Securing the tent-tech and technique

Making sure your tent stays put for the night is always a good idea. While in fine weather this is not such a problem in bad weather (high wind, rain, snow) or when camping on snow/ice it becomes vital.

Tom and I set up his tent on a patch of neve above the Dalmazzi hut. First, using the adzes of our ice axes we cut and hacked a reasonably flat platform. The tent fitted, with the widest end (where our heads would be) slightly uphill. My first attempt to peg out the flysheet was met with the aluminium peg pulling out of the loose snow and dangling dejectedly. We ended up ramming in our ice axes and tying off to them, with pegs buried sideways with the cord tied in their middle. This caused them to act as anchors...far more secure than a vertically inclined peg.

Fiona, Liam, Fergus and I were sharing a 3 person tent in the baking heat of southern Spain. Pegs simply bent on the ground and in the end we tied off our lines to the biggest rocks we could find.

Woken up at 6.30am by the howling wind and driving rain John and I realised quickly that our lightweight bivvy tent was not standing up to the rigors of a Scottish squall. Whether it was condensation or rain driving through the fly that was falling onto our faces was a moot point...one peg at least had come out, the tent was wobbling crazily and it was time we got up. The tent was stuffed into the car and we did the only sensible thing...went for a walk.

Camping on snow is something that everyone should try. Insulation becomes far more important, especially from below,  and anchoring the tent becomes a real challenge. With a few simple tricks though it can be done.

Soft snow
Using deadmen, buried ice axes, buried ice screws, buried walking poles....if you can bury it, and it has a reasonable surface area, it should stay put. Some people fill a Tesco bag with snow and bury it with a line attached to the handles.

On harder snow or ice, for instance on a glacier, it may well be impossible or just impractical to bury something of the required size. Ice screws are perfect for this and ice axes, ice hooks and such can be readily adapted. If not enough ice screws are available then try using Abalokov threads.

Tom and I woke up to find a foot of accumulated snow pressing in on us. Minutes of punching allowed us to sit up. Only when outside did we remember Harry.
 "Harry, where are you?"
 "Ere" came the muffled reply from a slightly tent shaped patch of snow. Harry scraped his way out of his 1 man bivvy tent, completely invisible except for the opening. We looked at the several feet of powder that blocked the path to Coire an't Sneachda and headed to Aviemore to hire some cross country skis.

On rock 
If camping on a rock ledge there may be no dirt, snow or ice present. Rock protection can be used if present, if not then loose rock may be used with cord wrapped around it. For this kind of situation ideally you want a geodesic dome tent as opposed to a hoop tent, as its inherent stability will keep it upright and in decent shape so long as there is enough weight in it to stop it from flying off.