Keith,
Get a digital camera! SLR’s are nice, but film is a headache… especially in the Winter when you can’t send anything out to get processed. Everyone does digital, and it really makes sense. I’m trying to save my pennies for a Digital SLR right now, ’cause having an SLR is nice (I borrowed one all last year, and was so happy for that). Keep your camera on your body, under your parka, and that will keep it warm, and will keep the batteries lasting longer. If you’re a real serious photographer, and can’t afford a digital SLR, you might want to bring along your 35mm SLR, just to have something with manual controls, for winter darkness and all that. But bring a digital! As for tripods, I don’t know what to tell ya (Been a professional photographer for 12 yrs now, but still rarely use a tripod)… if you’re worried about your good one breaking, get a cheap on – and you can jerry-rig it if it breaks.
Get rechargable batteries, and bring several sets…
Zondra