Pitching a tarp in the wind…

If you're using trekking poles, take your second pole and put it under the ridgeline near the foot end.

I'm sorry, I should have specified, I'm using two trekking poles, just pushed through the guy out points, and then tied to a stake from there. the back pole was as low as it'll go, and the front one was about half again as tall…

i have this problem when tarping on ridgetops. i use a 8×10 tarp with grommets, and stake the corners of an A frame to the ground. then i thread a cord thru the 3 available grommets per side, and loop each to a stake about 6 inches from the middle of the side. this makes the tarp very taut. then, i use a smaller tarp connected to both corners of an opening, pull the middle up and over the ridge line, and clip it to make a triangle. this method is the only thing i've found that works… when i tried other tarp configurations, it flaps too much. but, maybe someone else will have better advice.

Use rocks on the guy lines you aren't working with until you can get things under control, going at it one line at a time and then tweaking for a good taut pitch. It can be as much fun with a tent, giving new meaning to "fly."