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Enough of this wimpy summer camping. If you want to experience a true camping adventure try the winter. I don't mean a typical mild European winter either. Go camping when the temperature goes down to -40°C (-40° is exactly the same in Fahrenheit or Centigrade). It doesn't matter whether you use a snowmobile, skis, snowshoes, or your feet alone to get to your campsite. Take along a tent or make your own shelter from snow or tree branches. If you use a tent I recommend canvas with sturdy steel or aluminium poles and not a light nylon tent that you would use in summer. Also make sure your tent doesn't have a floor. Snow is quite adequate for a floor. For the adventurous that want to make their own snow shelter take along a shovel, with a big scoop, to pile up the snow and then hollow out the mound. Don't try to build an igloo unless you are in the arctic where the wind will cause the snow to form hard drifts. Also don't try to build an igloo unless you first have a competent person show you how to do it, as igloos are not easy to make.

Equipment to take with you (in addition to food and warm clothing). This list is not comprehensive and is only a guide:
o A naphtha stove
o Naphtha
o Lantern
o Pots
o Shovel
o Machete/knife/axe
o Warm sleeping bag
o Air mattress (only fools take foam in winter)
o Toboggan
o Extra rope or cord
o Reflective foil blanket
o For the adventurous types that go to the arctic take a rifle. Polar bears see humans as a potential meal and I guarantee that you will not best one in a wrestling match. Dogs make excellent companions as well as early warning alarms against polar bears.

For those that are wondering I have been on many winter camping trips. The coldest I have ever experienced was -50°C. I have usually slept in a tent and only once in a snow shelter. I have never been in or made an igloo even though I have been to the arctic.

Winter camping is a truly exhilarating experience for those that try it or those that have done it.