Winter Tarping

[reh1966]

Still being very much a beginner with the tarp, what setup would you recommend for winter time use. My main concern is with blocking the wind. I understand the prevailing wind thought but it always seems that when I am out the wind comes from many directions. In the summer a slight breeze is nice but the cold winter air is terrible. If anyone can point me to a website or pictures that would be great. Thanks.

[Ewker]

http://www.equipped.org/tarp-shelters.htm

[hammock engineer]

On my last hammocking trip I cam up with an idea that might help. When I am setting up in bad weather I try to set up perpendicluar to the wind. That way the tarp will block the wind. At the start of the night I have problems getting the wind direction right or it may change directions. When it is going to storm I try to choose trees such that I can move my hammock 90 degrees if needed. It is not very fun to move in the rain, but this way I know where I am going to move and what I need to do if I need to move.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

SgtRock's tarp page (http://hikinghq.net/gear/tarp.html) - I suggest the flying diamond or trapizoid for winter wind protection

[general]

i have found that the cave set up works best in harsh winter conditions.
picture this:
set up the front A-frame like with one hiking pole
drop the sides all the way to the ground
drop the back all the way to the ground stakeing the two corners and using your second hiking pole to stake out the middle tie out
use a piece of cord coming from the rear most ridge line tie out going from said tie out, around rear hiking pole and then down to the ground at what ever angle provides sufficient taughtness of the ridge line

pitch your set up with the back of the tarp into the wind
in seriously cold conditions, build a fire in front of your A-frame entrance and stack your fire wood on the other side of the fire to project the heat into the tarp.

[Jim Adams]

the easiest and most weather proof is to tie off a corner to a tree at the height that you want. pull the opposite corner out from the tree and into the wind and tie it off to a root, large rock or small tree at ground level. next pull the sides out to the right and left and attach them to the ground via tied to roots, rocks or the base of a small tree. tie off EVERY grommet that you can to make the pitch as taut as possible. you can then use your hiking poles inside the rear 1/2 of the structure to add more head room. lastly you can place your pack near the rear wall to help block the wind from under the edge. you can also use small dead wood found on the ground in the area to line along the outside of the edge to block as much wind as possible. the biggest problem with this set-up if the weather will be bad is to find the right location to use this set-up and yet have the terrain slope AWAY from the rear of the structure. it does no good to set this up for a storm and then have all of the run off from the tarp flow back under the tarp and into your shelter. i carry a 10x10 silnylon tarp less than a pound and in this set-up i can stand up in the front of the shelter and sleep 4 people inside. i used this shelter to withstand Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and i stayed dry for 3 days and out of severe wind. the fire in front as per the General works great, just keep it small so as to not melt your tarp. remember also to let a string hang from the top front grommet so that any water running down the line will fall to the ground in front of your structure and not run down the inside of your tarp. i have used this set-up in summer as well as winter and it always works well. if the weather improves you can always raise the sides by tying higher above ground level and it will ventilate nicely. tarps can be set up in a great variety of shapes but they only work well if set up taut. if they flap it is just a matter of time before you are awakened in the middle of the night trying to secure your torn out grommets and attempting to stay dry.
geek

[Johnny Swank]

One thing you might want to consider for winter tarping is adding some sort of bivy to your setup. It doesn't even have to be waterproof, but being able to have some sort of windbreak in addition to your tarp to hide out, read, chill, etc is pretty cool. I wish I had something like that on my SOBO hike. It would even be helpful in shelters to help break the wind.

Example of something stupid simple that'll cost you $8 to make to will serve this purpose. Go to Walmart and find some light (1.1 oz nylon would be perfect if you can find it. I just picked some up for $1/yd) fabric. 45-48" wide is about right. Get about 4.5 yards.

Fold the material over in half, so that you now have a 45" x 7.5' piece to work with. Hem the long edges, and put a drawstring at the top. Congrats - you've now just made a body-sized stuff sack. Might weigh about 7 oz or so.

Put your pad inside the bodybag to cut down on condensation along with your sleeping bag. Waterbottles might be able to just stay in the bodybag and not in your sleeping bag now. In essence, this makes a minitent within your tarp, but it probably adds 10 degrees or more for your setup. Don't pull the drawstring completely shut so moist air can get out. If you play your cards right, condensation shouldn't be that big of a deal as long as your material is fairly breathable and you keep bag from over your face as much as possible.

Again, I would have killed to have this on my thru-hike from mid-nov-January. Make getting dressed a little less painful too.

[chris]

I'd go out and buy a pyramid tarp. Oware makes nice ones. See

http://www.owareusa.com/

This will keep wind and snow out a lot better than open face designs and you'll have plenty of room.

Another tactic is to dig down into the snow with a shovel and get your sleeping area below snow level.

[Johnny Swank]

I agree with the pyramid tarp idea. We have a George Tarp from Intergral Designs that works great from fall-early spring. A shaped tarp limits your pitching options, but no more than just carrying a tent.

Oware, Black Diamond, Intergral Designs, and I'm sure some others all make pyramid-ish tarps.