It's well past dark when we finally make the second creek crossing and drop our packs. The halfway mark offers a brief solace. But we still have the big climb – two miles and nearly 2,000 feet of icy elevation before we gain the saddle, then a relatively flat final mile back to the truck. Sitting in silence we down chalky energy bars and nurse the last of our dwindling water. Lost in thought. Recalling what's recently behind and daunted by what lies directly ahead. I tug off

Overview: When it comes to cold-weather camping I'm certainly not a newbie, having weathered my fair share of snow storms and single-digit nights in my backpacking and backcountry hunting adventures over the last 30 years. And, due to investing in quality gear, I typically stay decently warm and comfortable. But sometimes the conditions are just more than the gear can handle. It's not to say that it's bad, but just not suited for the job at hand. That was the case with my col