Hello NW Survival enthusiasts, today we are talking about fires in the winter wilderness. When it is winter and the cold digs at your bones it’s nice to have a fire, knock the edge off the cold and raise our spirits, as fire always seems to do. Depending on where you are and how much snow is on the ground you may think a fire is not in the cards, well think again, you can build a fire on 7 feet of snow.
We recently went out to the Mt. Washington wilderness for our winter skills training. If you read our previous post you know we were on an 84″ base by Big Lake, it was fantastic and beautiful beyond measure. It was also cold, so we decided to put our fire making skills to the test. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to find dry wood and tinder, but where there is a will there is a way.
The most important step for building a fire on top of snow is setting your base. The best way to accomplish this is to use several chunks of log 4″-6″ in diameter about 18″-24″ long. These pieces can be wet and/or green, please don’t cut down live trees for this project, but wood that isn’t dry enough to burn yet works great on the base.
Remember, when building a fire, no matter what the conditions are, it important to gather all of your supplies before you begin. Then you will have everything you need at hand, no scrambling around for more tinder or fuel, you are ready!
Once you have your base set, you want to put a layer of green down to fill the gaps and reflect the heat back into the tinder. Bark is an excellent reflector and nice surface to build on.
Quite often in the cold wet weather of the NW you have to find ways to dry your tinder and fire starter. Under the hat is a great way to dry out your moss, which is an effective fire starter.
It may take you a few times of trial and error to get his system down and actually have a fire to be proud of, so keep at it practice, practice, practice.
As Always,
Stay Vigilant and Be PreparedÂ
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