Alps night time temperature

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Post Reply
Easy Rider
Posts: 46
Joined: 6 Jun 2013, 9:25pm

Alps night time temperature

Post by Easy Rider »

Hi all

I know it's a while off but I'm planning a 2 week tour of the high French alps mid June next year. I'm looking to travel as light as possible and camping all the way.
A few of the scheduled stops are quite high up and was wondering what sort of night time temperatures I would need to prepare for.
I would be using a decent air mattress and a Mammutt ultralight bag.
I have done the usual Google searches but I'd rather go for some information first hand from somebody who has been and done it at that time of year

Thanks for any input.
dnrc
Posts: 103
Joined: 22 Nov 2010, 12:06am

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by dnrc »

It could well be cold.

I've camped reasonably high up an alp in summer (would have been somewhere south of la bresse and sometime between jun-aug, it was a long time ago!)

it was a recently mowed meadow, we put a good layer of dry grass under our tents, then used our normal cheap summer camping gear.

And it was cold!
User avatar
Graham
Moderator
Posts: 6489
Joined: 14 Dec 2006, 8:48pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by Graham »

This reminds me of the time I camped in Autrans, Vercors in June. I was scrapping the ice off the tent in the morning.

I was warm enough in my triple-layer - down bag : outer cover : inner sheet.

Alas, the would-be new girlfriend who had persuaded me of her rugged, outdoor credentials had a shivering, sleepless night in the other tent. . . .
. . . . rubbish equipment & no previous outdoor experience after all ! ( Her "hiking boots" turned out to be plimsolls. )
She phoned her mother, who persuaded her to bail-out and join her, roasting on the Spanish Costas. . . . . . .A better outcome for all :wink:
User avatar
andrew_s
Posts: 5795
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 9:29pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by andrew_s »

One time, I had to melt the ice off the tent zip with my fingers before I could escape from the tent - beginning of June, Val d'Isere.
The last day, at Menton, it didn't get below 30 until 2 am.
User avatar
sabrutat
Posts: 185
Joined: 15 Jan 2014, 11:23pm
Contact:

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by sabrutat »

I did the Alps a couple of Summers ago, and some of the nights were quite chilly. Probably mid single digits Celsius. I have a modular sleeping system: 2 season sleeping bag, cotton liner, and ultra lightweight bivvy bag - the SOL Escape Lite - so I can layer as needed and it packs small. This is all on top of, at the time, an Exped Synmat 7UL.

The whole thing worked well, apart from the Synmat seams giving out after a month or two, so I've since gone with a Thermarest.
Pyranha
Posts: 62
Joined: 18 Feb 2015, 10:42pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by Pyranha »

It really depends. Obviously it is colder the higher you are. Camping in valleys in June, frost is unlikely, but I’ve been snowed on every month June-September. One September morning near Courmayeur, I had to wait for my underwear to thaw, then dry, before getting moving around lunch time.

I would suggest being prepared for 0° (e.g. A warm jacket can be laid over your sleeping bag like a blanket), but it could also be too hot to sleep comfortably at lower altitudes.
User avatar
foxyrider
Posts: 6044
Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 10:25am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by foxyrider »

My highest camping experience was @ 1400m over in Switzerland - I hadn't really thought about temperature as it was something like mid 30's all day.

Don't know what it dropped to, not far off 0c but no ice. Kept warm by wearing fleece in bag and liner. Getting the stove to heat water was a bit of a chore, the gas can was pretty cold!

Even at lower altitudes the temp can drop significantly - i've been almost as cold at under 1000m at a similar season in the mountains.

My tip is to get as much kit inside the tent as you can to kill dead air zones.
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by Vorpal »

It can vary quite a bit. It might be summer warm, or freezing cold. I have encountered both, even in the same trip.

When my brother and I toured in the German alps some years ago in early July, it was mostly warm during the day and cool (jumpers and longs) but not cold at night. We did have one night, though where the temperature dropped alot. I had some wet things in my pannier that I forgot until I went into my pannier for something else at bedtime. I spread it out on the grass to dry (thinking of morning sun), and when I got up to pee in the middle of the night, it was frozen! So were my toes!

It's possible that we had other nights like that & I didn't notice for being in the tent, but there was at least one night that it was too warm in the tent for sleeping bags & warm enough outside in the wee hours that I was comfortable in shorts.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
pwa
Posts: 17371
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by pwa »

I think if you plan for 5 Celcius you won't be far off. It can get cold at night.
Easy Rider
Posts: 46
Joined: 6 Jun 2013, 9:25pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by Easy Rider »

Thanks for the replies. Got lots of info there.

Done some research and the highest camp site is 1500 metres. Lowest is 350.

So it's quality sleeping kit with silk liner on a Themarest mat. I'll be taking a thermal compression base layer and longs along with merino winter socks and a merino long sleeve jersey. Beanie and gloves.

The worst case scenario is fully dressed and into the bag.

Thanks again.
durhambiker
Posts: 166
Joined: 6 Jun 2010, 12:59pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by durhambiker »

had to wait for my underwear to thaw, then dry, before getting moving around lunch time.

Hopefully you were not wearing them!
ChrisButch
Posts: 1188
Joined: 24 Feb 2009, 12:10pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by ChrisButch »

Something else to be aware of is that there's often still quite a bit of snow around in June, and some of the highest cols can still be closed.
Pyranha
Posts: 62
Joined: 18 Feb 2015, 10:42pm

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by Pyranha »

durhambiker wrote:had to wait for my underwear to thaw, then dry, before getting moving around lunch time.

Hopefully you were not wearing them!


No, but thanks for the thought. I was backpacking solo, so travelling with limited spares; I washed them at the campsite and put them on a (guy) line to dry, but I'd arrived a bit late for them to dry that day, and once the sun went behind the mountain, the temp dropped rapidly. I think an hour earlier and they'd have been dry by bedtime.
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Alps night time temperature

Post by simonhill »

Don't forget the effect of microclimates. Sometimes valley bottoms can be a lot colder than the tops. Also if in shade for early post dawn hours it can stay cold a long time.

It's not as simple as high or low.
Post Reply