Winter hiking tips for beginners (part 2)

I hope you had a great week and was waiting for the second part of my blog post dedicated to winter hiking for beginners.

So here it is 😊

In my previous post I gave you some useful tips regarding your basic winter equipment – shoes, backpack and clothes. What else do you need to take with you on your first winter hiking trip?

Power bank and phone

These two are a must. The most important thing to make sure is that your phone can dial SOS number. Even if you don’t use the bank it might be helpful for someone else, so be sure to take one. There are already some quite compact models which will add no more than 100 grams to the whole equipment.

Food

I’d say the topic about food before and during winter hikings is quite vast. As regards the quantity you can find people saying you should eat more, others – that you should stick to your usual calories intake. If I have to give you my personal opinion here it is – don’t over do it.

If you have a light to medium physical activity in general and you choose an appropriate for your level track you don’t really need anything more than a small chocolate or protein bar and enough water. Your body’s needs will change if you have decided to take on a more challenging route. The so called superfoods that you can find at the specialized mountaineering equipment shops are usually useful in case you’re going to 2000m+ and there’s a probability that you need to stay somewhere throughout the night. Overall, opt for carb based snacks, protein (the small packed party sausages are great by the way). Most of the space in your backpack should be left for the food so make sure you have enough, high calories easy-to open bites to take every 2 to 3 hours depending on the length of your hiking trip.

Alone or with a group?

Last but not least, you also have to decide whether you’re doing that winter hiking alone or with s group. The latter is always much more fun, if you choose your best half, a friend or a neighbour for it. In terms of safety also always opt for a group. If you are joining a local mountaineering group make sure to learn more in advance on the level of expertise and experience of the other participants. This way you’ll make sure that in case of emergency there’d be someone out there to help you out.

I hope my tips will help you to discover one of the best activities in winter to stay active – hikings 😊

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have further questions on the topic, I’d be happy to answer your questions below the blog post.