Wintercamp reflectio

Wintercamp Reflection  

                                                            Emad Ryan - PAD20

While I was staying overnight in my quinzhee I made sure to take a mental note of a few things that I thought went well, and other things that didn't go quite as well.

I believe that we were very successful in staying warm overnight, and that is thanks to the way our quinzhee was made. We had the proper equipment to keep ourselves dry and off the snow while we slept so we never got cold, and if by any chance I did start to get a little chilly, I had hot pockets which I could use inside my sleeping bag to add some extra heat. Another thing that I think we did well was that we had a lot of water and food so we never went hungry. Moreover, we managed not to have too much junk after everything was over so that is always a plus.

Even though we did a lot of things right, there were a few issues that I encountered. One problem was that, even though we had a lot of good food, it took a long time to prepare it. This was because we had to cook our food on coals and not fire. Another issue we encountered was that overnight our clothing became really cold. The entrance to our quinzhee was a little bit too long so we had to crawl down our entrance, where it was really cold, to get out equipment which was also below 0 degrees.

If I could recommend some things for people who want to do this in the future, I would definitely make my entrance a lot larger than it needs to be, and then I would bring something to block off our entrance. Since I would be blocking off my entrance, I would also make it a lot shorter so that it isn’t a chore getting stuff in and out of the quinzhee in the morning. Moreover, I would also recommend that you bring a lot of spare clothing just in case, because I saw a lot of people around me getting their clothes wet, and they didn't have anything to change into.


In conclusion, as long as you prepare properly and follow instructions, you will no doubt enjoy the entire experience, from making the quinzhee to sleeping overnight in it.