EQUIPMENT FOR WINTER CAMPING IN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS

EQUIPMENT FOR WINTER CAMPING IN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Equipment choices are personal. Below is a summary of major equipment I find works for me on snow and mountain photography trips.

  • Backpack - Osprey 70l Aether. A bit on the small side for a winter hike but works fine.

  • Clothing for Day:

  • Base layers

  • Soft shell top

  • Goretex jacket

  • Softshell pants

  • Buff/Beanie

  • Good gloves - soft shell gloves are great for skinning/walking as they protect from the wind but still breathe

  • Clothing for Night:

  • A good down jacket

  • Thermal hiking boots/down booties

  • Neos over boots (a waterproof shell with a sole that goes over your boots to protect your feet from the snow)

  • Microspikes if icy

  • Tent - Wilderness Equipment Second Arrow X (Expedition). Bulletproof, double wall, two pole tunnel tent weighing in at about 2.5kg. Whilst a “2 person” tent, I sleep solo and this is about as heavy as I would want to go. I use 30cm pegs for snow camping.

  • Sleeping Bag - Mont Brindabella XT850 (-10c comfort) with a Sea to Summit Reactor liner. 

  • Sleeping Mat - Exped Downmat HL (r value 7) combined with a Thermarest Z Lite Sol (r value 2.0). 

Photo: Mike EdmondsonDSC5380 – Skinning back up the mountains with (L to R) the Sentinel and Little Austria in the background

Photo: Mike Edmondson

DSC5380 – Skinning back up the mountains with (L to R) the Sentinel and Little Austria in the background

SkiGear: I’m a keen downhill skier, so my equipment is more geared towards downhill powder skiing

  • Boots - Nordica Strider 130. Super comfortable four buckle touring boot. More geared for downhill skiing but can use with a pin binding and lighter than a true downhill boot (although still heavier than a more pure touring boot). 

  • Skis - Rossignol Soul 7. A classic all round ski. At 108mm under foot this may be a bit wide/overkill for Australian conditions but handles anything and great in deep powder. 

  • Bindings - Salomon Shift. Can use for both touring (pin setup) and downhill (converts into a normal downhill binding with DIN settings on both front and back). 

  • Skins - Contour skins. Very reliable and easy to use. 

  • Ski Crampons - For when the going gets icy. I also carry an avalanche beacon, probe, and snow shovel. Some great avalanche courses run in Australia over the winter if you are not familiar with this type of equipment. Make sure your boots fit and are comfortable – heavier/plastic shell boots can do some real damage to your feet/can be extremely uncomfortable if they are not the right fit.

  • Snow camping and camera gear - It’s always a challenge to keep the weight of camera gear down. When I’m in snow and mountain areas, I use a Canon 5d Mark 4 full frame camera and for a trip like this will typically take a wide angle EF16-35mm lens. I use the super lightweight Sirui T024x carbon-fibre tripod. I carry my camera in a Lowepro chest pouch so I can access at any time.

Jon FitchComment