Being a once cold-intolerant person, I can well co-relate the hesitance while trekking across the freezing temperature for the first time. Here are a few tips I compiled as I gradually turned from a cold intolerant to cold tolerant person.
- Mental strength: Be mentally prepared to face the freezing low temperature. Visualize yourself in an extremely cold environment. Mental strength is the key to withstand extremely low temperature during the trek.
- Habituation: Trek begins the moment you decide for one. So let your body to come out of comfort temperature even as you are in the plains, in your city. Let your body get used to the low temperature without much of artificial comforter like hot blower and heater.
- 5 Ways you lose body heat: If you understand these 5 ways, you will also understand the ways to prevent it.
a) Convection: You lose body heat by air current which flows across your exposed skin. So, keep all the skin covered in thick layers of cloths.
b) Conduction: You lose body heat by direct contact of surfaces at lower temperature. So, sit and lie down on thick insulating material which won’t conduct heat away from your body. You lose body heat 25 times faster when in contact with water. So, keep yourself dry.
c) Radiation: You lose maximum body heat from your head and neck (approximately 40-45%) & then from your wrists and ankles (making it total of ~60%). So, keep these body parts well covered with thick fabrics.
d) Evaporation: As your sweat evaporates, it pulls your body heat to convert from liquid form to vapor form. So, cover your body with at least a thin jacket as you take rest after a sweaty trek, no matter how much hot you feel (don’t over-do it). Don’t let all your sweat evaporate rapidly as you halt. Keep sipping liquids. Make sure you remain hydrated.
e) Respiration: You lose body heat and moisture during every breath you breathe out. Your body can warm up the air more efficiently if you inhale via nose as compared to breathing in via mouth. So, keep your mouth and nose covered with balaclava to reduce this loss. Hydration comes in picture again. - Layering the cloths: Apply physics. Several layers of relatively thin cloths are more effective in combating cold weather than a single layer of thick cloth. Physics explains this: Air is a bad conductor of heat. More the layers, more the air they trap between them. This trapped air prevents loss of body heat to the environment. Add/ remove layers as and when required.
- Protect your extremities: constriction of blood vessels of your extremities poses them to the risk of cold injuries. So, protect them from extreme cold by gearing yourself up with gloves, good trekking shoes and balaclava.
- Campsite tips: You are more likely to encounter chilly environment at the campsite as the absence of muscle activity leads to decrease in body heat production.
a) Start layering up your cloths as required.
b) Get a seat near a fireplace if available/allowed.
c) Fill your bottle with warm bottle before slipping inside your sleeping bag (keep that bottle inside your sleeping bag).
d) Purchase online self-warming pouch for overnight (it starts generating heat when shook for a few seconds and remains warm for around 8 hours) - Cover your ears: Your ears are another organ which needs special care as they have minimal subcutaneous fat to protect from cold. Extreme cold can lead to ear pain and infection. Hence, cover them with Woolen cap, Earmuffs, Headband.
- Keep yourself dry: You lose body heat 5 times faster in wet condition. Hence, change to dry outfit as early as possible in case they are wet.
- Nutritional fitness: Ultimately it’s the carbohydrate in your body which metabolizes (burns) to generate body heat. Hence, keep nutritional fitness at your priority list during preparation.
- Physical fitness: Studies have proved that regular physical exercise makes the body efficient in combating extreme cold by certain physical changes necessary for the same. Hence, maintaining fitness is must even to combat extreme cold.