The Storm Tent

There are lots of tents out there on the market, and lots of them are damn good. Everyone has there own opinion of what is best, but whatever you choose make sure that the tent is appropriate for the particular conditions and season. For this particular excursion I will bring out my big guns, the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2.1. Its a 2- man, 4- season , double wall storm tent capable of withstanding strong winds and heavy snow loads, and thats what you'll need if the feces hits the oscillating rotator. I stuff my tent in the bag: fly first, body second, footprint last; the exact way it  was broken down the last time I used it. Note the shovel, you'll need one on any serious winter outing--use it to level the sleeping area by moving snow if necessary and then compacting it with your skis or snowshoes. Lay the body on the footprint and lock the first poles in. I typically go through the footprint holes before the tent body holes because it keeps the footprint secure and locked in place. No surprises.


Start assembling the tent, putting your primary corner poles up first and getting the center of the body up.
Now put up your secondary poles and start clipping your C-Hooks around the poles, shutting the gates over both sets of poles and creating a locking pattern.



Throw the storm fly on now and make sure that the moon roof window on the fly lines up with the one on the body. I have my body marked with indelible ink indicating which end of the tent will line up with the windowed vestibule visible in this picture; note the 5th pole, its insertion will give form and strength to this vestibule.
Start working your way around the tent now and clipping all the fasteners together, but don't start tightening them down yet--thats best done with your partner so you don't end up with the tent too tight on one side and kinda slack on the other. Another tip is to always make sure that ALL your webbed tighteners are completely loosened during tent disassembly; this will aid your tent erection--you won't be fighting unnecessary tension  and will end up with a more taut tent all around.
Stake out the 4 corners first, driving stakes (if possible, depending on conditions) in a clockwise fashion--pull the tent taut at ground level as you work your way around--this will ensure that the floor is at its maximum size and is not loose, creating a wonderful spot for wind and snow infiltration.Continue to work your way around attaching all fasteners and once thats finished you can now start to tighten the fabric in an even and orderly manner. Start to stake out sides of the tent now and then go do the same on the vestibules. Don't neglect to stake out your guy lines every time, regardless of how lovely the weather looks at set-up time: remember the feces and the rotating oscillator; it'll get you every time and usually when you are fast asleep. Take a few moments and do it right the first time.
 Always think about the wind when setting up too. Offer the wind as small a profile as possible by pointing one of your tents vestibules directly into the wind. You don't want the wind blowing into your tent from the side--meet it head on. All double wall tents function on the premise that there will be a layer of circulating air between the fly and the main body of the tent. If you allow the wind to push your fly into the main body of the tent you are compromising warmth, moisture control, and comfort. Sometimes its inevitable, but don't invite it.
This tent has 2 vestibules, the larger one with the weather window and a smaller one. I typically put the smaller one upwind and use it as an entrance. The large vestibule is pointed downwind and I  often boil  water in it , being sure to keep it well ventilated in the process.


The moonroof has a ventilation port in it to keep condensation at bay, and can be easily and quickly adjusted to match changing conditions.



The Trango also has an internal guy system that starts in the corners and criss-crosses at the apex of the tent. It can be easily tightened once the tent is completely set up and adds uncompromising stability.

The large vestibule can be used to boil water in if you encounter exceptionally nasty weather, but be sure to keep it well ventilated.I can't express enough how careful to be when introducing any carbon monoxide producing element to an enclosed area. Thats why I keep it downwind.Oh yah,  flames and tents don't match up too well either...keep your head screwed on straight when priming and firing your stove. You may want to do that outside the tent.
The small vestibule is a nice upwind entrance.
Sponge, regular stakes, some seam seal, extra guy lines, winter snow stakes, and snow anchors round out a good winter tent kit. I even pack along a little metal mallet (it was a meat tenderizer in its former life) that I picked up at Salvation Army for 50 cents. It will pound stakes into frozen ground and even has a little hook on the end to aid in pulling them back out. When snow conditions allow, your skis can also be used to anchor the 4 corners of your tent--thats what the loops are inteneded for. Upside-down ski poles can also be used as stakes, and you'll still have your snowshoes to utilize on short missions if necessary.
The last item I pack when breaking camp in the winter is my tent. This allows any condensation or moisture that accumulated during the night to freeze solid and shake out upon disassembly. You should never have to worry about packing up a wet tent in freezing temperatures. My travel partner Jeremy Bahr of Fairbanks has the exact same tent and will be bringing extra poles from his set so we will have a back-up plan in case of damage. Otherwise, I would currently be extolling the virtues of a comprehensive proactive scenario in case of pole breakage.