Regardless of how good your gear is, if your body is worn down and dehydrated, even the best insulation won't warm you up and you will be more likely to incur frostbite. It is extremely important that the winter camper drink fluids as often as possible. You have to remember to stay hydrated and fed, i.e., if you put cold water into a thermos it won't warm up by itself.

Keep some water (tightly sealed) and candy or cookies by your sleeping bag at night. If you wake up feeling cold, just eat and drink some.

On long trips, know how to fix your stove in the field. Without a working stove you have no heat or water. Take it apart at home before your trip and study it. Then always carry a repair kit and spare parts.

Use water bottles that have lids attached.

A small stainless steel thermos with a hot drink is well worth the weight on cold days.

Wide mouth water bottles are best in winter because they are easier to refill with snow and their threads don't freeze as fast. Butter the treads on your water bottle - it prevents them from freezing. Add powdered drinks (Gatorade, apple cider, kool-aid, etc.) to water bottle. It keeps liquid from freezing.

When melting snow, always add a little water to the pot before you add snow. This will speed up the melting process and prevent the pot from scorching which gives the water an unpleasant taste.

Keep foods simple and accessible in winter. Bite-size or quick serving size are a good idea. Most people will need about 4,000 calories a day to keep their heat and energy level up. Lots of cocoa and hot cereal with sugar is good for breakfast. This means a lot of fat calories like cheese, nuts, sausage and candy should be made available for lunch. A potato or pasta based soup with butter added is a good easy dinner. Eat small amounts of snacks often. Fats are high in energy which makes it a good winter food.

If your water bottle isn't insulated, put it (sealed tightly) in your sleeping bag at night. During the day, when inside your pack, keep it upside down so that ice will form on the bottom rather than around the threads. Be sure it is tightly closed. You can also bury them in the snow. Snow is a very good natural insulator. Air temperature is what really freezes things.

Fill the water bottle with boiling water at dinner. Seal tightly and push into your sleeping bag. You can wrap it in a warm sock to use as a "heater" during the night. Watch that it does not burn you. It can also provide drinking fluid during the night.

Moisture and wind are the evils of the winter camping world. Wet clothing can conduct heat away from your body very rapidly. In addition, the evaporation of moisture from skin and insulation has a further cooling effect. Dampness, whether from sweat, rain, or snow, should be avoided.

It doesn't matter how good your sleeping bag is, if you do not have a good sleeping bag and pad combination. When you lay on the bottom of your sleeping bag, you compress the insulation. Basically, this makes a very thin layer of protection. A very good combination is a Ridgerest and a Thermarest pad. You should have two sleeping pads. Use insulating pads often, i.e., sitting or standing around camp. To retain heat, put a hot pot on an insulated pad, rather than on snow.

Keep an expedition weight set of dry clothes to sleep in. Even if it means you have to put on a cold garment in the morning. Avoid going to bed in damp clothes. Sleeping nude is actually warmer than with damp clothes.

If your hands and feet are cold and you have already added a hat, try covering your mouth with a scarf or balaclava/neck gaiter. This allows air to be preheated before you inhale. Local isometric exercises work well also.

High gaitors are essential for keeping snow out of socks and boots. While this is less important on late spring day trips, it becomes vital in winter or on overnight trips, because of the misery caused by cold, wet feet. If you are prone to cold feet, insulated "super gaiters" which cover the whole boot will help.

On any day or overnight trip, it is a good idea to have a spare undershirt (and possibly a spare sportsbra for women). Change into it when you reach the highest point or destination of your trip. A change of liner socks can also make a world of difference for the trip down.

The use of a bivy bag increases the warmth of your sleeping bag approximately 10 degrees, keeps snow off your bag and tends to keep your bag on your sleeping pads better.

It is very advantageous to have side zips on pants and raingear. This allows you to be able to change layers without removing boots or snowshoes. Wipe zippers on anything (pack, pants, gaiters, etc.) with silicone before a trip.

Hands will stay warmer with mittens rather than gloves. Layers of gloves and mittens work well.

Add/subtract clothing layers as needed by the activity level. Don't get overheated. The key to effective use of your clothing is keeping your body in a state of equilibrium. Keep it fed and watered, dry and at a comfortable temperature. An important part of cold weather adaptation is preventing yourself from overheating. Remove hats, shell garments and sweaters as you begin the first part of the tour to minimize perspiration. Simultaneously, slow the pace to keep comfortably cool.

Use wrist loops to attach your gloves/mittens so when you take them off they are still attached to you by the loop. You can't drop them in the snow (particularly useful when in deep loose snow). If you do not use wrist loops, put your gloves/mittens inside your coat rather than in the snow.

Ski poles are a big help in deeper snow. Especially with an overnight pack on.

Goggles are very nice in adverse weather.

In snow caves, make sure the domed ceiling is smooth to avoid drips when the cave warms up. Also, always have a ventilation hole in ceiling and keep it clear. The smaller the cave, the warmer it will be.

Keep flashlight batteries inside a pocket. What may seem like dead batteries could just be cold batteries.

Whenever possible, always match your pace to your breathing, not your breathing to your pace. Try to avoid excess sweating. Limit breaks to five minutes or so. This will also cut down on cooling off too much.

Always have at least one snowshoe repair kit in your group.

Everything moves slower in the cold of winter and everything takes longer. It is imperative to be very organized! Patience is not simply a virtue at this point, it's fundamental.

Antiperspirant (not deodorant) on your feet eliminates sweating for 12 to 16 hours, resulting in warmer feet in cold weather.

Use plastic bags liberally to separate wet gear and to protect dry gear.

Avoid wearing earrings and rings when weather is very cold. As fingers swell, rings inhibit circulation to your fingertips. Cold earrings will pull away what little heat you have in your earlobes and can help speed frostbite.

Covering the grip area of your ice ace head with thin rubber will insulate and help prevent your hands from chilling, due to contact with the metal.

In snowstorms, have all gear in one location so new snow does not cover it up causing lost equipment.

Don't wait until the last minute to organize gear.