Top 10 snacks for winter walking and mountaineering

The goal of your nutrition and hydration strategy when you’re heading out is to stay on top of your energy levels and offset significant dehydration. This is especially important if you are heading out for back-to-back days. The style of your day (hiking, mountaineering, ice climbing, ski touring) and duration (how long you are out on the hill) will influence what type of snacks you need to take and how much you need to eat. The size of your pack and weight limit, along with weather conditions (how cold it is), will also influence your fuelling strategy. The key to fuelling your winter days well is to have a plan.

It’s almost that time of year, with its perfect ingredient combination of both slow and quick to digest carbohydrates (sugar, dried fruit and flour) and an additional energy source coming from butter and nuts. It also stands up well to the cold and freezing temperatures. This makes it ideal for hiking, steadier mountaineering days and ski touring. It also has a long shelf life when kept in an airtight container.

These are extremely versatile and fun to make, with the main base ingredients of rice and sugar, prepared with the filling of your choice, sweet or savoury, for example, jam, nut butter, cheese and bacon or avocado.

Click here for a tried and tested recipe. These also freeze well so you can make one big batch to have ready for another day on the hill. These are ideal for days out hiking, steadier mountaineering days or ski touring. These are fairly durable but can squash easily if not cut and wrapped so they hold together better. Transport in a lunch box or baking paper.

High Performance Dietitian Rebecca Dent reveals more of the best, easy to prepare, easy to eat energy-boosting fuel for your winter outing in the full article in Summit magazine.