Companion forum thread to:

When Things Go Wrong

Awesome report Roger. Love your wonderful tent. Looks like a real winner. I may have read it but what is its weight in lbs.(or kgs. if you prefer).You are a very talented gear maker.
Josh

I told you you should start selling those tents Roger!

Great report Roger. Character building, as they say! There's something deeply satisfying about coming through a trip like that.

Hi Joshua

Trust me - we love that tent too!
Tent plus poles: 1.77 kg (3.9 lb)
Modified tent stakes with modified heavier guy ropes: 18.3 oz (sounds heavier - yep! But they work well.)

This shows us camped last week above Bluff Tarn, in happier weather.
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A (blue) sod cloth has been added around the rear end to stop the spindrift from getting in. The back door has been enhanced, and the guy ropes are *much* stronger. The titanum stakes have been modified to stop the fretting - I hope to publish the details soon.

As for the talent bit - don't forget that this is about the 10th tent I have made - trial and error (in the field) count for a lot. You can never get it right the first time!

Cheers

Edited by rcaffin on 09/24/2008 04:05:41 MDT.

> There's something deeply satisfying about coming through a trip like that.
Make that 'deeply satisfying about surviving' and you might be closer to the truth. But you are right, and we knew it at the time. I am sure we said to each other during the retreat that we would look back on the trip with special favour ... if we got out!

Cheers

I remember Mt Anton well, was there in the early 90's, in April, we had a large storm come through, all the tents were buried in 2 feet of snow. Had to bail out down to Guthega, wading though deep snow drifts with 16 students was not fun. Fortunately we all made it and spent a couple of warm nights in the Australian Ski Club in Guthega.

We were well prepared, but maybe not well enough.

A fantastic area though and one I hope to get back to.

Great report. We just finished a week (Sept 6-12) in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming with (rather large) tarps and hammocks. We had thunder, lightning(sp?), rain to sleet/hail and finally snow, all accompanied by occasionally heavy wind. (Lows mid 20s-30sF) All went well( of course, it wasn't WINTER!), but I am always paranoid about the abilities ( or lack thereof)of tarps, in wind. Even though I once spent a month there ( 23 years ago)in a tarp, but in June, and did fine. June or not, we got snows over a foot/24 hrs once, with 24*F. None the less, now that I always try and go with tarps/hammocks, I still sometimes think back on the security of my little TNF Westwind 4 season tent that I had, which I thought of even more when looking at your tunnel tent. It was low to the ground, and heavier than your model ( old school heavier material, 4 season rated). But I sure never had any worries with the wind, especially if pitched small end into the wind. It was pretty bomb proof.

Splendid adventure story Roger. Glad you both made it out unharmed. So when are you going to start selling that shelter? ;)

Good article and a subject we should remind ourselves of on a regular basis. Thanks for your contribution to the need for safety in "all conditions." John

Thank for sharing this article with us.

I like the way you explain all things and detail.

Pat

roger.

great story and lovely pictures.

thanks!

We tried the Kiandra to Kosi in summer years ago and we had to abandon it due to very high winds on the main range.

Hi Roger B

> We were well prepared, but maybe not well enough.
That's the basic question, isn't it?

My own feelings are that it doesn't matter how well you are prepared, Nature in the mountains can overwhelm you. So then it becomes a simple question of whether you are able to handle the situation and retreat safely.

Of course, it also helps (a lot) if you can recognise your limitations and be willing to retreat when things *start* to get too much - before real trouble strikes. That may be where experience comes in.

Cheers

Amazing. The avalanche ride - wow!

Sharing your thought processes that led to your decisions was quite interesting.

Glad you both returned safely and in good spirits.

Re: “…the wind was too strong for us to stand. Sue was blown over several times, making the wind speed probably in excess of 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour).” Did your faces suffer frostbite?

Hi Robert

> Did your faces suffer frostbite?
Fortunately not. Several factors worked in our favour:
1) We had our backs substantially to the wind all morning.
2) The severe wind hit us on the crest rather suddenly, and we backed off quickly down a gully.
3) It is rarely extremely cold under storm conditions here in Australia. The temperature during our retreat started at -5 C at 6 am and warmed up to -1 C around midday (Maxim Data Logger on pack).

The very light wind-shedding outer layers we had were extremely effective.

Cheers

Edited by rcaffin on 09/24/2008 22:45:59 MDT.

great story there Roger... and you can certainly point to experience in designing tents! Yours have certainly come along since the early ones. Good on you

That's wild. The only times I've been in winds that high were in high temps before and during a hurricane. I can only imagine adding snow and heavier clothing to the experience. I liked your comments about what worked and didn't work, and your abilities to change with the obstacles. Details of hardware failures are always a bonus for MYOG folks to learn from the experiences of others and change design of their gear in order to have a better experience. I'm neither the MYOG type nor someone who lives in this type of climate, but I still enjoyed the interesting details of your trip. It's good to see you and your wife made it back safely. Safety and sense makes it possible to do it again.
Thanks for the article.

Hi Roger,
What an experience! Glad to see your tent made it through it with flying colors. A good design for sure. I used to have an old tent that I would trust in the wind but it got old.
Looks like a lot of knowledge gained on this trip. Good on ya.