• Name: Jennifer Flattery
• Location: Oakland, California
• Contribution: Volunteer instructor for the San Francisco Bay Chapter snow-camping section

Tell me about the snow-camping course you teach along with other volunteers.
We have a classroom session, and then we go on a one-night trip. People try everything out and inevitably make mistakes. A couple of weeks later, we go on a two-night trip. We usually camp on Mt. Lassen or around Tahoe or Yosemite.

Why do you like snow camping?
It's a true wilderness experience. It boils being in the backcountry down to the basics, like backpacking does. It also attracts like-minded people, so there's a lot of camaraderie. And it's exceptionally beautiful. After a storm, there's untouched snow as far as the eye can see.

How do you stay warm?
We have various systems. I run cold all the time, so I wear a lot of layers. We have other tricks, like vapor barriers for our feet, that make all the difference.

A vapor barrier sounds high-tech. What is it?
A plastic bag from the grocery store.

Do you need any special gear?
We have pretty much figured out how to make three-season gear work. And snow is a natural insulator. We teach how to make a cave, an igloo, a trench—in our structures, it almost never gets colder than 32 degrees.

Isn't it pretty miserable, though, when nature calls in the middle of the night?
One of the things we teach is to just say yes when that urge comes. While you're outside, you get to see this amazing winter wonderland. Try to treat it as something to look forward to.

Are you worried about the program's future, given climate change predictions for California?
Absolutely. We've had some years recently when it was a total struggle to get to the snow. It is obviously a big concern, what the future holds for the Sierra Nevada.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the program. Why do you think it has endured?
It's not expensive, and we have between 60 and 90 active volunteers who teach it. We estimate that we've trained over 4,000 people to camp safely in the snow. We've tried to build a clan of wilderness stewards in the process. Our mantra is "There's no camping like snow camping." Sometimes we sing it.