Cold weather/Arctic long distance hiking setup

Will there be hungry bears just waking up and looking for an easy meal?

Yea that is usually the case up here. I have no experience with Polar bears but I am significantly more terrified of them then the usual grizzly and black bear situation.

This is actually the trip that was going to be my own bucket list trip. For many reasons it never eventuated but I decided on a wind strong tent from Helsport as the main purchase along with a second set of poles plus spares.
The Helsport Lofoten Extreme 3-P for the two of us and we were planning to add a matching tarp
https://www.helsport.com/en/tents/expedition/lofoten-x-trem-3-camp/?code=7029981043984
https://www.helsport.com/en/tents/shelters/bitihorn-x-trem-tarp-435x435m/?code=7029981044318
Never got much further as circumstances changed abruptly
Tent still here to and I’ll be using it this Southern white season.

Look up Andrew Skurkas trip for a rough idea of where to start. Aside from gear the big question would be flotation (skis, snowshoes etc) and footwear.  I got the impression Andrew did a lot of suffering on his trip. I think he mentioned his boots were always wet. I think its just the nature of the beast on a trip that big, can’tplan for every condition. If you go smaller you might have better luck tailoring your gear to the specific conditions.

I think Luc Mehl had an article about winter ski trip gear on BPL a long time ago. That and his blog might give some ideas.

I’d want a fully enclosed tents so I’d have a mental break from snow getting into everything. I’d probably have some kind of soft moccasin type shoes for camp, especially if I was wearing ski boots. Again it’s a mental thing. If the boots are constantly wet and cold I want a break. Definitely not lightweight but still a cool idea.

I’m definitely familiar with Andrew’s trip it was pretty inspiring.

I currently use carbon touring skis for deep soft snow and snowshoes with harder stuff. The problem with skis is they are really only good for open spaces and trails. Once you hit the bush it’s a nightmare.

The issue with my MSR snowshoes is they just don’t have the floatation for soft dry snow. They are amazing for mountains and spring snow.

traditional snowshoes have floatation but I don’t imagine they would do good on steep terrain.

Maybe the best thing would be to pull a sled with your skis and keep a pair of snowshoes and micro spikes on it for Boulder fields

I think you are onto something with the moccasins but I would think they won’t be waterproof enough unless you shovel out a walkway to go to the toilet. Or use a vestibule…

NEOS overboots

I was curious about those over boots. What has your experience been like with them?

Kyler in my area it’s cold enough the snow is pretty dry. Later I guess things do get slushy. Maybe rubber slippers?

A more accessible idea then blazing a new trail might be to ski snow machine trails that are already beat down. That makes it all a bit more predictable if you are just wanting to dial in your gear the first time. Once we tried this and the trail was solid enough to walk on without skis. Of course I only had my ski boats which weren’t comfortable for

thanks. I ski and snowshoe quite a bit was just curious about what everyone uses for gear in very cold winter trekking conditions mentioned in the original post.

Hilleberg or Nordisk tents would be my choice.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>For a stove at those temps I’d probably go for liquid multi fuel, like an MSR XGK EX, Whisperlite International/Universal, Dragonfly; or Primus Omnifuel/Omnilite. There are lighter, such as Edelrid Hexon and Soto Muka, but they are less well known. I’m not sure how well even an inverted gas canister stove works at -35 celcius.</p>

I have no personal experience with NEOS but mate who use them here in OZ think they are the bees neez

Yea I think over boots would be good because you could use them with your camp shoes or with snowshoes. Also a high boot is probably the best option for walking out if your ski system fails.

Might be worth trying.

Those are tough conditions. I might lean towards a freestanding tent so it’s robustness is less dependant on how well you stake it out, since when the conditions get brutal you might not have the physical/mental ability to good job pitching it. I’d go double wall and solid inner. Hilleberg is good. The Big Sky Chinook looks really nice too.

Insulating your water bottles is a good idea, as it’ll save a lot of time/frustration. Using a thermos works, but heavy. You might be able to get away with a reflective cozy for your water bottle (depending on how cold things are).

For the stove, you want something powerful and simple to use, and also stable on the snow. I’m hesitant of the complex stoves with pumping, folding legs, priming etc. At those temps an external canister stove is probably ideal. Make sure you have something reliable to set it on, so it’s not melting into the snow.

This “problem” has already been solved. Bring a dog sled, 8 or 10 dogs and the mandated minimum gear for running the Iditarod. You can then go 1000 miles in 12 to 20 days (or 8 days at record pace). It’s not UL per se (but may be for those conditions and your need for robust gear), but any musher’s load-out in a human-pulled pulk would work.

Pro-tip: put glide wax on the pulk.

So look at what mushers bring for their gear since they’ve got the same challenges.

Frankly, most all of us are weenies compared to those who’ve dealt with -50F temps on the trail or 60 mph, white-out snow storms on Norton Sound.  Skurka, yeah – he’s done some extreme stuff.  Hig and Erin take their kids out on the Western Alaska Coast in March.  They do perhaps the most UL in extreme conditions considering that 2 adults are hauling gear and food for 4 people.

For instance, stoves:  Yeah, I can make a canister stove operate at -25F with a Moulder Strip, though the “proper” backpacking answer at -30F is a WG stove. And yet, dog mushers use a bottle or two of HEET in a handful of fiberglass batting in a baking pan under a big pot stand to melt snow to broth 12 dogs. Fiddle-factor on a scale of 1 to 10: about 1.7. Moving parts: none. Cost: $4.

Out of the most accomplished mushers, I’d look most closely at Jeff King. He’s smart, creative, and always trying new things. He was also first to Nome 4 times (plus a Yukon Quest, which is harder).

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Dan Durston and David Thomas thanks for the awesome comments as usual.</p>
That big sky tent is interesting. Looks like the lightest option for this type of trip. I was leaning towards a 2 person Hilleberg tunnel style tent. Ease of setup would be of high importance. For staking the tent I would use snow anchors for snow and titanium nails for ice.

I have had some mountaineers recommend the bottles and accessories by 40 below. Usually while skiing or snowshoeing I put warm water in a nalgene and set it upside down or inside a platypus and shove it into a jacket pocket against my body. Both methods freeze eventually when it’s really cold.

By external canister do you mean propane or isobutane? There are crossovers for the canister stoves to propane and that might work. I currently use white gas stove for cold. The complexity and plastic parts do stress me out.

Never thought to look to dog sledders for gear. Good idea! I have just been doing some research on folks like Colin O’brady. The human pulled pulk would be ideal. I have been planning on making one. It would be good to make it able to integrate with a expedition backpack.

Was thinking about a lightweight pulk that can be carried if need be through Boulder fields or other obstacles. Maybe by putting the pack upside down and being able to lift the entire thing and slip my arms through the straps. Would have to secure the contents well. I don’t think I need a massive pulk. Shouldn’t need more than 100L of storage.

Maybe this is a useful stove thread:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/best-winter-cold-weather-stove/