Winter bag for Grey Knob and the huts...

[SherpaWill]

Does anyone hear stay at the AMC huts or Grey Knob during Winter? Would a down bag rated to 0 F be sufficient for "average" Winter temps? I stayed at Grey Knob years ago with a -30 bag I used to have and I remember it being overkill.

 

[TJsName]

Does anyone hear stay at the AMC huts or Grey Knob during Winter? Would a down bag rated to 0 F be sufficient for "average" Winter temps? I stayed at Grey Knob years ago with a -30 bag I used to have and I remember it being overkill.

At gray knob I just use my 20-degree bag and I am usually plenty warm. I usually only stay on Sunday nights so I imagine with a full house it might get even warmer.

If you stay at Crag you'll definitely want a 0 or -30 bag depending on how cold it is supposed to be since there is no heat source. I've never stayed at any of the AMC huts, but I imagine that the Zealand hut is probably warmer since the sleeping areas are attached, for as Carter and lonesome Lake are probably colder with their detached quarters.

 

[bignslow]

I don't remember the overnight temps, but we brought -20 bags to zealand years ago, and they were way too warm. I don't think that had much to do with the stove in the common area, but more the number of bodies generating heat in the bedroom.

 

[weatherman]

Been at Carter in the winter twice. First time temps outside were super-cold (-25 F) so I borrowed a -20 bag. It may have been overkill but I was warm. Second time it was positively balmy and my 0 bag was also too warm. So a 0 degree bag plus a light liner and the usual other modalities (warm water bottles inside, multiple layers/hats) is probably fine for 99% of winter adventures in unheated 4-wall structures in the Whites.

 

[SherpaWill]

Thank you all for the advice. I did a fair amount of Winter camping a long time ago and would like to get back into it in some form without the expense of a -20+ down bag and four season tent.

 

[B the Hiker]

Will,

You're getting answers, but no explanations. Grey Knob is an odd facility. There's a wood stove that is almost never used, and the word is that if one leaves water on the ground floor, it may be freeze because the ground floor is not all that warm when it's very cold outside, and it is also very very humid.

However, one sleeps on the second floor. If one is there on a night when there are many others, and in winter that is often the case, all the body heat rises and stays up there. The result is a rather remarkable heat differential between the two floors. Even on the coldest of times when I have been up there, the second floor is still above freezing, and maybe into the 40s.

So I agree with TJ that a twenty degree bag should do it.

Brian

 

[TJsName]

Will,

You're getting answers, but no explanations. Grey Knob is an odd facility. There's a wood stove that is almost never used, and the word is that if one leaves water on the ground floor, it may be freeze because the ground floor is not all that warm when it's very cold outside, and it is also very very humid.

However, one sleeps on the second floor. If one is there on a night when there are many others, and in winter that is often the case, all the body heat rises and stays up there. The result is a rather remarkable heat differential between the two floors. Even on the coldest of times when I have been up there, the second floor is still above freezing, and maybe into the 40s.

So I agree with TJ that a twenty degree bag should do it.

Brian

I think they try to keep it below 50 or so to help manage moisture. The care taker manages the stove and usually lights it up to help people dry off their gear and then let's it die off overnight. I have found it to be cozy in my late winter trips.

Gray Knob got new mattresses last winter - big upgrade!