Staying Warm While Trekking

After I wrote about all-season trekking on the Annapurna, I realized that some tips on how to stay warm and how to stay dry on a trek might be useful. The two are related, of course. Staying dry is an important part of staying warm while trekking. And staying warm is important if you want to :

(1) be comfortable and enjoy
(2) avoid common cold and general sickness
(3) avoid hypothermia and frostbites

Hypothermia and frostbites are hardly ever encountered on a normal Himalayan trek. You either have to do some pretty extreme trekking or just be very unlucky. Like falling into a river and loosing your orientation or something like that. And frostbites only occur in – frost! Like when you are walking in snow/ice conditions. Just stick your feet in a cold, but running river and the frost will go away, brrrrr!

Even in these worst-case scenarios, if you are properly prepared you will be fine. With warm trekking clothes and some basic boyscout knowledge, you can stay warm and continue trekking after recovering yourself.

5 tips on staying warm while trekking:

If you are cold from sitting down or if you wake up early and are cold in bed or in your sleeping bag, just get up and walk yourself warm! If you are really freezing and can get yourself to a lodge or set up camp, do that. But don't jump into your sleeping bag before you are warm! And if this is not an option…

(1) Get out of the wind. Either build or find a natural wind-shield.

(2) Make a fire. Not allowed in many trekking areas, but in case you really need it... I always keep a pack of waterproof matches and a stormproof Zippo lighter in my little first-aid bag. But be careful if you want to dry your wet trekking clothes over the fire. It rarely works well and you risk setting your clothes on fire instead!

(3) Drink hot liquids. Bring a thermos bottle and fill it up with hot water in the trekking lodges. Of course 1 liter of water is 1 kg extra weight to carry – just bring it when you think you might need it. You can always empty it out if the weight is giving you problems.

(4) Preserve mutual body heat. If you are not alone, snuggle up together! This is the most efficient way to stay warm. If you are a couple, enjoy it! If not, put your shyness aside. In case of emergency, it’s a necessity.

(5) And the last and best tip – JUST BRING PROPER WARM TREKKING CLOTHES! The most important piece of trekking clothing is your jacket. Preferably go with a down jacket and perhaps also a fleece jacket + wind breaker. Depending on the circumstances of your trekking route, season etc. choose some good and warm footwear, socks, boots, trekking trousers, thermal underwear, gloves/mints, a scarf and a cap/hat - unless your jacket provides a hood. That’s about it. But make sure you have an extra, dry shirt to sleep in at night. And you can also consider using a waistcoat for extra warmth.

To get the best trekking clothes for staying warm, check my recommendations on:

• Choosing a warm jacket for trekking (Always use)
• Trekking trousers (Always use)
• Thermal layers trekking clothes (Always use)
• Staying extra warm with gloves, hat and wool socks (Special)
• Gear for trekking in rain (Special)
• Gear for trekking in snow/ice (Special)