Just how cold at night?

[Edana]

Another thread got me thinking.....

Just how cold does it get at night (average)? I realize it can certainly get colder sometimes, but generally speaking how cold is cold?

I regularly camp in the mountains of CO where it goes from a beautiful day to FREEZING cold at night. In the 30's easily. We've even had snow falling at night during an early August trip.

So, do I just bring my regular CO night-time camping stuff, or is that going to be overkill?

Are we talking real cold, or "I'm-from-Nevada-and-need-a-winter-coat-and-gloves-when-it-gets-down-to-50" cold?

[curiousgnate]

i don't know the #'s but I'm from CO and it gets cold but it's more of a hot all day to cold. I usually take a sweatshirt and jacket. and have a playa trench for those special ocassions. It's not like gloves cold, but warm jacket cold. and legs covered up.

[Elliot]

I would consider the extremes more than the averages. Night temperatures vary widely. One night I might be out to 3 AM in a T-shirt, and the next I may return to camp for a warm coat at 9 PM.

For sleeping, you should probably be prepared for 32 F. As with clothing, it is a good idea to have layers, rather than just one massive "polar" sleeping bag.

[dr.placebo]

It's unusual for the temp to go much below 40 F at night, but it can happen, even down to freezing once in a great while. And sometimes it will stay in the low 60's most of the night. The temps can change rapidly, also.

Daytime can break 100 easily, although 80's to 90's is more common.

At night one may need a warm coat (faux fur with blinkies is a common costume), but if you're dancing you might want to get down to minimal covering. And keep drinking water, even at night, because it's intensely dry.

[Bob]

The playa is in a valley at about 4000 ft elevation ringed by mountains a few thousand feet higher, so nighttime air flow from the mountain canyons can be pretty cold.

[mdmf007]

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstat ... phspan=day

Stats for weather from Buffalo Creek RAWS station - this is the station on the edge of the playa and is 4-5 miles from BM

During the Burn 2009
2009 the high was 104
and the low was 45

[Elorrum]

cool site, thanks mdmf.

[TomServo]

Another thread got me thinking.....

Just how cold does it get at night (average)? I realize it can certainly get colder sometimes, but generally speaking how cold is cold?

I regularly camp in the mountains of CO where it goes from a beautiful day to FREEZING cold at night. In the 30's easily. We've even had snow falling at night during an early August trip.

So, do I just bring my regular CO night-time camping stuff, or is that going to be overkill?

Are we talking real cold, or "I'm-from-Nevada-and-need-a-winter-coat-and-gloves-when-it-gets-down-to-50" cold?

Its normally pretty mild, but can drop to near freezing at night. Did so, along with 120mph gusts in 1999.

[Rice]

It can get down to the 30's and if there is wind it is alot cooler. I agree that layers are the way to go.

at the 07 burn you could run around naked and not get cold

the 09 burn I added extra layers and was still uncomfortable (t-shirt, bunny hug, trench coat, scarf, pants, boots, toque, gloves...) in my defense I was standing around, it is warmer if you are walking or dancing

Just bring lots of layers and you will be fine (there are fire pyres)

It is an extreme environment, be prepare for mega hot and urba cold, very dry...

[teardropper]

I am surprised to see it got to 104. I, too, bring a fleece and a jacket for night time just in case.

[dragonpilot]

Yeah...don't forget the wind chill factor. In still conditions at night one can be comfortable...but add a 5 mph breeze and it starts to get chilly.

OTH, the cool night time temps make for good sleeping weather...not so good during daytime when it's hot, tho.

[motskyroonmatick]

I think the reason I feel so cold at night at time is the dramatic swings in temperature we experience out there. Getting used to the heat in the day and then bam! The sun goes down and in a matter of hours the temperature could have dropped 50 degrees. It is a pretty big shock to the system. I'll bundle way up and then find my self removing layers as my body gets used to the cold.

[gyre]

I don't buy the shock to the system thing.
But wind, exhaustion and altitude have an effect.
And the tent matters.
A short two wall dome versus a tall single wall tent makes a huge difference.

In 2005 I had everything in the tent on top of me at one point.
Really cold right before dawn.

Nearly froze one night in 2007, right next to a fire too.

[Sail Man]

How cold does it get at night?


















Nipples get hard. Nuff said

[sputnik]

It was snowing at temple burn in 08.

[Elliot]

It was snowing at temple burn in 08.

Cheese.... sometimes I really don't understand the "humor" around here.

"Snowing" flakes of ash from the fire, sure.

[Fire_Moose]

It was snowing at temple burn in 08.

Cheese.... sometimes I really don't understand the "humor" around here.

"Snowing" flakes of ash from the fire, sure.

ya...i was gonna say.....

what playa were you on sput?

[ConnieH]

wow - 104 last year? Iit never felt like it got out of the low 90's, to me. I've gotten by at night with a light coat or shrug, sometimes no coat at all, but I walk a lot which keeps me warmer. My first year I slept alone in my 20 degree sleeping bag, with a light fleece blanket, in a cheapo dome tent, and was comfortably warm.

[Ugly Dougly]

The spiders get less active when it's below freezing.

[teardropper]

Do you think it's a good idea to talk about the spiders to virgins?

[Jmeier]

Some of those spiders get huuuuuge.

[Ugly Dougly]

One year the Man froze.

[Rommel]

[quote="curiousgnate"]i don't know the #'s but I'm from CO and it gets cold but it's more of a hot all day to cold. I usually take a sweatshirt and jacket. and have a playa trench for those special ocassions. It's not like gloves cold, but warm jacket cold. and legs covered up.[/quote]

It CAN, and has (the cold year) get that cold. Prepare for the worst, and you'll never suffer; or be fettered adventuring due to temp.

[theCryptofishist]

Oddly enough this morning's Keith Knight strip featured a "Freezing Man."

[sputnik]

No, I'm serious. It snowed. We were fucking freezing out there.

Hey! That's my friend Sully on the right! Great shot

ETA: And it rained at some point that night because when I was leaving camp for home my car had raindrop splashes on it

[LeChatNoir]

04 was really cold and windy at night. I don't remember any year since being colder, but I've packed just in case each year. Layers.

[TomServo]

1999 was cold...on one or two nights...bottom line, it can get near freezing at night..didn't the required reading mention that?

[illy dilly]

So, do I just bring my regular CO night-time camping stuff, or is that going to be overkill?
Are we talking real cold, or "I'm-from-Nevada-and-need-a-winter-coat-and-gloves-when-it-gets-down-to-50" cold?

Edana, I do a lot of CO Mtn. camping as well. My experience last year was that it was still real warm at night. But I'm always warm, when most people are layering up to stay warm, I'm sweating and stripping layers. Most of the people we camped with were also from CO it seemed among our group typical night wear was shorts and T shirts for guys, the girls got all dressed up and jackets and scarfs were often already part the costume.
Based on how you pack your gear, I would say bring it. I have all my gear in nice movable compact containers and staged in the garage so that it takes 20 minutes to load the vehicle. My camping gear is my camping gear, I wouldn't save a lot of space by not packing that stuff. I found that I didn't sleep in my sleeping bags, but on top of them (nice pillow top), but still had them if i needed them.
Honestly I found it to be a little easier than Moutain camping. You still spend all day trying not to get over heated or too sunburned. But at night, you don't have to worry about keeping the fire going, its nice and flat, no crazy wild life(non human) to worry about, and best part no mosquitoes!

[Ugly Dougly]

It's fun when it starts raining in the middle of a dust storm.

Run! It's a mudstorm!!

[Elliot]

Some of the most fun I've had in BRC was the rain shower in 2007. And the resulting full double rainbow was a once in a lifetime sight.