Camping in the woods in high wind

[n00b]

if you absolutely, absolutely, absolutely had to camp in a windy forest, would it be safer to build some kind of shelter below the level of the ground?

Yeah I've had that idea too but not always feasible with little time to spare. And it would have to be pretty deep I think, and not wide enough that the branch can just fall in. Covered with something I suppose could help.

Still though I think my paracord suggestion is better.

 

[n00b]

Good luck with that then, all im going to say is F=ma

Well what m and a are you assuming to say it won't work?

 

[n00b]

Bought some thicker cord - 6mm - today and tied in triangle above tent, a three-way truckers hitch. Looking at the difference in thickness maybe I was wrong about the standard size cord

 

[TLM]

fall of a large branch. I can't imagine it would fail to catch a person for instance.

The funny thing is the tighter you put your paracords the less they protect you. As a working assumption a tight horizontal paracord might just barely take a normal person's weight without any drop. It much depends on the length of the cord.

 

[Broch]

The funny thing is the tighter you put your paracords the less they protect you. As a working assumption a tight horizontal paracord might just barely take a normal person's weight without any drop. It much depends on the length of the cord.

You're going to have to explain the angle/load equation TLM

 

[TLM]

If you put transverse load on a rope the stress is infinite (in theory) in practice it has a finite value depending on how much the rope stretches. One can calculate the rope load (very simple vector resolution) from the angle the rope forms at the force application point. A tight rope gives less than a loose one so a sagging rope is actually much stronger against any transverse load.

 

[Broch]

Well, I thought you might quote the full sin(alpha) equation

 

[n00b]

Good thought thanks. Interesting

 

[TLM]

Well, I thought you might quote the full sin(alpha) equation

To really explain it one would have to show a pic but I could not find one. The equation shows how to calculate but does not explain to most people.

 

[Woody girl]

Falling trees and limbs can crush cars, and crash through roofs into rooms. A bit of rope will do diddly squat to protect you from a big branch or tree trunk that has decided it wants to be where you are.
The only safe option is to not be there.
I've never heard anything so silly as a cats cradle of rope protecting a tent in such conditions.
Sorry mate, not being nasty, that's just my opinion. But I'll happily visit you in hospital if you survive such an incident. I'll even bring grapes and a big banner saying told you!

 

[TLM]

I've never heard anything so silly as a cats cradle of rope protecting a tent in such conditions.

A somewhat expressive way of stating it.

 

[n00b]

This is about possible safety measures, not total protection. I don't imagine it'll stop a tree that would crash through a roof! But just as a life jacket won't protect you from a storm tearing your boat apart, it's still advised to wear one while sailing. There are big branches that rope will break the fall and change the course of, possibly deflecting them.

 

[n00b]

By big branches I mean branches big enough to do some damage and be stopped by the rope.

 

[n00b]

Should we take seat belts out of cars because they won't protect you if you drive off a cliff?

 

[Woody girl]

Sorry if I came over sarcastic or dismissive. If you think it will work, then do it. There's only one way to find out, and someone has to be a "crash test dummy" I guess.
I'm sure it might work for smaller stuff, but that's not realy going to do much damage anyway, so to my reasoning, I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I keep out of the woods in high winds and heavy rain. I live in a wooded valley, and have seen too many trees (,even quite small ones ) downed that I wouldn't want to be under at the time of decent from on high.
I wish you well with your idea, but it seems like a lot of work for minimal protection.

Motorcycle helmets won't help if you get decapitated by flying lorry debris, as happened to a mate of mine years ago, but I still wear one, even if it wasn't mandatory. I'd still wear a seat belt too.

By big branches I mean branches big enough to do some damage and be stopped by the rope.

Can you predict which one is gonna shake loose?

 

[n00b]

It doesn't take long to tie some truckers hitches. I feel safer with them there because I don't see what's so outrageous about expecting ropes to break the fall of a branch big enough to break bone or pierce my tent from a height.

 

[n00b]

Re truckers hitches though I do take on board the slack vs tight point from you TLM. That was useful.

 

[n00b]

Although then again the way I imagine it, a tight rope is more likely to deflect than a slack one...
Might have to climb some trees and drop some branches to experiment.

 

[Woody girl]

Although then again the way I imagine it, a tight rope is more likely to deflect than a slack one...
Might have to climb some trees and drop some branches to experiment.

I'd rather like to see you climbing to the top of a tree carrying a branch, then letting it go. !
Don't forget to blow it realy hard as you let go to replicate that wind tearing through the branches.
I'm an ex lumberjack...(or should that be lumberjill. ) with c&g qualifications, so I'm not, as you might imagine, just an old woman, in "mummy" mode, talking out of her backside. Woodland reclamation was where I ended up, so I've dealt with many dodgy trees, and have a few scars to prove it.

 

[n00b]

I'd rather like to see you climbing to the top of a tree carrying a branch, then letting it go. !
Don't forget to blow it realy hard as you let go to replicate that wind tearing through the branches.
I'm an ex lumberjack...(or should that be lumberjill. ) with c&g qualifications, so I'm not, as you might imagine, just an old woman, in "mummy" mode, talking out of her backside. Woodland reclamation was where I ended up, so I've dealt with many dodgy trees, and have a few scars to prove it.

Well that does add some weight to your opinion. For what it's worth to this thread, I've been living in the woods continuously for years - that's why I'm asking. We can all agree it's safer not to be in the woods on a windy day. I'm not disputing that. I think this thread could be a valuable resource if we get past that and share ideas for at least minimising the risk even though it may remain high.