Who wants credit for this one?

[greenonion]

That means you’re eating diabetic pee.

Probably better than asparagus piss.

Ha, you beat me to asparagus! That’s potent pee, can you imagine the smell of pissing into a bottle at 17k after eating that stuff?!

Ummm... no.

[highpilgrim]

Probably better than asparagus piss.

Ha, you beat me to asparagus! That’s potent pee, can you imagine the smell of pissing into a bottle at 17k after eating that stuff?!

Ummm... no.

Onion! Narrow thinking gets you summit clif bars. Ugh.

Better to have prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, uncured hard Italian sausage, a little cheese, and some good vino for summit chow. Or a good IPA instead. All the better to piss off those easily offended by others drinking and smoking ganga on summits.

[pvnisher]

I saw a bunch of people who were using diamox in the Alps and they were leaving pretty ridiculous unhealthy looking pee stains in the snow. Like, just dark brown red.

On the heat front, I feel like I can make an argument either way. On the one hand your body already spent the energy warming it up, so now keeping it inside is best.
But it also takes energy to keep it warm, since it's taking heat that would otherwise go into muscles or organs.

Either way, I pee when I have to and when there's a good chance to.

But I would like to see a Mythbusters episode on it.

[XterraRob]

Keeping my pee warm drains my exterior of heat, I usually choose to go to the bathroom outside of my pants instead of inside. Not sure how some of you extreme climbers do it.

[greenonion]

Am thinking this is a thread for Tallgrass. Ok I’ll PlayGneiss(ly).

[daway8]

It took me a year to find the group of partners that are fast enough. I have 5-7 people that I will hike with in winter. I am sure there are more out there, I would just have to hike with them other than winter to see if we are a good match. I carry extra gear in my pack in the winter. I have an emergency bivi, extra socks, goretex pants, hat, down puffy, as well as a hard shell. I have only had two winter hikes where I had to put everything on minus the bivi. Most of the hikes that gear is just in my pack, just in case I need to stop for an emergency. For many people it can be very hard for them to move fast enough in the winter to keep warm, the elevation slows many people down just enough to make that impossible. I have done enough cold weather hiking I know how fast I need to move. Hope that helps answer your question.

Bill

Ok, thanks - I was just curious how others approach this issue.

I'm not big on the high elevation stuff in winter, but aren't you supposed to slow down to minimize the sweating so you don't freeze?
Thanks.

The key for me was figuring out the best gear combo that provides the most temperature control flexibility with the least amount of effort. Start with the right layers then adjust zips, hoods, gloves, etc to keep from getting too hot/cold. Only once I'm about to pop up on a wind blasted ridge do I stop and pull the heavier duty layers out of my pack.

If you figure the gear out (took me a couple years to tweak in my winter wardrobe) you shouldn't ever need to adjust your pace to control your temperature - just make minor tweaks to how you wear your layers.

That means you’re eating diabetic pee.

Probably better than asparagus piss.

Ha, you beat me to asparagus! That’s potent pee, can you imagine the smell of pissing into a bottle at 17k after eating that stuff?!

Wow, leave a thread for a little while to go hike to a lake and see what happens... What an interesting collection of people we have in this forum...

[angry]

I'm not big on the high elevation stuff in winter, but aren't you supposed to slow down to minimize the sweating so you don't freeze?

Thanks.

I’m in the slow and steady camp. I have a good layering system and don’t have to take a lot of breaks either. I disagree that you have to “move fast” in winter. I get out consistently in less than ideal conditions and obviously don’t believe my speed is a safety concern. I wouldn’t want to hike with anyone that feels the need to race up a mountain in any season. I like to enjoy my time outdoors and not be rushed by someone else.

[Wildernessjane]

I'm not big on the high elevation stuff in winter, but aren't you supposed to slow down to minimize the sweating so you don't freeze?

Thanks.

I’m in the slow and steady camp. I have a good layering system and don’t have to take a lot of breaks either. I disagree that you have to “move fast” in winter. I get out consistently in less than ideal conditions and obviously don’t believe my speed is a safety concern. I wouldn’t want to hike with anyone that feels the need to race up a mountain in any season. I like to enjoy my time outdoors and not be rushed by someone else.

Totally agreed. I’ve been in plenty of situations where I was with someone who charged right out of the gates but then couldn’t sustain that pace over the long haul and I was still going strong at the end of the day. My strategy is to start out at a slow and steady pace to warm/wake up but then I gradually pick up speed and rarely stop for more than 30 seconds at a time. But one person’s “slow and steady” might be another’s fast pace so this is all extremely relative. This discussion highlights the importance of being able to be self-sufficient if you are going to randomly meet up with someone in winter (or anytime for that matter). What if a “hard charger” randomly met up with a “long-hauler” on a first peak in winter?

[CaptCO]

I don’t know about you, but I like to be home in time for dinner. I have no problem keeping a hard pace. I’m sure a lot of others can say the same, to each their own. You can’t improve at turtle speed.

[Wildernessjane]

I don’t know about you, but I like to be home in time for dinner. I have no problem keeping a hard pace. I’m sure a lot of others can say the same, to each their own. You can’t improve at turtle speed.

Okay so that’ll be interesting to see you do with some of the more challenging 14ers in winter. Keep us posted on how it’s going.

[RyGuy]

I don’t know about you, but I like to be home in time for dinner. I have no problem keeping a hard pace. I’m sure a lot of others can say the same, to each their own. You can’t improve at turtle speed.

Okay so that’ll be interesting to see you do with some of the more challenging 14ers in winter. Keep us posted on how it’s going.

I am also curious how that will go on some of the longer/harder peaks. So far, I've had several winter peak trips exceed 15 hours RT, including a start in the dark and finish in the dark. That's kinda part of the winter game for most of us unless you are Andrew Hamilton.

[CaptCO]

I don’t know about you, but I like to be home in time for dinner. I have no problem keeping a hard pace. I’m sure a lot of others can say the same, to each their own. You can’t improve at turtle speed.

Okay so that’ll be interesting to see you do with some of the more challenging 14ers in winter. Keep us posted on how it’s going.

You’ll be waiting about 358 days with the way things are going