Anchoring a tent in little snow

[Michael F]

In about 3 weeks I’ll be winter camping north of Ely, MN (12/27 – 1/1).

Can anyone provide some insights on how to anchor a tent when the snow base is under 6 inches (which I think it might be)? I have some 9″ long REI snow pegs and of course the pegs that came with the tent. I would think that burying the snow pegs deadman style would need more snow depth than 6″ and pounding either type of stake into frozen ground is going to be very difficult.

How would you anchor a tent in potentially windy conditions with a small snow base?

[Bob Moulder]

Use sticks for deadmen, burying them sideways (parallel to the surface). Only need 4-6″ snow depth for this.

Also take some MSR Groundhogs that can be pounded into the frozen surface if the snow is very thin, although you’re still got to be smart about it and don’t go whanging away on ’em ;^)

Those REI snow stakes aren’t horrible, but when sticks are available you’re carrying the weight unnecessarily, and when snow cover is thin they’re not really pound-able.

PS I’m super jealous… wish I could be out camping New Year’s Eve north of Ely… maybe run into Will Steger, lol.

 

[Michael F]

Thanks Bob! Specific to the stakes I’m too concerned with the extra weight as I’ll be cross-country skiing and all my stuff will be trailing behind me in a pulk. I think I can handle the extra 8 ozs ;) Not that it’s a lot different, but I just realized I’ve got the MSR Blizzard Stakes not the REI variety.

I’m leading a group of 19 (including me) up to the Boy Scout’s Northern Tier High Adventure Base where we’ll get to do a bit dog sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice fishing and the boys will build and live in quinzees.

For me, it’s also a chance to try out a bunch of new gear. Twenty-five years ago I was a college student abroad in the UK. While I lived there I bought a bunch of North Face gear including a four season Mountain 24 tent, Snow Leopard II expedition pack and a blue kazoo sleeping bag. Believe it or not, I still have all of them today and they’re still in pretty good shape. Nevertheless, I wanted to retire the tent and I just gave the pack and sleeping bag to my younger son who joined Scouts. That gave me the opportunity to replace them with really good stuff. I got a Hilleberg Tarra tent, Arcteryx Altra 75 pack and Western Mountaineering Badger bag. As a dry run test, I took all three (and a new Therm-a-rest AllSeason mattress) out two weekends ago. Daytime highs were in the low 40s while the temps at night were between 20 and 25. After I got over the guy snoring like a freight train in the tent next to mine (no, the ear plugs I brought didn’t help) I think I had the best night of sleep I’ve ever had in a tent.

[Link .]

. DITCH YOUR STAKES: A GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE SHELTER ANCHORS .

[David Thomas]

Yeah, what Bob said: deadman anchors buried in the snow.  Depends on how dense the snow is, but form 12 to 30 inches long, buried perpendicular to the guy line.  Use (and practice beforehand) the clever knot Bob shows in his link or just a regular taut-line hitch but with the knot well above the snow level (so you can untie the know and pull the unknotted line back out if the stick gets iced in).

If you need to stick to slightly more secure, throw a few shovels of snow on it and stomp it all down.  If you want it to be bomber, then wet down the snow a bit and when it refreezes, that stick won’t move, at all, till spring.

With a party of 19, that’s a lot of sticks.  Bring a good saw and keep an eye out for good sticks / branches as you approach your camp.

Your pulk:  Get some X-C ski glide wax.  Clean the bottom of the sled, and coat the bottom with glide wax in your garage before you go.  Any road grit from being on your roof top with slip right off when you hit the trail.  More importantly, it will be a lot less work to pull and greatly the reduce the chance of it icing up on you which really sucks.  Bring the glide wax along, because other people will want to do, too.

[Roger Caffin]

Got a trowel? Scrape the snow away and anchor in the soil. Simple.

Cheers

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