Emergency shelters - what works/what's practical?
Original post
In the light of several incidents we have been discussing, what do people carry, what would be their ideal emergency shelter? I'm thinking of a scenario similar to that Bennington and Jackson faced, on the tops, unable to continue, windy and snowing / near snowing.
Both for overnight trips where aim is a hut and for daytrips.
Some will say carry a good alpine tent and a sleeping bag even on a daytrip just in case, but in reality most are not going to carry that much when going to a hut or on a daytrip.
Some thoughts:
Two survival bags with your sleeping bag would be cheap, light and bombproof. Stuff sleeping bag in one survival bag, stuff other survival bag in sleeping bag and climb in boots and all if necessary. Down sleeping bag should stay dry even in a damp hollow between the tussocks when its howling and sleeting, Inner survival bag will keep your damp clothing and eventual sweat from wetting out the down bag that most of us carry. Saves that messing around trying to get damp clothing off before getting into the sleeping bag, saves losing gear you might need the next morning, given your mental and physical coordination is probably shot at that point.
Breathable Bivi bags - either the SOL aluminised ones or various other waterproof breathable bags. Probably good, more expensive, heavier, but have some use in non emergency situations. Down sleeping bag will probably lose insulation overnight as it gets damp from wet clothing and body moisture and moisture seeping in from outside once the outside bivi bag is completely wetted out. Again, a second mylar survival bag on the inside of the sleeping bag would probably make a big difference keeping moisture away from the down.
I tend to go with the top option when going to a hut in the winter. In other situations (aiming for valley camp following tops travel) I have a light bivi bag plus very light polycryo tarp with lots of guy points all around it. I could use the guy points to tie it into a bag and crawl in in an emergency on the tops. Carry a mylar survival bag as well to use as a vapour barrier in an emergency.
Other thoughts:
Systems that let you conserve heat of 2 or more people together - bothy bags and similar? Big advantages if you can huddle together, more of a problem if people are separated or one has to go for help.
Day trips when you aren't carrying a sleeping bag?
The Czech woman on the Routeburn did well to survive three nights out on the tops in the midwinter snow and still make it to the hut after they got in trouble, she must have had some combination of good gear / strategy / toughness to get through that.
Who's had to hunker down in a real emergency situation / spent a night out with only emergency gear?
33 comments
To me that's a question of how bombproof you decide to pack ?. What is it you're expecting to encounter ?.
My thinking is to put more on (woollens, coat etc ) and wrap in the heat sheet. My pack liner is also a very large, thick plastic bag.
If you're seriously expecting to be caught in overnight rain, and you want to use sleeping bags, perhaps you should get a tent ?. Heaps more room than bivvy bags & can be less than 3kg in total, carried half-half each ?. Torpedo7 have a couple of styles on special - Momentum @$180 & Roam @$200.
Doubt that I'd want to be in a synthetic sleeping bag in the rain. A waterproof layer would be the 'go'.
tent flies arent waterproof especially when in contact with other materials, capillary action will draw water through the material in to whatever is in contact with it, given the wind problems in the tararuas which is likely if you havent made it to the hut. a bivy bag at least, or a decent tent. a fly won't hold up unless you are dropping right down into the bush...
If you don't want to drop big coin on a bivy bag that you will probably not need just run with a big plastic outer survival bag and a smaller one to wear in your sleeping bag for if you are wet and can't get dry.
If the outer one is big enough you could probably both fit inside it to share body heat.
With you inside, your sleeping bag will become wet if you put it in a plastic bag. Because the moisture from your body will always find a way out of your skin ;)
Bivi bags are surprisingly cheap considering the fabrics: Karrimor X-Bivi is $50 (don't know if it's still sold though), Alpkit Hunka is $80...
I personally think that a bivi bag is ok for a day walk as an emergency shelter, but other than that I don't really see the use. The only use case of my bivi bag is for walks with huts, just in case the hut is completely full I can usually sleep on the floor, or in front of the hut (usually partially covered), or under the hut floor with the bivi bag, but if I'm not going alone packing a tent is just a better option I find.
@bohwaz Not if you're using a second survival bag as a sleeping bag inner. As covered earlier, you will get damp yourself but your sleeping bag won't, and marino and fleece insulate quite well when damp.
@bohwaz
I don't think bivy bags make much sense if you're taking a real tent. They also don't work well (in the sense of keeping you dry and comfortable) on their own when it's really raining.
Where they work is as a bombproof emergency shelter. If it's wet out, you'll end up with a damp sleeping bag, but for example I think Bennington/Jackson would have been able to survive in the situation they were in if they'd both had bivi bags.
They work well camping on the tops when it is windy / cold but not raining / snowing.
Team a bivy bag up with a lightweight tarp, and you have a lightweight set up that is quite versatile - as comfortable as a proper tent in a valley camp, if not more so, good emergency shelter if caught out, possible to camp comfortably on the tops if you can find a sheltered spot or conditions are not too bad. Sure on a col with it howling and raining / snowing you'd be happier in a proper alpine tent, but there are plusses to travelling lightweight and fast.
@Berend de Boer
I think it depends on how likely you are to want to camp out / maintain that as a more or less reasonable option.
If you're planning on camping on the tops in less than perfect weather, you take a proper alpine tent.
If you're planning 100% to stay in huts and spending a night out is only going to be in an emergency due to either screwing up or someone becoming incapacitated, you go either the two survival bags each method I mentioned earlier, (or 1 body sized plastic bag and a survival bag) or you take a breathable bivy bag and possibly an extra mylar survival bag apiece. With the above, you won't necessarily have a comfortable night out, but you'll be fine through a night out in bad conditions if say one of you becomes suddenly incapacitated on the tops.
If there's a possibility of a valley camp, a flat flysheet is good to have and can be very light. You can pitch one flat over a little hollow between tussocks on the tops and crawl under in your bivy bag and also be reasonably comfortable in rain / snow conditions.
The fly from an alpine tent can work if it's a model that can pitch without the inner (or you can modify it to do so), but you'd need the poles. Some work quite well like this and having just the fly halves the weight of your shelter. Without the poles, I'd much rather have a flat fly that I could pitch very low.
If I was stuck out with just a fly that I couldn't pitch, I'd be wrapping myself in it, but it would be quite a way down my list of ways I'd plan to spend a night out, you're likely to get completely soaked in the rain.
Are you actually tarping in NZ? With all the sandflies, the constant humidity and the possums, that's not something I would consider myself… How is it?
Its a tricky question really. I tend to avoid the hills if the weather looks appalling. But still you get caught now and then in atrocious winds and rain in the hills, especially the tararua, where I do 90% of my tramping.
I tend to just battle on to the next hut. I have good gear that has proven itself to me. I know I can take a good beating but more importantly I have travelled the terrain a million times so know what I'm in for.
The huts are usually no more than four hours apart. Nzfs built them like this for a reason, so you can always get to a hut when the proverbial hits the fan. If the tops do prove too much I just follow a good spur down to the valley floor, these are usually only an hour or so away. The swollen rivers are the only thing that really stop me in my tracks. This is the only time I've needed to bed down in a hurry, it's never been a nice night bivi tent or tarp.
Knowing your hills is the best way to avoid getting into trouble. Caution is your best bet when tramping. If the weather looks so so and you plan on a tough trip into country your not familiar with. Then you can get into crap. So definitely take a bivi or tent.
I'm not too bothered on what's best lightest cheapest or what ever. Just make sure it will keep you safe if you get caught out.
So my recommendation for best emergency shelter is common sense. You can use that before you get into trouble.
The old fashioned A-frame fly tents can be pitched quite low and wide when there are winds. One advantage of a bivvy bag in winds is that it won't flap like a tent would.
I think it's often a case of tailor-making the gear decisions for the terrain and weather forecast. Being stuck on the tops in high winds and rain is the big issue and even being able to pitch a tent in high winds. I've had challenges even trying to put a jacket on!
There was a case a few years ago where a good samaritan attempted to pitch some people's tent in high winds and the tent blew away!
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| Forum | The campfire |
|---|---|
| Started by | Ian_H |
| On | 4 December 2016 |
| Replies | 32 |
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