at keeping out the wind. You can get fleeces with a wind-resistant outer layer or you can buy a dedicated windstopper. Your insulated gilet or jacket will be pretty windproof. Finally there's the waterproof layer. You might not need this unless it rains of course but it will serve as a windstopper as well.
Your legs can feel the cold too but I find a slightly thicker, but still light, pair of trousers is usually enough when I'm moving and I can always put my waterproof leggings on when I stop if need be. However you might want to invest in a thicker or insulated pair of trousers for winter, especially if you're going into the real high country or walking the coast. A pair of leggings, wither on or in the rucksack is worth considering too.
Of course we all know to take gloves and a hat and again their are various options. I usually take a lighter pair of gloves that do well on a reasonably cold day and double up as liner gloves under bigger, thicker insulated gloves when it's really cold. These over gloves are waterproof too. I'll also have a spare pair of the under gloves in case one pair gets wet. My hats vary from a light buff done up pirate style through the ubiquitous wooly hat to a fake fur Russian-looking job that has drop-down ear-flaps if needed. If you're not a regular hat wearer you'll probably feel a bit odd, daft-looking even, in a hat, but believe me you'll look properly daft on a freezing day without one.
I also tend to take a spare pair of socks, Sealskins, as a back up in the event of wet feet.
EQUIPMENT
As well as my usual map and compass I do like to take my gps (which I don't use as a first choice for navigation) if there's a risk of poor visibility. That ability to get an instant grid reference is a comfort even if rarely needed. A headtorch usually lives in my rucksack year-round but is especially important in winter when the daylight hours are short. I have a high-lumens one, meaning a brighter one, with a decent length of beam. 100 plus lumens and a beam length of 100 metres or more is good and allows you to spot navaigation features a reasonable distance off in the dark. I find too that the beam lengths given on the packaging are often conservative, mine said 110 metres but will light a post up 200 metres away in clear air. A headtorch not only provides light to see by but light to be seen by if you're unfortunate enough to come a cropper out there. A flashing function on the torch is good. A red-light function might be handy too as it doesn't mess-up your night vision as badly as white light will and works well enough when you're following a track or clear path.
Don't forget spare batteries too. Batteries drain faster in the cold.
Charge your mobile phone and make sure you've got some credit. You'll probably end up being later back than you thought at some point and it's good to let your loved ones know. You can always have it turned off if you don't want to be bothered by calls.
If also have a pair of trail-crampons. These are mini-crampons fixed on a rubber frame that stretch over your boots. Not to be confused with the much smaller, less useful ice-gripping do-hickeys you can get for walking around icy streets in. Trail crampons have teeth, proper crampon style teeth, just smaller. What they don't have is forward-facing teeth and are no use for tackling steeper slopes in. They do, however, do an excellent job of providing grip in snow and on icy but otherwise softer ground, like stony paths and grassy slopes. if I was tackling steep ground or mountainous terrain I would invest in proper crampons and an ice-axe.
Finally I have a rucksack cover. Many rucksacks come with their own attached 'waterproof' cover and rucksacks are generally reasonably water-resistant anyway but having that extra cover helps keep your gear dry. I have a heavier duty one for winter when its more vital to keep dpare clothing dry.
EMERGENCY KIT
I always have my first aid kit with me (of course you need to know how to use it - but it's pretty basic stuff), winter or summer and an emergency whistle. I carry an emergency bivvy-sack too, one of those sub £10 plastic bags. They are enough to shelter you from the wind, rain or snow if you have an accident or even if your clothing isn't quite doing the job. However they are very basic and have no breathability whatsoever. You can get better versions for a bit more money and they are still pretty compact. But at least carry the basic version.
Again your mobile phone should be charged and in credit. Remember a text is cheaper and needs less of a signal. In the event of an emergency it is ideal if you ccan phone for help and use your gps or map for a grid reference. It'll cut down a lot of search time and could even save your life, or that of someone else you might come across.
COMFORT
Coffee! I always take coffee with me, summer and winter. The act of sitting back with a cuppa is one of the main parts of the walk. When you're wrapped up cosy in your winter gear, sitting in the rocks with a hot coffee (or tea or chocolate) looking out across the snow-covered hills everything feels right in the world, at least for the moment. Conversely huddling in wet clothes, shivering over a bottle of squash is pretty miserable. As well as comfort the coffee (tea or whatever) provides some warmth too and will be vital if you have to sit it out in the freezing cold. As will be food. Take enough food for your needs and then a bit spare 'just in case'. It's easy enough to find high calorie, low bulk food.
Now I just need some snow and a day-off !
But these winter walks, as lovely as they can be, pose their own set of risks. It might be wet, cold, freezing even. Visibility can be poor in snow or fog and the light is all too soon gone and you're walking home in the dark.
So to make the most of the winter and to stay safe there are basic pieces of kit you'll need and want. Some are vital for safety, others for enjoyment and some are there 'just in case'.
CLOTHING
Of course warm clothing is needed but what is best ? Some people swear by their fleece, some wont go out in winter without a down jacket. My personal preference is for layering. A snug base-layer starts me off, followed by another, looser, base-layer. These will be technical t-shirts or long-sleeved tees, one probably crew-necked and the looser one a half-zip and they will be man-made fibres or merino wool, absolutely no cotton. Cotton is nice on the skin but only when its dry and warm. It gets cold and stays cold and it gets wet and stays wet, the fibres absorb moisture, the moisture cools in the low temperatures and you freeze. Then comes the mid layer, perhaps a light fleece but usually now a smooth fabric top with a fleecy inside and again probably a half-zip neck. These half-zip, and of course full-zip, tops give you more scope for ventilation for while the air will be cool or cold you'll still warm up with exercise and you don't want to get damp with sweat only to have it cool on you later.
Having these layers long-enough to stay tucked in to your trousers always helps too. There's nothing worse than a cold draft (unless its in a pint glass in summer).
Next comes the warm layer - the insulation. This might be a gilet, or a fleece jacket, or a down or synthetic fill jacket. Fleeces are good at holding your body heat but poor at keeping out the wind. You can get fleeces with a wind-resistant outer layer or you can buy a dedicated windstopper. Your insulated gilet or jacket will be pretty windproof. Finally there's the waterproof layer. You might not need this unless it rains of course but it will serve as a windstopper as well.
Your legs can feel the cold too but I find a slightly thicker, but still light, pair of trousers is usually enough when I'm moving and I can always put my waterproof leggings on when I stop if need be. However you might want to invest in a thicker or insulated pair of trousers for winter, especially if you're going into the real high country or walking the coast. A pair of leggings, wither on or in the rucksack is worth considering too.
Of course we all know to take gloves and a hat and again their are various options. I usually take a lighter pair of gloves that do well on a reasonably cold day and double up as liner gloves under bigger, thicker insulated gloves when it's really cold. These over gloves are waterproof too. I'll also have a spare pair of the under gloves in case one pair gets wet. My hats vary from a light buff done up pirate style through the ubiquitous wooly hat to a fake fur Russian-looking job that has drop-down ear-flaps if needed. If you're not a regular hat wearer you'll probably feel a bit odd, daft-looking even, in a hat, but believe me you'll look properly daft on a freezing day without one.
I also tend to take a spare pair of socks, Sealskins, as a back up in the event of wet feet.
EQUIPMENT
As well as my usual map and compass I do like to take my gps (which I don't use as a first choice for navigation) if there's a risk of poor visibility. That ability to get an instant grid reference is a comfort even if rarely needed. A headtorch usually lives in my rucksack year-round but is especially important in winter when the daylight hours are short. I have a high-lumens one, meaning a brighter one, with a decent length of beam. 100 plus lumens and a beam length of 100 metres or more is good and allows you to spot navaigation features a reasonable distance off in the dark. I find too that the beam lengths given on the packaging are often conservative, mine said 110 metres but will light a post up 200 metres away in clear air. A headtorch not only provides light to see by but light to be seen by if you're unfortunate enough to come a cropper out there. A flashing function on the torch is good. A red-light function might be handy too as it doesn't mess-up your night vision as badly as white light will and works well enough when you're following a track or clear path.
Don't forget spare batteries too. Batteries drain faster in the cold.
Charge your mobile phone and make sure you've got some credit. You'll probably end up being later back than you thought at some point and it's good to let your loved ones know. You can always have it turned off if you don't want to be bothered by calls.
If also have a pair of trail-crampons. These are mini-crampons fixed on a rubber frame that stretch over your boots. Not to be confused with the much smaller, less useful ice-gripping do-hickeys you can get for walking around icy streets in. Trail crampons have teeth, proper crampon style teeth, just smaller. What they don't have is forward-facing teeth and are no use for tackling steeper slopes in. They do, however, do an excellent job of providing grip in snow and on icy but otherwise softer ground, like stony paths and grassy slopes. if I was tackling steep ground or mountainous terrain I would invest in proper crampons and an ice-axe.
Finally I have a rucksack cover. Many rucksacks come with their own attached 'waterproof' cover and rucksacks are generally reasonably water-resistant anyway but having that extra cover helps keep your gear dry. I have a heavier duty one for winter when its more vital to keep dpare clothing dry.
EMERGENCY KIT
I always have my first aid kit with me (of course you need to know how to use it - but it's pretty basic stuff), winter or summer and an emergency whistle. I carry an emergency bivvy-sack too, one of those sub £10 plastic bags. They are enough to shelter you from the wind, rain or snow if you have an accident or even if your clothing isn't quite doing the job. However they are very basic and have no breathability whatsoever. You can get better versions for a bit more money and they are still pretty compact. But at least carry the basic version.
Again your mobile phone should be charged and in credit. Remember a text is cheaper and needs less of a signal. In the event of an emergency it is ideal if you ccan phone for help and use your gps or map for a grid reference. It'll cut down a lot of search time and could even save your life, or that of someone else you might come across.
COMFORT
Coffee! I always take coffee with me, summer and winter. The act of sitting back with a cuppa is one of the main parts of the walk. When you're wrapped up cosy in your winter gear, sitting in the rocks with a hot coffee (or tea or chocolate) looking out across the snow-covered hills everything feels right in the world, at least for the moment. Conversely huddling in wet clothes, shivering over a bottle of squash is pretty miserable. As well as comfort the coffee (tea or whatever) provides some warmth too and will be vital if you have to sit it out in the freezing cold. As will be food. Take enough food for your needs and then a bit spare 'just in case'. It's easy enough to find high calorie, low bulk food.
Now I just need some snow and a day-off !