Cold Weather Survival Basics (Sweat Is the Enemy, Not Cold)

In cold conditions, the thing that gets people is not usually the temperature. It is being wet — from weather or from their own sweat — and staying still.

Manage sweat before you manage cold

Wet insulation stops insulating, and it is slow to dry in the field. Someone who sweats through their layers on a climb and then stops moving at the top can go from comfortable to dangerously cold in minutes.

Start slightly cold. Vent or shed a layer before you are sweating, not after. Put the warm layer back on the moment you stop.

The layers, briefly

• Base: moves sweat off your skin. Never cotton.
• Mid: traps warm air. On at stops, off while working hard.
• Shell: blocks wind and rain, lets moisture out.

Wind stripping heat away matters as much as air temperature.

Extremities

Your body protects your core first, so fingers and toes go before your torso feels cold. A warm hat, gloves with a spare thin liner pair, and dry wool socks do more for comfort than a heavier jacket.

Wet feet in freezing conditions are an injury risk, not just discomfort.

Hypothermia: the early signs

This is the part to memorise, because it is easier to spot in someone else than in yourself:

• Shivering they cannot control
• Fumbling with zips and buckles
• Going quiet, or stumbling
• Poor decisions, slurred words

Shivering that stops while they are still cold is not improvement. It is a serious sign. So is confusion. Both mean call for help.

What to do

Out of the wind, off the ground. Swap wet layers for dry, or add dry layers over the top. Warm sweet drink if they are fully alert. Insulate underneath — the ground is taking heat the whole time. Handle them gently.

Sleeping

A sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect, not the average. Change into dry clothes reserved for sleeping, even if the day’s layers feel only slightly damp. Insulate under the bag thickly.