X-Country ski boots in camp?

[David Lutz]

So, if you use X-Country skis for winter backpacking do you just wear the boots in the evening or change into something else?

I can see wanting to wear just one pair of thin socks in the ski boots.

I have down booties with a shell and 1/2" CCF soles. Maybe that would do the trick.

[Bob Gross]

It depends on the boots.

When we do tough trips where we'll be moving a lot during sunlight hours, we don't have a great deal of time to be standing around in the evening, assuming that we are snow camping. In which case, I do not carry other footware.

If we are doing an easier trip and will have time to be standing around, then I carry some Polarguard booties to wear. This also applies for a ski hut trip where there will be a wood stove for drying out boots.

I think it is a little more common to wear a combination of socks in the ski boots. I wear thin + either medium or heavy, depending on the expected temperatures. If I wear only thin ones, I'm likely to blister.

–B.G.–

[Paul McLaughlin]

My ski boots are plastic boots with thermofit liners(Garmont Excursion to be specific). I wear one thin sock with them. In camp, I have polarguard booties, which I consider well worth the weight. Some folks just wear the liners as camp boots, But I like the fact that the liners get a chance to dry out each evening, as they do get sweaty inside. Plus my feet get a chance to breathe as well, which I like. And if you use the liners as camp boots, you can't go out of the tent with them unless you put them back into the shells, or you'll get them wet.

[Roger Caffin]

> I can see wanting to wear just one pair of thin socks in the ski boots.

That might work with double boots with insulated inners. It will NOT work with XC boots such as NNN-BC ones. Be careful!

Me, I don't carry any spare footwear, but in winter I do carry some soft fluffy bed-socks which are NEVER walked on. Once I'm in the tent, I'm cooking dinner and then going to sleep! Spare time?????

Cheers

[Damien T]

> That might work with double boots with insulated inners. It will NOT work with XC boots such as NNN-BC ones.

Just because of the cold ? (I'm a newbie to winter travel)

[Eric Blumensaadt]

As Roger implies, with the short days of winter you usually have little time to play in camp. Keep your XC boots on for setting up camp and meal preparation. Also keep your gaiters on. They proivide about another 10 F. of warmth.

Take them off when going to bed. With single boots just put 'em in an open stuff sack (so they can dry if you neglected to wear a VBL sock during the day) and then place them in the foot of your sleeping bag overnight.

For double boots remove them from the outer boot and put 'em in the foot of your sleeping bag. THIS IS A MUST to avoid the agony of frost nipped (or even frostbitten) toes in the morning. Place the outer boot
shells "telescoped" together at the cuffs & then in the tent vestibule. This keeps most spindrift snow out of them.

Camp booties, down or synthetic, are great for hut skiing – almost a necessity.

P.S. Don't forget lip balm and 50+ SPF sunscreen!

[David Lutz]

I bought some Alpina 1575 boots, they should arrive on Wednesday. They have a Vibram sole, should be ok to hang around in until right before bed.

The liners are removable, so I'll throw them in the bottom of my bag so they'll stay warm.

Should work great, can't wait to try it out……

[Roger Caffin]

> Just because of the cold ? (I'm a newbie to winter travel)
No agony quite like frozen toes.

Cheers

[Roger Caffin]

> The liners are removable, so I'll through them in the bottom of my bag so they'll stay warm.

In a sealed bag I hope, or the water will simply transfer to inside your sleeping bag.

Cheers

[Bob Gross]

"In a sealed bag I hope, or the water will simply transfer to inside your sleeping bag."

When I go snow camping, normally I have my winter-weight sleeping bag. It is carried in a substantial stuff sack. When I reach camp, set up the shelter, and pull the sleeping bag out of the sack, the empty sack is now available for boot storage. I turn the sack inside-out. That way, the normal outside, which might be wet, is on the inside, so it doesn't hurt if I put semi-wet boots inside it. Then that is in the foot of my sleeping bag while I sleep. It works for me.

–B.G.–

[Doug L]

Hey David

I hope I'm wrong, because I don't want to burst your bubble, but I am pretty sure the Alpina 1575 doesn't have a removeable liner. One trick to avoiding frozen feet in the morning is to prewarm your boots by putting a bottle full of boiling water inside for a minute or two.

Personally, I have found that the key to warm feet in winter is to use RBH vapor barrier socks (or plastic bags) so that the insulation in one's boot never gets wet from sweat.

Good luck and happy skiing.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Bob

> the empty sack is now available for boot storage.
Neat trick!

Cheers

[Michael Martin]

"One trick to avoiding frozen feet in the morning is to prewarm your boots by putting a bottle full of boiling water inside for a minute or two"

Yep! I'll carry two 0.5L Nalgene bottles instead of a single larger and lighter bottle/bladder for just that reason.

If you put small hot water bottles inside the boots before you go to bed, it will greatly help dry them out and also keep the water from freezing if it's not too cold. (In really cold conditions, you'll have to sleep with your bottles…and maybe your boots.) In the morning, re-heat the water in the bottles, put 'em back in the boots while you make breakfast, and enjoy the unbelievable luxury of slipping your feet into warm boots. :-)

[Author]

Posts