You may be wondering how we sleep in the cold or what our tents look like. Most of us sleep in tents called Arctic Ovens. Arctic Ovens are 8 x 8 foot tents made with a white cloth body and yellow nylon fly. To keep the tents from blowing away in the wind, we stake them out in several places and cover the flaps of the tent fly with snow. This primarily prevents snow from blowing between the tent fly and tent body. Snow tends to get into everything out here!
My Arctic Oven is on the edge of Tent City. I have quite the view when I wake up in the morning!
For warmth, we place four sheets of blue foam under the tent. The foam keeps the tents off of the snow surface, keeping the tent warmer. Inside the tent, I have two sleeping mats that keep me up off of the surface, providing yet another layer of warmth. I sleep inside two sleeping bags. One is a -15F sleeping bag that I zip up all the way. The other bag I unzip and use like a comforter over my sleeping bag. Many people bring hot water bottles to their tents to help warm up their sleeping bags as they fall asleep.
The set-up of an Arctic Oven.
This is the view inside my tent.
The view out the front door of my tent.
My lovely backyard!
I am currently logging the temperature inside and outside of my tent. Keep your eyes out for another posting with these data. It should be interesting to see how the temperature changes throughout the day and how much the tent warms up while I am sleeping. The tent always seems warmer in the morning when I wake up!