Hiking, backpacking, and generally just being outdoors is too fun to be restricted to just part of the year.
So that of course means you’ll be spending some of your time adventuring in the cold weather of late fall to early spring.
For some of you it will be snowing.
That can mean trails are a bit harder to see, vision can be somewhat limited, and you’ll need to constantly be thinking about staying warm.
That includes knowing how to light a fire in the snow.
But, how do you light a fire if everything is damp from being in the snow?
I put together this quick guide to help you even in harsh conditions.
Because knowing how to get a fire going even in unfavorable conditions is a valuable skill that could help you out when you need it.
Note: I apologize for the lack of proper how-to photos for this post. I’m in Florida while writing this (perfect place for a snow post, right?) and lack the snow to get decent pictures. I hope my descriptions are good enough and I will try to get good photos soon!
Prepare the area
A huge part of being able to light a fire in the snow is preparing the area.
What you don’t want is to be fighting against the snow trying to dry everything out.
That will make lighting your fire much more difficult.
To prepare an area for lighting a fire, stomp down on a roughly 3’x3’ area of snow.
It doesn’t need to be perfect, just big enough for your firewood to lay in.
Stomping the snow down will help the firewood to lay on top of the snow rather than in it.
That will give you a solid surface for creating your base.
Gather your firewood
Finding dry fuel will obviously be your best bet when trying to start a fire in any situation.
However, that isn’t always the easiest thing to do when it’s snowing out.
The material you find on the ground will be covered in snow and probably damp/wet on the inside.
So where can you find dry materials to start your fire?
Look up in the trees!
If you can find a dead tree nearby, you’ve hit the jackpot.
While the branches will still be covered in snow on the surface, you can shave off the layers of wet wood to get to a dry core on the inside.
Just make sure that the branches are dead, as live branches won’t help you start your fire.
There are also materials such as birch trees and fatwood that can be harvested and will light even if wet.
I wrote a whole post on how to find dry tinder as well as a list of the best materials for tinder if you’re looking for more ways to find dry fuel for your fire.
Alongside gathering your tinder, you’ll want to grab kindling and larger fuel as well.
Be sure to grab a solid amount of wood ranging from small twigs to larger logs so you can build a sustainable fire.
Once you’ve got a solid pile of firewood and the means to get it going, it’s time to lay your base.
Create a base for the fire
You’ll want to create a base layer of wood for your tinder and kindling on top of the snow you stomped down.
You can do this by simply laying a few large pieces of wood inside the area of impacted snow.
This will provide you with a base layer to start your fire on, since it will be much easier to light a fire on top of wood than on top of snow.
Another tip that will help you in the near future is to lay out a few larger pieces of wood along the perimeter of the impacted snow.
This will help to dry them out and make them easier to light once you get your tinder and kindling lit.
Start your fire like normal
Once that base layer is laid, you can move forward with starting your fire like normal.
The type of campfire you build doesn’t matter too much, so long as you can get it going.
Grab your tinder and get it lit first, then add the kindling.
Once you’ve got a small fire going, start adding in the larger pieces of wood.
As I mentioned before, laying out those larger pieces in a perimeter beforehand will help dry them out and light easier.
It’s also a good idea to keep your materials in a pile near the fire to allow it to dry out as well.
Try your best to keep your materials out of the snow while building the fire to help you avoid trying to light wet wood.
However, once things get going you can add pretty much anything to the fire.
An established fire will dry out wet wood and light it up in no time.
If you have accelerants, use them!
Depending on your situation, lighting a fire could mean the difference between staying warm and freezing to death.
If that’s your situation, you want to get a fire going by any means necessary.
If you happen to be carrying some accelerants such as lighter fluid, go ahead and use them!
Douse the firewood you are trying to light and get a fire going.
It’s much better to be alive and warm than worrying about trying to light a fire a certain way.
If you don’t have any accelerants, check your bag for anything that could help you light a fire easier.
There are a ton of man-made tinder materials that make starting a fire a breeze.
And if you brought matches but they happen to be wet, check out this article I wrote on different ways to start a fire without matches!
Additional thoughts
Knowing how to light a fire is a very valuable skill that can help you stay warm even in the coldest conditions.
And you can even run the risk of hypothermia in a harsh rain in the summer, let alone in the snowy winter!
For this reason, I’d recommend practicing starting campfires at your home.
You never know when you might need to light one.
Were there any tips left out for lighting a fire in the snow?
Let me know in the comments below!