Winter Camping School

Winter Camping School is open to any member of the CMC regardless of group membership or classification. There are no prerequisites, but prior completion of the CMC Wilderness Trekking School and/or some winter hiking experiences is recommended.

Winter Camping School is a non-survival school that concentrates on understanding the equipment, clothing, food, and techniques needed to stay warm in cold and snowy environments. Skills learned in this school are applicable for anyone who plans to spend time in the winter wilderness including hikers, snowshoers, campers, climbers and skiers. It does not teach high altitude glaciated techniques, but it provides a solid foundation that can be expanded to camping over timberline.

The School is organized with a mixture of in-person and online activities. There will be one in-person classroom session February 10 - 6:30 pm,  two online lecture sessions February 17 and February 24 - 6:30 pm,  and two optional online Q & A  sessions March 3 and March 17 - 6:30 pm. Students will be provided the following instructional materials:   Essential Guide to Winter Recreation (book), Winter Camping School Primer (online), online instructional videos, online quizzes, as well as other shared materials.

In order to graduate, students must attend all lectures (Q and A sessions are optional), watch all video modules, and submit all quizzes with satisfactory completion.

Students must also participate in three qualified CMC trips: one one-day snowshoe trip to learn basic techniques February 21, and two overnight field trips March 14-15 and March 28-29.  An optional Snow Structure Building day trip will also be offered March 7.  All trips will be on snowshoes, no skis allowed.

Topics covered

In this school, students have the opportunity to learn and practice winter camping techniques and skills in a non-competitive, non-confrontational setting.  Winter Camping School is a great place to make new friends and open up a new season of activity.