One of the important issues in winter camping is procuring water.  Typically that means melting snow.  This requires a lot of fuel and a stove/fuel combination that works well in cold weather.  For may years, conventional wisdom recommended pumped white gas stoves.  More recently, pressure regulated, iso-butane canister stoves have gotten the nod as long as it isn’t really! cold. The venerable classic Mountaineering – The Freedom of the Hills, now in its 9th edition, states that alcohol as a fuel is best for “Ultralight cooking on long trips where melting snow or ice is not required.”  Five years ago, I posted about winter/snow camping.  Most of the post focused on the challenges of adding a 4th season to your outdoor trips, but also I used an alcohol stove for melting snow.  It worked and since then I have built more stove/windscreen combinations and wondered if the changes I was making might also improve snow melting.  So on a recent nice February day I went snowshoeing to find out. Continue reading →