Lindsey Van reports about her first experience snowcamping...

I was invited by SheJumps to go on a winter camping adventure. Of course the first thought in my mind was how cold I was going to be, but decided to go on an anyway. This was something I had never done before, but have wanted to do. This year seems like a good year to try new things. With a break from ski jumping I have been able to explore. I had always put things on hold to train, travel, or compete in ski jumping, but this year I am making times to have new adventures. It’s good for my soul!

The destination for the winter camping was up in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Willow Creek area. I had packed my big pack the night before hoping I was not forgetting anything. I looked at the list and made sure I had everything. I have learned from my traveling experiences to check a few times. The pack was heavy, at least 45lbs packed with everything I needed to skin up, cook food, sleep, and enough clothes to keep me warm. I had done a bunch of ski tours before, but not with a heavy pack like this. As I slowly made my way through the aspen trees it reminded me of lifting weights almost. Each step a little bit harder with the extra weight. The skin trail was great. There were not too many steep places, but a nice gradual trail through the aspen trees. The light shining through the aspens at 7pm was colorful and kept me motivated to keep seeing what was around the next switchback.

It did not take too long until we could hear some call outs through the trees. We called out back and fourth until we could see their bright colors through the aspens. Some of the group had come earlier, and some were coming later. Once we got there, we immediately started digging a hole for our tent. You want the tent a little protected so digging a small pit was ideal. The other ladies slowly assembled throughout the night, and the last one coming up alone at midnight. Props to Laura Dewey for skinning alone in the dark.

After setting up the tent and putting on all of my layers it was time to dig out a kitchen and fire pit area. All the girls were diging out a pit for a fire in the middle with seats and back rests around. It was such an awesome set up. We sat around the fire going around the circle talking about random things, and learning new things about each other. I met four new women, so that was pretty cool. It was neat to have 12 women up in the woods with the same interest having a great time. Claire Smallwood cooked us an awesome meal of quinoa and brats. Food always taste so much better when you are outside.

Shortly after dinner it was time to hit the hay. Winter camping makes bed time an adventure all in itself. We packed three girls into the tent for body heat, which was a great idea. We all had our own sleeping mats, sleeping bags, and a whole lot of clothing on. I learned that dry socks were really key in staying warm, as well as going pee. Your body spends a lot of energy keeping urine warm, but if you go to the bathroom your body can use that energy to heat the rest of your body. I put one pair of dry socks on with a foot warmer beween a second pair of socks. This kept my feet warm all night, or I don’t think I would have been able to sleep. I slept quite well considering we were outside.

I woke in the morning to the sunlight coming through the tent. We made some coffee, ate some awesome burritos that Claire made. One of the girls brought a sled, so we all took our turn down the course each time getting faster and faster. It was great to see all of these women having fun in the woods. We slowly took down camp and packed our bags. I was really looking forward to the ski down. I like going downhill, that has never been a problem for me. So with 12 girls all packed with huge backs we set off into the aspen glades. It was so fun to see all the colorful ladies weaving in and out of the aspens with our huge packs on. The skiing was quite good, and we hit the corn cycle perfect that morning. This was just an intro to winter camping and skiing. Next time we will go farther in, and do some more touring.

I have learned for next time to pack as light as possible while bringing the proper equipment and right layers, and I cannot wait to have another fun winter camping adevnture.