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Just Jeff
12-20-2005, 04:00
My first real snow-camping trip...Man, what a time! 9000 ft at Winnemucca Lake in the Sierras. Mt Diablo recorded 100 mph winds...Tahoe had 65-143 mph winds, and we were at higher elevation and on an exposed ridgeline. Not sure what our true windspeeds were, but it had to have been up there!

I used a homemade Speer hammock, PeaPod, Exped Downmat 7, JRB No Sniveller top quilt, and MacCat Standard. All performed very well...I was so hot the first night (guessing about -10 F w/ wind chill) that I had to vent the PeaPod down to my waist a few times!

The second night brought lots (and lots) of snow, so I bailed into a Hex 3 (which blew away with us inside it...). Then things got bad, but it was a great time.

Anyway, I posted a report with pics, videos and gear comments on my page:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HikingPicturesWinnemucca.html

Jeff

P.S. Praise for the MacCat!! I tightened it up Saturday night just before I bailed, and Sunday morning (after the 100+ mph winds) it was flapping in the gusts...one of the two ridgeline cords broke, and 3 of 4 corner cords were broken. It was hanging by one ridgeline tie-out, one JRB tarp tensioning line on a corner, and a mini-carabiner attaching the other ridgeline to the hammock support. It bent that carabiner. After gusting like that all night, I found absolutely no signs of wear on the tarp. One of the plastic D-ring connectors had a dent from the cord holding so tight...this is a tough piece of gear!
Hana_Hanger
12-20-2005, 08:02
Welcome Back Jeff...Loved the info and the pictures!
I thought I missed the snow, but after seeing and reading your report
I am having second thoughts about it :D
fiddlehead
12-20-2005, 08:47
I slept out in a night like that once. There were 3 of us and i slept thru most of it but my friends were up trying to hold the tent together. Eventually we just took it down (to save it from being ruined) and slept out in the wind. Went to sleep and didn't have to worry about the tent anymore. It was in the Anza Barrega Desert in the winter. Anyway, a night like that is to be remembered, aye?
peter_pan
12-20-2005, 08:52
Jeff,

Welcome back...Super trip report on what must have truly been an exciting trip.... Nice pictures too...thanks for taking the time to post a super debrief... Glad to read that the new JRB Self Tensioning Lines (STL) worked well and did not freeze... They are made of a heavier duty tube than sling shot rubber tubes.

Pan
neo
12-20-2005, 11:08
excellent report and pics jeff:cool: neo
brian
12-20-2005, 23:58
I like the movies too...man it must have been incredible being in winds that high! Glad the tarp is ok after being in hurricane category 2+ wind conditions!

Brian
OES
Just Jeff
12-23-2005, 05:04
Fiddlehead, Definitely a night to be remembered! It was a great time...glad it's over!

Jack, the tensioner is definitely repairable. I'll just get a new zip-tie and lose about 6" from the length.

Brian - those winds were awesome! It was fun the first night - rocking me to sleep and all. Blowing snow on my bag wasn't so fun, though the tent didn't help any with that! Actually, almost every tent there had the same problem...the highest rated one we had was 100 mph, but most were about 60 mph, I think. If I had dug a snow trench and built up wind breaks, I might have made it through with a tarp, but it was much easier to just hit the empty space in the tent.