Winter Hiking and Camping (Backpacker Magazine) [Paperback]

Michael Lanza (Author)

Book Description

Series: Backpacker Magazine | Publication Date: November 4, 2003

This is a guide to essential skills and techniques to apply to winter sports and winter environents. It covers everything you need to know to take day trips hiking, snowshoeing, or easy ski touring and making a camp in winter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This will give newbies a good base on winter backcountry use, whether they camp or not. -- Billings Gazette

About the Author

MICHAEL LANZA, a syndicated newspaper columnist and contributing editor for Backpacker magazine, has also written for AMC Outdoors. He is the author of Day Hiker’s Handbook, also published by The Mountaineers Books. He lives in Boise, Idaho.

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: The Mountaineers Books (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898869471
• ISBN-13: 978-0898869477
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #904,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writer-photographer Michael Lanza is the Northwest Editor of Backpacker Magazine and the creator of TheBigOutside.com. A longtime hiker, climber, backcountry skier, trail runner, paddler, and cyclist, he's currently working on a non-fiction book, to be titled "Before They're Gone," about spending a year embarking on wilderness adventures with his wife, nine-year-old son, and seven-year-old daughter in national parks threatened by climate change. It will be published by Beacon Press in spring 2012. Read his blog and stories and view his photos and videos at TheBigOutside.com or https://thebigoutside.wordpress.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to backcountry hiking and camping in the winter, January 31, 2006

By 

D. Jump (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Winter Hiking and Camping (Backpacker Magazine) (Paperback)

This book is, as the previous reviewer said, an good book for just beginning winter hiking and camping. The writing is clear, concise, and full of plenty of good advice. It is not a long book and covers a vast topic, so it primarily overviews everything related to basic winter hiking and camping without going into much detail.

With this book, the reader will feel quite confident in their ability to day-hike in the winter and to use snowshoes, but will probably want to pursue further reading for skiing and gain experience in the backcountry in the winter before camping (a point the author suggests as well). The book is focused on stressing the importance of proper winter clothing, safety and nutrition, and includes helpful short sections on various types of clothing and layering systems for mild and hard outdoor exertion. Its section on backcountry safety is well done and would be very helpful for the beginner. It is true that the author dismisses traditional wood-framed snowshoes, but that is probably because most beginners to winter hiking would be better served opting for easier-to-use modern snowshoes anyway.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but could be much better., December 24, 2004

By 

Snow Ranger (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter Hiking and Camping (Backpacker Magazine) (Paperback)

I am very quick to grab any new book on backcountry camping and travel in the winter, so I had this book as soon as it hit the shelves. I have to say I was not really that impressed with it. Backcountry skis get all of one and a half pages, and traditional snowshoes (wood frame and web) are dismissed as not being modern. Wool gets scant mention, as the auuthor seems to favor synthetics, and native-style mukluks, arguably the warmest winter footwear available, are not even mentioned. This is a good book if your are just getting into winter camping, and want to do so safely, with newer types of gear. There are other books available, which do a better, more balanced job on the same topic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully comprehensive, January 10, 2007

By 

Patrick Taylor (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter Hiking and Camping (Backpacker Magazine) (Paperback)

For the beginner as well as the sage, this book opens for hikers and backpackers the door to camping in winter. The first half deals with all the basic information a hiker needs to prepare for a dayhike in winter. The second half of the book builds on that information to provide a comprehensive primer for multi-day treks in the backcountry during winter.

I found the book useful for most the audience and easy to read. The author makes an effort to take the fear of the 'rugged wilderness' from the novice winter trekker without understating the importance of safety.

This book is an excellent addition to one's backcountry library. You will go back to it many, many times...