The Very Useful Shapka

This is Mortimer, curled up in my shapka. A shapka is one of those tall funny Russian fur hats with ear flaps. Usually the ear flaps are tied up, unless it is really, really cold. Wearing a shapka is unusual enough in the USA without the ear flaps.

But I don't care about fashion. I love my shapka. It made me very happy this weekend when I went camping with the OAC (that would be the Outdoor Adventure Club; I am one of the faculty advisors, and our presence is necessary for the university to sanction an overnight trip.) We went up Provo Canyon and the original plan was to build snow caves. Fortunately for me, because I detest digging caves, it was too warm for caves and so we simply tent camped by a river. It was "warm" by winter standards (probably not any colder than 30 degrees overnight) but I don't like to be cold, especially when I sleep.
So I have ways of dealing with the cold: double ground pads, double sleeping bags, a nice fire outside, hot water bottles inside the tent, and of course, my shapka. I wore it to sleep in and it kept me toasty, toasty warm all night long.
Why is it so warm? It is made of FUR. Forget all the clever modern breathable synthetic fabrics. If it keeps the bunnies warm, it will keep ME warm.
The next day was lovely. There wasn't more than a foot of snow and it was all compacted, snow-cone texture snow, and so I dispensed with my snowshoes and just hiked in my furry winter boots. (Fake fur, alas, but still helpfully warm.)
It was a wonderful winter outing!