Beginner Friendly Winter Mountain Camping Course

Are you yearning for snow covered mountains but have never gone winter camping before? Join us at IKSU Friluft’s winter camping course. Our goal is to give you all the basic knowledge and experience in handling winter conditions and to bring you on a trip to Hemavan where you will get to put everything you have learnt into practice.  

The course is arranged over four evenings to meet and learn about winter camping in theory, a weekend trip to Tavelsjö, and a 3-day ski trip to Hemavan. The evening meetings will be at IKSU Sport, 18.00-21.00 unless anything else is communicated.  
During the evening meeting we will teach you everything you need to know to travel safely during winter on skis, what gear to bring and how to use it, how to plan for food, navigation, tent pitching, and much more.  

The weekend trip to Tavelsjö will be the first time you get to use a lot of the knowledge you have gotten from the first meetings. During this weekend we will try to hone your skills to prepare you for the Swedish mountain conditions and situations before we will go to Hemavan.   

After the Tavelsjö trip we will have two more evening meetings to teach you more in detail on how to plan for the mountains, navigation, how to plan and prep food as well as let you in on the final plan for the Hemavan trip.  

Finally, we are ready to take on the snow covered mountains. At 06.30 on the 10th of April we will head off to Hemavan by bus. Once there we will ride the lift up to reach the King’s Trail and set off into the mountains to our basecamp.  During the weekend you will get to put all your new knowledge and skills in to use while we share our own best tips and tricks when showing you the mountains. When we sit on the bus back to Umeå we hope that you have gotten many new memories, friends and experience and that you look forward to planning your own future winter camping trip. 

Note that all common equipment for the group will be included in the price. If you have your own skis and/or sleeping bag you are most welcome to use them. If you don’t own backcountry touring skis or a proper winter sleeping bag you will have the possibility to rent equipment from our outdoor shop Sarek.  
For this course we have been able to make a package deal for 490 SEK which includes skis, boots, skins and poles + a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat for all the practical parts of the course.

The course schedule will be: 

Meeting 1, 19/2: 
Introduction to winter camping, get to know the equipment 

Meeting 2, 3/3: 
Before the first trip. Talk about the plans. Getting the gear.  

Trip 1, 7-8/3: 
Winter Camping trip to Tavelsjö. Practical training with the equipment.  

Meeting 3, 17/3: 
Introduction to winter mountain camping, navigation and food preparation.  
 
Meeting 4, 8/4: 
Before the mountain trip.  Final information and getting the gear.  

Trip 2, 10-12/4: 
Trip to Hemavan. Practical application of everything you have learnt. 

Common Gear Carried by Each Team: 
Tent 
Bivy bag 
Shovel 
Pulka 
Outdoor Stove 
Gas (not included) 
Food (planned by each team seperately) 

Personal Gear: 
Skis 
Poles 
Skins 
Ski Boots 
Sleeping Bag+ Sleeping Mat 
Backpack (Minimum 60 liters) 
Wind- & Waterproof Jacket + Trousers 
Extra warm jacket 
Extra sweater 
Baselayer x2, preferably wool 
Socks x4, preferably wool 
Mittens + Gloves 
Hat + Tube/Buff/Scarf 
Sunscreen 
Goggles & Sunglasses 
Headlamp + extra batteries 
Cell phone + powerbank  
Thermos, at least 0,7l 
Water bottle 
Cups and utensils 
Toiletries 
Personal medicines 
Your favorite snacks