On a guiding trip in Alaska, the situation deteriorated when the clients showed me their tent – a faded three-season tent of unknown make. I should have checked it back in Anchorage, but I didn’t. We were high in the Chugach Mountains and the forecast called for “High wind warning for Turnagain Arm after 9 p.m.” Lenticular wind clouds were already forming as our drop-off helicopter disappeared over the ridge. Four hours later, after reviewing avalanche rescue and dinner, I was buried in my sleeping bag and hoping the windstorm would slither by without a ruckus.

The first gusts slammed my tent at 9:30. Ten minutes later I was suited up and ready to deal. I spent the next three hours in a raging storm adjusting tent guy lines, spider-webbing the glacier rope back and forth over the tents, and building walls eight feet tall around the camp.

We scraped through the storm intact. A guyline ripped off my four-season tent, but it stayed upright. The clients kept the three-season tent intact by bracing the walls from the inside. Without the snow walls, inside support, and taut lines the tents would have been creamed. The clients actually enjoyed the storm. Being from windy Wyoming, the windstorm made them feel at home.

Fixing a wind-ripped tent is often futile – they’re trashcan-bound once the ripping starts. Preventing a rip in the first place is the solution. New, four-season tents are designed to withstand serious winds, if they’re set up correctly. Seventy-denier Ripstop Nylon, a common tent fabric, can withstand 150-pounds of force per square inch. I’m often camping in winds over 50-miles per hour. It’s not easy, but the following tricks help immensely:

Gal Out Your Tent
The best rip prevention is setting up your tent ready for high winds. This process can take an hour. Start by redoing the factory-rigged lines. Place an overhand on a bight on the loose end to hitch around rocks or pegs. Put the line adjuster on the tent side of the guyline. This allows the line to be adjusted when the anchor is buried. The most bomber adjuster – what’s taught in Antarctica survival school – is the trucker’s hitch. Another option is the Line Runner made by Hilleberg.

To withstand windstorms, guyline anchors should hold 50-pounds force. This means using a tree trunk, a T-slotted peg in snow or heaping 100-pounds of rock onto each anchor. Test each anchor with a 50-pound tug. To assure the tent is aligned correct and tight you’ll have to re-dig several of the anchors. Adjust the guylines several times a day as the temperature and humidity change.

Build Up the Wall
In worse case scenarios the only solution is to build a fortress around your camp. Wall building is exhausting – wait until the last minutes to construct unless you’re at high camp on Denali. For a four-season tent to withstand a four-season-tent-shredding-storm the snow walls need to be at least two feet thick, preferably three. Wind-driven snow quickly eats away at the windward walls. Wind walls made from rock are also secure, if they’re built from BIG stones. Teetering stone walls are worthless and there is a real risk of the rock walls falling over and braining you.

Brace the Tent
In rowdy conditions it’s a team effort to keep the tent from tearing. The tent will need constant attention from the outside – adjusting lines, building walls, etc. Inside, the rest of the crew remains fully-dressed to abandon ship and acts as human cribbing by bracing the poles and walls with body and arms. Everyone needs to do what they can to prevent a pole from snapping. Once a pole snaps the tent will rip that much easier.

The Repair Kit
If a pole snaps and the fabric rips here’s what you’ll need for repairs when the storm subdues:

• Pole splint: A five-inch aluminum tube that comes with most tents.


• Dental floss with needles: A spool of dental floss can fix yards of tears.


• Repair tape: Spinaker repair tape works better than McNett Tenacious. Duct tape also works, but it leaves a gooey mess.


• Extra pole section: Bring one on extended, big mountain trips.


• Mountain Brawniness: Waging war outside during the storm is the best solution.

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