This Saturday, Pack 11 went winter camping. The temperatures were in the upper single-digits and lower double-digit, staying (for the most part) away from the teens. The Pack rented a cabin but most folks stayed in tents. Troop 176 provides the food so the Cubs and parents can pay attention to toes and such. 
My job was primarily to have fun. I wasn't able to stay the whole time due to some commitments early Sunday morning, but my youngest boy (not yet a Tiger) and I decided to go.
Having a cabin is nice but it complicates things. Do you want to be inside or outside? If I warm up, will I want to go back outside? Given the chance to sleep inside, would I want to sleep outside? Frankly, I think folks stay warmer and drier outside. I think it forces folks to watch what they're doing and be careful.
One of the big draws for this campout is the sledding. This camp is on a ridge overlooking a valley and yet there weren't a whole lot of good places for sledding. We tried a few runs with limited success.
Earlier in 2008, I borrowed my mother's snowshoes from her since we get more snow than they usually do (or want). This was the chance to use them!
Overall, it was a great experience. Once I got the hang of the bindings and remembered to use my gaiters, things went smoothly. I wouldn't want to use them on a trail, but on virgin snow, they didn't seem that much extra effort. I will need to investigate new bindings, though. These are quite old, probably 40+ years and there's signs that the leather will need to be replaced with a synthetic. Not the sinew holding the shoe together, that's fine, just the leather bindings. I'll keep my eyes open for possibilities.
