winter opping?

crastmaster · Post by **crastmaster** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 12:32 am

first of all I live in the northest states so it gets cold and snows, a lot. so basically the questoin is: is it even feasible to op in the winter?

taking into consideration the average 6" of snow, the added sound of the snow crunching, you breath being like a beacon for your position when hiding, shoe prints in the snow, and freezing your balls off in sub-zero climate

I justwant to know if I can utilize the norths 18 hours of darkness

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:07 pm

I've never had winters so rough that I couldn't op, but now I'm in a place where the winters will be crazy so I hope to learn some stuff about winter opping. I know climbing will be less prominent and stealth in the snow will be strange. Maybe snow shoes are a good idea, no idea how quiet they are, but a friend who was a scout told me you can run right on top of the snow with em. Also I guess short term tunnels would be doable but real risky. Snow would be good to dig into and make observation posts then base ops on timing. Unfortunately none of these will prevent you from freezing your ass off, I guess waterproofs and layers can stop that. When I have more winter experience I'll post more stuff.

Dethkreep · Post by **Dethkreep** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:00 am

Yeah here in the midwest it gets pretty damn cold. This winter is going to be interesting experimenting with ops. I definately need some better gloves. It's going to be hard to waterproof myself without making myself noisier. But waterproofing I know will be a neccesity as I could probably get some pretty mean frostbite if I don't.

Post by **Ghost** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:35 am

I grew up in the northeast, and am planning on moving back there rather soon, so i'll post back here in a bit with some tips when i have a little more time.

Post by **mib** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:51 am

There's only one very specific winter condition that I opped in, and that was when the snow crusted over and formed a sort of surface that you could walk on without leaving any tracks. obviously if you're overweight that won't work. I'm planning to expand my winter activities and I'm going to make snow camouflage to make things go smoother.

Valdravulfr · Post by **Valdravulfr** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:51 pm

For prints make what the ninja of old call "ashiaro" they are essentially pads carved out of wood to imitate the tracks of an animal or a child.

For stealth the false sound principle could work along with a new stepping technique.

For clothing wear it loose. Get some goretex underclothes and some waterproof outers and experiment with moving around and develop a technique that works for you.

crastmaster · Post by **crastmaster** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:33 am

or you could just wear your water proof layer under something that makes less noise, like sweats or something

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:04 pm

I've worn stuff like that and as long as the under layer is quiet or muffled by the clothes on top it's your best bet. Crawled through a bunch of snow and muddy dirt during a paintball game a while they had given us these cheap camo outers and I had worn camo on my own so I was set with BDUs on the inside and thin stuff on the outside kept me dry and relatively warm. I'm sure you could throw on the thermals or under armor and be at a comfortable temperature.
Another option (that I haven't tried though), would be using some snow pants that are quiet or using them on a windy and loud night. Snow pants with some boots will definitely keep you dry but I'd be more worried about noise than anything else, the kinds I've seen and owned in the past always make swishing noise.

Valdravulfr · Post by **Valdravulfr** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:47 am

stealththief wrote:the kinds I've seen and owned in the past always make swishing noise.

Thats the problem with synthetic materials. Wear goatskin