Last night I had solidly frozen ground with 2"(5cm) fresh snow on top. It was in an open forest. I tied of to trees and shrubs, but as Mike mentioned, they were often in the wrong place.

None of the them were close enough to 'stake' the sides of the tarp all the way down to the ground, leaving the sides open and spindrift inside.

Any suggestions?

Tjaard,
If you have very sturdy stakes, like a simple nail stake (not the easton ones, the heads can break off) or MSR Groundhogs, they will pound into the frozen ground easier than you'd think. Find a good rock and hit the stakes as squarely as possible, and they'll go in. Not as easy as summer, but that's expected.

When you want to get them out, they'll be frozen in. Take your rock and give them a good solid tap squarely on the head, which will loosen them up. They'll slide out of the ground with only a bit of tugging. Not too bad. Just make sure they have good strong pull-loops on them.

Hi Tjaard

Under those conditions you may find that Ti wires will go in easily and hold well. Works for me.

As for spindrift under a tarp - that's what a winter tunnel tent is for ;-)

Cheers

Hi Tjaard,
If there's even just a few inches of snow on the ground, I'll usually dig down to solid ground and bury sticks, with the guylines draped loosely around them. I pile snow on top (keeping the end of the guyline accessible) and compress it by walking repeatedly over the top. Then I let it sit for 5 minutes or so until it hardens. Once the snow has set, I use a slippery half hitch to tension the guylines, as Mike describes in his article. Where I live, there's always sticks and snow in the winter so I don't ever bring stakes.

Roger, what do you mean with 'Ti wires'?

Hi Tjaard

See photo at http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Pegs.htm#Pegs
The orange stake D in the 1st photo is a classic Ti wire.

They are commercially available, for instance
(painted) http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/vargo_titanium_flourescent_tent_pegs_-_6_pack.html
(plain) http://www.aerostich.com/off-the-road-again/campsite/tent-accessories/wire-titanium-tent-stakes.html

Caution: the unpainted ones are extremely easy to lose in grass or mulch! Get the orange ones!

Cheers

Bump of a classic.