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BAD WEATHER COMING IN.
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To go out on a hike or a ski trip on a mountain can be an amazing feeling. There are a few things that might stand in your way to make it perfect, bad weather is one of those. If you study the sky and the clouds you might be able to get a hint of what the weather is going to be. Remember a sunny day with a perfect blue sky can quickly turn into your worst nightmare. If you don’t have the right gear and knowledge.
Here you can read about
Clouds
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 Cumulus The so called “beautiful weather” clouds.
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 Cirrus
“Feather clouds” which is the first sign that a new front is coming in.
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 Nimbostratus So called “rain clouds”. Prepare for rain or snow.
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 Altostratus Clouds in different layers consisting water and ice. The clouds usually covers the entire sky like gray mat, the risk of precipitation is big.
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 Cirrostratus“Veil clouds”. The clouds often covers the entire sky looking like a veil or threads. The clouds consist of ice crystals which can make so called “halo”. It’s a good sign that the weather is about to change.
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 Cumulonimbus If cirrus clouds is followed by cumulonimbus then a cold frontier is to come. The bad weather usually comes in quickly with precipitation and maybe thunder. With this combination of clouds you should act quickly.
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Your body has it’s own way to protect it self from getting cold in low temperatures. Everything is done to keep the body temperature up in the most important organs (as your heart). To manage this target your body stops producing heat to “less important“ body parts as your hands and feet. Your body has also two other functions to keep you warm. Increased fat burning and shivering. Shivering increases heat production and your metabolism. This increases your heat production 5-6 times over your normal body temperature. Shivering only works to begin with, after a while your sources of carbohydrate will run out and you will get more and more tired. The worst thing about frost-bites is that you wont see it coming, there are not much pain. The first sign on frost-bites is white marks on the skin. Remember that watches, glasses, jewelry of metal can create frost-bits.
Treat frost-bites early!How frost-bits appears
Treatment
When you are about to go out on the mountain, it’s important to pack and plan in advance, something that can be both fun and exciting. Except for the usually gear, you should always bring a map and compass. Sometimes that just isn’t enough though. Bad weather with wind and snow can appear out of nowhere, and you’ll have to know how to protect yourself and how to keep warm.
 How cold it will be can increase with strong wind, the best thing to do is to build a bivouac- which makes a shelter from the wind. You’ll need some essential gear to be able to do this; Spade (both a small and a bigger one is to prefer) Bivibag, at least 2 meter long, 2-3 persons. Sleeping mats. When you build the bivi try not to get to warm and sweaty, cause you will be much colder when you sit down. There are several different sort of Bivouac. To protect yourself from the wind you can either build a wall to shelter behind or build it in a snow-drift. In the Swedish mountains it’s mostly winds coming from North and West, which makes more snow on the Eastern side of the Mountains. Avoid to build a Bivouac on open slopes where an avalanche easy can be triggered.
 Check how deep the snow is and how hard it is packed. For two persons the snow-deep should be at least two meters or more. If you are to build the bivouac in a snow-drift, start to dig a rectangular path a bit lower than standing height. It should be so wide that you can fit in, but no more. When you have digged little more than a meter in you can start to make it wider. Don’t forget to make the roof in a vault, unless you want to wake up with the roof in your head. Also take away all sharp edges in the roof, cause it will start to dripp when the temperature gets higher. There should also be holes for ventilation in the roof, you’ll need fresh air to get in, especially if you have to cook food inside. The sleeping spots should be build as bunks on the sides. Put them a bit higher than the floor since the cold air has a tendency to go lower. Another tip is to build the floor so it tilts a bit towards the door to decrease the cold even more. The opening can be covered with the skis, bivibag or a snow-block. Put the pole’s on the top, to mark where the bivouac is. Always keep one spade in the bivouac, incase it will come a lot of snow so you have to dig your way out. When you finally are in the bivouac it’s time to curl down in the sleeping bag or bivibag, it’s good to be more than one person in the bag. Make sure you are sitting or lying on a mat. While in the bag, put on the extra layers of clothes you brought, to avoid getting more cold. This can be rather interesting if you are more than one person in the bivibag, but I think you all know that the best way to keep warm is body heat.  Split the food you have into small portions, you don’t know how long the bad weather may last and you might have to stay there during a longer time. Talk to each other and try to keep the good mood up. Hopefully the sun will come out again and you can continue your way towards your goal.
 If you are on a high altitude (5500 m > ) things can be more complicated. Contact a doctor and experts before going, so you have the right medicine, food and gear with you.
Source: Langdakning, Motion, traning och tur pa skida; Ronald Crawford-Currie Handbok for vaderbitna; Bosaeus and Melin Fjallsakerhet nr 8 2001 ©Malin Andersson |
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