Tarp Survival Shelter Weekend

Tarp Survival Shelter - Wind from the West

 More recent training & adventure. This time, I was out practicing building and living in a Tarp Survival Shelter for a weekend. The season is Spring in Alberta (wait five minutes and everything changes!), location South & West of Calgary, AB, weather included sun, cloud, wind, snow, sleet, blowing snow and sun.

My personal health was not at its best for this adventure, I had a minor? chest cold developing, however, I had given my word that I would be attending. I was not to be delayed nor deterred by a cold.

View from the Foot of the Shelter

After the Snow from the East Visited - Second Tarp Added

 The camp location was quite good, as there were ample blowdown trees to use for shelter building. For the first night I used 4 poles to add structure to my tarp shelter. The forecast was for snow overnight, & I did not want my shelter to cave-in with the added weight. No snow arrived that night. The winds were from the West. My shelter provided very good protection from the elements. (My health was not improving, LOL.)

The next day proved to be a typical Alberta Spring day - 4 seasons in a day!! Started nice and sunny. But, them dark clouds were rising in the East. Winds from the East are not too common in Alberta and in the mountains, that can mean prolonged bad weather. By Lunch, the winds had picked up and the flurries began. The weather continued to worsen to snow, sleet and wind driven snow. As these conditions did not totally surprise, time was taken to harvest more poles for my shelter to protect the East face with a second tarp - in this case it was my poncho. This second tarp protected me from the worse of the weather. A few daring snowflakes found their way inside, but did no harm.

With the poor weather and my less than wonderful health, I called it a night early.....just after supper. The fourteen hour snooze did me no harm. I escaped getting wet and cold. In fact, compared to those tenting, I fared very well. With more ventilation I did not have to contend with excessive condensation issues. And for some reason or another, those in tents all reported being cold the next day. I was warm all night.

On Sunday, under beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine we enjoyed the day. Broke down the shelters and returned the poles to the forest. Took a few pictures of the Rockies in Springtime, like the one below. And then hiked back to the vehicles for the drive home.

Until next time....get out and practice your skills!!

Mountainman.

The Rockies to the West - Yes, It Was All Worth IT!!!