Schneehöhle

I keep waking up and staring at a white, uneven ceiling. The air around me is cold and only a red light illuminates the room. There are three other people lying next to me, all wrapped up in bivouac bags and sleeping bags and protected as best they can with winter clothing. When I fall asleep again, I dream of shoveling snow for hours. Sometimes I feel slightly panicky and cramped.

Today's GOTW is dedicated to a versatile piece of equipment that may be small, but achieves great things. A timeless classic that impresses with its low weight and pack size and is hardly damaged by years of storage in the backpack: the tea light.

Stefan's muffled voice reaches me: "Martin, you have to get up! I can't get the snow off the tent!" Oh dear, but if we don't want to fall asleep under a mountain of snow forever, we have to get out. In the middle of the night, far away from civilization and in arctic conditions, this is anything but pleasant. A snowstorm is raging around our small dome tent and the temperatures are in the region of the freezer at home.