Peter wrote:
d to capitulate when the OAT fell to about +3CClearly one needs a lot more serious kit for that. The sleeping bag is rated down to -6C but everybody knows these ratings are nonsense.
A tent doesn’t provide any insulation, just shelter. So there is no improvement to be made there.
Your mattress is already the warmest that you can get, so no improvement there.
Your sleeping bag as you say has a relatively high temperature rating of -6C and has been stored (but not compressed) for a long period of time. Most people say that you need a sleeping bag with a rating of 10C warmer than the minimum temperature that you’ll use it in. Personally (as someone who feels the cold) I’d say that’s not enough, and you probably need a 20C buffer! Even then, I’d be very sceptical of the ratings on sleeping bags. So a minus 6C rating isn’t probably enough for +3C and your sleeping bag may no longer be performing to it’s original spec anyway.
Also, I think sleeping bags are very individual. Some people have plenty of ‘personal insulation’ built into their bodies and they will fare better in cold temperatures.
But there are some things you can do. The obvious one is to upgrade your sleeping bag. These can get very expensive indeed.
You also can look at what you are wearing inside the sleeping bag. A thermal base layer can help, particularly something like ‘long johns’ to keep your legs warm (not fashionable I know, but common amount wild campers). Personally, I wear a good warm top too, over a thermal top, as keeping your core warm helps a lot for the rest of the body.
Doing up all the cords on the baffles on the sleeping bag helps too. They aren’t so comfortable I know, but they do make sure that the air inside your sleeping bag, which your body has heated up, doesn’t escape and get replaced by cold air.
Then there are some other less “street cred” options 
I have a friend who always bring a hot water bottle with him on hiking/camping trips. He does not have the most expensive equipment, isn’t overweight and yet I’ve never once heard him complain about the cold. It is a very effective addition. Your stove will allow you to heat the water.
Indeed, I’ve often used my Nalgene bottle (hard plastic water storage bottle) to store boiling water and put it into my sleeping bag as a makeshift hot water bottle. It’s a common hiker hack and very effective at keeping you warm.
Other simpler, short term tricks are to have a warn drink and warm meal before turning in for the night. The warmth of the food and the digestion process can give you a lot of additional heat.
But your principal solution is probably a much warmer sleeping bag. I’m afraid I can’t advise on that, as I’ve never found one that I was happy with (probably because my budget doesn’t extend to the really expensive ones!).
These pics are great, Canuck! It looks like the Circo de los Altares. We tried it 15 years ago, but didn’t make it due to very poor weather.
Sorry for hijacking the thread.
To be a little more on topic: we use the Hilleberg Allak and are very happy with it.
Works under the wing too:
terbang wrote:
we use the Hilleberg Allak and are very happy with it.
Hilleberg tents are great!
They should be at the price. The Allak is about £1000 here. The quality is clear however.
It is the same internal size as my MSR Elixir 2 which was £200.
Beautiful photos!
I wonder how you do a “number two” when camping in frozen wastes like that… or maybe I should not ask 
I know the normal “wild camping” (camping off a campsite) procedure. But I would not camp on a campsite now anyway; too risky.
Terbang, you are correct on the location. We had some bad weather too, but had enough food to wait it out. We managed to climb Gorra Blanca, which was not too hard, but took two tries due to weather. We ended up being out for 12 days or so and made a big loop along the ice field (counter-clockwise) back to El Chalten.
All very memorable!
Canuck wrote:
These pictures are from the South Patagonian Icefield, of which I was fondly reminded of from Terbang’s trip report.
Fantastic. Serious adventuring and something I want to get back to asap!
Fantastic pictures Canuck and Terbang, just surreal adventures, I missed a gliding expedition there in 2018, but surely I will jump in the next one, I can see some damn good lenticulars there in the pictures
Yes, the area is known for massive mountain waves. The record in a glider is something like 76k feet!!
Lots of big lenticular clouds when I was there. Had to tie the tent down with everything we had!
I carried the stuff in the back of the plane on this trip in case there was a last minute govt policy change and hotels were closed.
Entirely practical, weighs nothing (similar to a pair of skis) but quite bulky unless you pack the sleeping bag and mattress in the “ultra tight mode” which I guess is what camping hikers do, but you can’t store those items packed like that long-term.
