New skis, new avalanche equipment, a new trendy jacket color, rising lift prices and the oil companies, like the state, are increasingly holding out their hands. It's not easy being a less well-heeled freerider. Many costs are beyond our control, and one of the deciding factors for a "powder day yes/no" is the overnight stay. Anyone who has ever had to pay 100 euros for a sub-standard hotel without breakfast in a Swiss canton that cannot be named in detail and has also been asked to pay double-digit sums for every 15 minutes of internet use and has had to spend this hard-won money with a backbreaking job for 8.50 euros per hour of drudgery knows what we are talking about. Spending the night in your own car suddenly becomes highly attractive again, despite the cold, wet and lack of comfort.
Minimum equipment
If you have the right minimum equipment, you need not fear a night in the car. You should always have a good sleeping bag (at least -5 degrees comfort range), an additional layer of warmth and a well-insulated pad. It is a common mistake not to pay attention to this insulating base layer. Because where the sleeping bag is compressed by the body weight, it has hardly any more thermal performance. A combination of Therm-A-Rest and a simple plastic mat (or two plastic mats) has proven its worth. Plastic mats are also available for just a few coins at the local discount store or DIY store.
Location search
An important question for the semi-legal car camper is where to make yourself comfortable in the car. Lift parking lots are often a good option, as you can be there first thing in the morning and sometimes also find infrastructure with toilets and water. If in doubt, you can ask the lift attendants nicely. The argument "We'll buy a ski pass tomorrow too. If we have to pay for an overnight stay, we won't have any more money for it" almost always works or is at least is met with understanding.
Indoors or restaurants with a cleared parking lot should only be considered if you have dined there beforehand (see also drying tips) and have obtained permission from the owner.
If you are looking for snow-free parking spaces in other places, tourist attractions, picnic and sports grounds, recycling yards, low mountain passes or industrial areas, especially at the weekend, are often a good choice. However, the spot should be chosen carefully if you don't want to be disturbed at night by through traffic, snow plows or a high frequency of couples longing for romantic togetherness in their cars. Especially in spring, when the sun is already really showing its warming power, it pays to seek out low-lying places with morning sun. Breakfast is immediately more relaxed.
Little effort and great effect - tips and tricks
Contrary to old legends, you can wear clothes in your sleeping bag during the night, but you should avoid cotton as it gets very cold when damp. In the worst case, simply wear whatever you have. As a minimum, however, you should at least wear a hat to reduce the radiation over your head, and a scarf will also help to prevent a sniffy nose. A blanket over the sleeping bag also increases the heat output and shifts the dew point to the outside so that the sleeping bag stays drier. This is a hot tip, especially for down sleeping bags, which are sensitive to moisture.
Clothes that have previously been dried with difficulty are either placed in the sleeping bag (slightly damp gloves or socks can also dry there) or packed away well so that they are not soaked through by condensation.
Store drinking bottles close to your body (or even in the sleeping bag) and with the lid facing downwards to prevent them from freezing. If you reach for a high-proof drink instead of the usual beer in the evening, you won't have to leave your sleeping bag as often. However, you may miss out on the fantastic winter starry sky and night-time cursing about where your headlamp is again.
Tips before and after sleeping
Most ski days end at 4 to 5 pm, even for hardened ski bums, i.e. a few hours before bedtime. Hours that can become torture in wet ski clothing on frosty winter nights without a real source of warmth. As long as you are lying under the warm down and dreaming of powder turns, everything is usually wonderful, but what helps against freezing in the evening and in the morning? In general, it is advisable - especially on wet days - not to go straight from the snow into the car, but to go to a pub or café with all your wet equipment and warm up properly with a few hot drinks and calories. Ideally, you will be completely dry afterwards, can look forward to a warm night and will be full. A breakfast at the local bistro, café or McDonalds (bonus point: usually free Wi-Fi) also helps in the morning to quickly forget particularly cold nights and get your circulation going again. If you do cook in the car, we recommend - in addition to sufficient ventilation - warm drinks and food containing sugar and calories.
Tips for long-term campers
If you plan to spend several nights in the car, it is of course important to keep your equipment, sleeping bag and car as dry as possible from the start.
Park the car in the sun if possible and lay sleeping bags etc. open on the front seats. Brush snow off your clothes before getting in. Warm, high-soled shoes help with thaw puddles and continuous snowfall. If you have routes, the passenger can, for example, dry gloves on the ventilation fan and the inner shoes in the footwell.
Getting dry shoes, on the other hand, is the most difficult thing on longer trips: here only drying discipline or clever solutions such as leaving the shoes on the heater in the toilet by the lift overnight will help. Very cheeky fellows have also been spotted with their inner shoes in the pizzeria or have illegally gained access to a hotel ski cellar with their stinky equipment.
Legal
In Switzerland and Austria, staying overnight in the car is not provided for by law, but is tolerated in winter in the authors' experience. In Germany, Italy and France, drivers sleeping in their cars are permitted or tolerated for one night in one place "to make them fit to drive". On private land, the owner has the right (always) and must be obeyed.
Of course, the posted "no camping" bans must be observed, although they are usually only relevant for summer tourism. However, as no one expects wild campers in winter and the average skier brings cash to the resort, there are virtually never any conflicts with the law enforcement officers.
Go out and cuddle up!
Of course, one of the main factors in having fun is avoiding trouble with the authorities - nomadic culture is unfortunately not particularly popular in Europe. If you are friendly, talk to the locals and behave nicely, you almost always have a good chance throughout the Alps - from personal experience. Taking your own garbage back with you and keeping parking bans, turning areas and access roads clear should be a matter of course if you want to visit the same place again on your next road trip and not leave any scorched earth behind.