Winter tactics and techniques

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:27 pm

I've never done any work in the snow until I got here and did the operation I just posted. I learned that the snow muffles sound, leaves prints and reduces visibility. I have no formal techniques or tactics for the snow or general cold. Any advice on what works for you in the snow for those of you who've done stuff in conditions simular to mine?
Thanks

Dethkreep · Post by **Dethkreep** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:19 pm

I don't know much yet dude. But it's supposedly supposed to snow tonight here, so I'm definately going to try an op tonight. I'll report back with any advice.

Psychlonic · Post by **Psychlonic** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:21 pm

Having a car can help big time. You can park elsewhere besides home and walk through snow and leave prints. Put it this way:

Your neighbor (for example) notices his yard gnome got decapitated.

He sees footprints in the snow and follows them over to the fence. He sees that the prints go to and from your house's door.

Extremely obvious example there, but it gets the point across. Now let's say you park in some random, out of the way location. Some would-be sleuth is going to follow the prints and... see some slushed over tire tracks leading to the road. That won't do them a damn bit of good. You win.

Leaving prints is inevitable in certain cases, unless you can hover. Prints can give away info such as your height, where you were going, where you were coming from, and entry points. Might not seem like much, but it can leave a profile.
When possible, move along rocks, fences, anything to keep yourself off the ground. Even if snow should be on a fence, these things can go completely unnoticed in comparison to footprints.
When not possible, one idea is to distort the ground by moving along with an umbrella behind you. It destroys the prints. I personally think the idea sucks and never use it, but it's an idea.

Roll up sleds will help you hall ass down hills in a relatively small package. I guess if you made a strong enough one/waterproofed the cardboard, the mylar shield concept could double as a folding sled

Iced over rooftops require special gear, no two ways about it. You need anchors and ropes for certain sloped ones, and you may have to face the fact you will have to leave evidence to use these roofs, albeit minimal and likely unnoticeable evidence.

Compacted snow balls have uses. Distractions, first-strike weapon, breaking tools, hell you study ninjutsu right? That should have an entire branch dedicated entirely to the art of stealth and combat in snow and ice. So much shit you can do.

Snow muffles sound in the air, but unfortunately walking through it makes more sound. So you win some, lose more. Technically snow shoes could alleviate both this and the prints problem (provided enough snow falls to cover the tracks) but then you've got the obvious issue of night ops in snow shoes. Maybe some slick engineering here could solve the issue?

Snow seems to increase visibility for me. What little ambient light there is in even the darkest areas increases as it reflects off the snow and/or light clouds above. Snow on ground with a full moon and light overcast? Bright as fucking day almost.

When moving in groups, you can follow each other's footprints to make the illusion of a one-man job if you expect the prints to be seen.

Hmm... that's all I can think of right now. Generally it sucks ass because you have to wear more bulk/weight and if you plan on doing certain things, you need extra gear. On the plus side, the "good guys" seem just as lax as us in the winter time, so it's primetime for your biggest ideas.

Dethkreep · Post by **Dethkreep** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:15 pm

Great advice. Unfortunately I couldn't get out last night. My partners older cousin ended up spending the night over at his house, we all hung out and I didnt trust him to know about this stuff, so we didnt go.

But yeah when the moon is out in the winter, everything goes double with what I said in the moon and how it effects visibility thread. Its true it can seem as bright as day outside when theres a fresh layer of snow and a full moon.

What you said in the last paragraph psychlonic is exactly why I am so eager to do a winter op. In winter preperation gear and strategy wise can make an immense difference. If a guy see's you outside snooping around, in summer he could just throw on his shoes and go after you for as long as he wants. In winter, if he even wants a chance of getting his hands on you, he's gonna have to a lot more then just throw his shoes on. Needs a coat and gloves if he's even gonna stay out there for more then 10 minutes. Other things apply too but what I'm saying is basically in winter, your preperation gear wise can make a much larger difference than in summer. You can instantly put threats at a large disadvantage just by taking a little extra time to prepare at home.

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:52 am

Ninjutsu stuff that applies to snow that I know is limited

. I'm learning more slowly as I now feel it is much more applicable than before. Here's what I do know:
Extensive use of the sideways walking method (yoko aruki) is great for snow, the prints are perpendicular to the direction of travel, and could lead inexperienced trackers to go either way.
Using false tracks, either circling around or actually altering the soles of shoes to create tracks similar to animals, cripples or people with trouble walking, but I've never used the latter of the techniques.
Guards tend to stay near a warm spot.
Wear full white and stay on your belly.
Train in winter with winter gear to get used to it.

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:14 pm

Here's some more I learned when me and student/kusa did some parkour training in the snow. Rolling of all sorts is much easier and requires less strict form. Walking in other peoples prints is great when you have prints to walk in (less sound, no new prints ect). Walking single file in each others prints conceals the number of people who were there. When jumping upwards and forward from a snowy surface onto a snowy surface run take a small hop and then jump, jumping from a run makes is much easier to slip up on the snow. Only rough brick walls should be trusted for tic tacs, wall runs etc, most other types will slide from the snow on your feet. Walk with the entire sole of the foot for more traction and to lessen the chances of slipping, a lot of snow may have ice under it and look less slippery than it actually is. Rolling willing get you wet and probably get some snow into your clothes. Snow is great for throwing into the eyes as a distraction (powder or snowballs). Frozen rails should be handled with gloves that have some sort of plastic or synthetic fiber, other stuff sticks. Running up hills of snow is something I've yet to get right as I keep falling through, kusa/student says I should think light and never put my entire weight on any one foot. Hope this helps some people out there in the cold

hiro · Post by **hiro** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:46 pm

since all of my experience in ops has been in the winter, i'll share some of the techniques i found to work for me.

the foot prints aren't as big a deal as they should be. you can do many things to actually make it harder to track you using them. for example, if you have more than one person, walk in single file and then suddenly break apart, so one set of tracks suddenly becomes two. one nosy person trying to follow you won't know which one to follow, and if he picks one randomly it might not lead him correctly, specially if you start going over fences and other areas. if the tracks lead to a place where the tracks drop off of, such as a place where no snow could fall, then you can purposely lead someone away from your actual point.

another way to make prints work for you is to create a fuck'ton of tracks in the area you are oping. if theirs only one or two sets, it can be easy to follow. if there are many, MANY tracks all over the place, it makes them look like a buncha' kids were just running around. more tracks makes less suspicion. you can only do this if you have time to do so, and you might even produce the same result just from the op itself.

the only time i ever wore white in a winter ops, it actually had a different result than what i've mostly seen posted. me and my partner actually got followed more, and got more reaction to check out "what was happening" when we wore white. i found that wearing darker clothing helps you hide in higher places, which seems to work better in the winter. hiding in a tree or atop a shed and you won't be noticed more than lying on the ground covered in complete white; or hiding in the shadows under a building, added with the sheen and you covered your tracks well, well let people walk right pass you, looking for other places. you lose that advantage if you are in white - you have to hide almost in plain site that way.

stealththief · Post by **stealththief** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:24 pm

I never thought of the dark color thing, but it makes sense, I'll try it out. Great information.

Valdravulfr · Post by **Valdravulfr** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:32 am

For the prints make ashiaro.

Borninshadows · Post by **Borninshadows** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:34 am

The only problem with Ashiaro are that they can be awkward to use, and not have the best traction/balance.

Valdravulfr · Post by **Valdravulfr** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:38 am

Fair enough. The ones I had were good though. You could always put grip tape on the bottom of them. Providing you dont want it to be 100% lifelike.

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:29 pm

I seem to remember promising to post some winter-opping techniques in a previous thread, but since i can't locate it i'll just post them here. I've had a few years experience winter opping in several different environments, so i'll start by getting the obvious stuff out of the way.

Temperatures -

The most important thing you can do for winter opping is to know your temperatures. As a rule, i won't op in anything below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, simply because of the safety hazards. opping can turn dangerous fast enough on it's own, throw in freezing cold temperatures and you can end up in a tight spot within sight of your home. Having to hide under a bush or in a ditch is one thing during the summer, but hiding perfectly still for an hour when it's below freezing? not fun.

Knowing your temperatures can mean other things as well. if your area doesn't get regular snow, that makes things easier for you. but frost in the grass can leave a perfect trail for anyone to follow, just as if you'd walked through snow. so before you cut through a field or lawn, make sure you know whether the frost will melt by morning, or if it's going to be cold enough that your footprints will stick around for days.

Anyone who's gone out in ten degree weather knows what it's like to have the condensation from your breath literally freeze your facemask or balaclava into a hard shell, and while annoying, it can pose a frostbite risk as well. in temperatures like that, if you jog for a few miles and then have to lay low for twenty minutes, that frozen shell of a mask can freeze to the skin on your face and chin. And that's just condensation, i don't think i need to warn you how dangerous working up a sweat can be.

Using your environment -

I'm guessing that this is more the type of stuff people were looking to read about, so here it goes. For those of us who have to deal with several feet of snow on the ground at any given time, you will find the places you can go severely limited due to the paths you make. Obviously, using existing paths can be your best bet. Children like to make trails and snow forts along the side of the road, and these paths can make great trails for you to use without leaving behind a trail of your own. Snow forts and piled snowbanks make great cover when you need it, but that's common sense.

High traffic areas are often something that gets overlooked. if there are a few other trails leading through the snow, or many footprints in an area, then you can either use the existing prints, or just make a trail of your own. chances are, it will go unnoticed.

Fences make a great method of transportation when you need to cross a snowy area that is devoid of blemishes. Many fences have horizontal support beams you can use to step on/hold on to as you work your way down the fence. with enough upper body strength, even a chain link fence can be used. just rest your feet along the chain links, and slide or inch your way down the fence with your hands along the top support bar. trees can also be used in the same fashion, but seldom are as effective as a well placed fence.

One of my favorite tactics for winter opping is simply waiting for a warm enough temperature to melt the snow that's on the road, and then simply use the road for transportation, utilizing the snowbanks for cover when needed. no need to worry about tracks when you have a perfectly good pavement surface to walk across. also, you'll find that while this method is more limiting in the places you can go, it is much quieter than crawling down a fence.

Sometimes, if you're light enough and the snow has a hard crust on top, you'll be able to slide or walk across without leaving any obvious trail. the time's i've been able to do this while opping have been few and far between, so it's hardly something to rely on. however, sliding across the snow brings us to our next topic -

Gear -

If the crust isn't quite firm enough to support you walking on top of it, try bringing an inflatable snow tube along. it does a great job at evenly distributing your weight, and slides much easer downhill. they're fairly easy to stash in a snowbank, and it can become cover for you anywhere where children often play - no one pays much attention to a toy that's been left outside overnight.

I'm not a big fan of winter camo, but a qhite painter's jumpsuit can be just as effective, cheaper, and easier to get a hold of. they're baggy enough to slip on over your opping clothes, and having an all white outer layer can work wonders when it's snowy out. failing that, a ghille suit can be just as effective, especially when dusted with show.

That's all i've got for now, but if i think of anything else i'll edit this with more info.