Cold weather bivvy
- Thread starter Gray
- Start date
me, you,copper head, phaestos and possibly matts bro and possibly Ian bilmo
Great. I'm sure I'm not the only one watching the weather forecast with interest. Big dump of snow starting mid afternoon Friday and going on right through Saturday, with thawing conditions, but at the altitude of Ribblehead probably still freezing. Just hope my planned 'kåta björnen' setup is up to it !
Im going to have to take the train up to Ribblehead as the garage couldn't get the car done in time. I'd said I'd bring a bag of logs, Could anyone pick one up for me and I'll pay you back 
?
?
Unless anyone else is planning to go tomorrow, I'll go Sat as well I think. I'll bring some wood. Also if anyone needs a vehicle pulled onto or off of the site I have recovery gear in the pickup. If anyone gets stuck elsewhere and needs assistance I can do a mercy dash, within reason. My number is 07930 423693, though I may not have a signal at the site.
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Is there any wood at the site for sticks for propping up tarps or should I invest in something like a walking stick?
Matt, I'll bring some ash poles, I think they're about 8'.
PS. Snows just started here, I'm about 12 miles WSW of Ribblehead.
PS. Snows just started here, I'm about 12 miles WSW of Ribblehead.
Weather forecast looks interesting, heavy rain and 1-2C. Its going to be quite a night!
You guys still going 5 items or less?
You guys still going 5 items or less?
Whew, that was intense ! Had a great 24 hours meet with Gray, phaestos and copper_head. We all survived, though some in less comfort than others..
Friday's snowfall had transformed the landscape, and made the journey to the venue a challenge in itself. I got a call from Gray on his sat phone as I was en route, saying he'd not been able to get onto the site with his car, containing all if his and Matt's kit, not surprising really. So after I arrived we used my pickup to ferry everyones gear over.
The planned spot had a good few inches of snow cover, and we all duly got stuck in to creating our shelters. I think the other chaps will be posting up descriptions of their setups, so I'll just cover my own, with a few pics (below) of the fun.
The weather was pretty good during the day on Saturday, the general area (certainly to the west) had some sunshine, though Ribblehead had more of an overcast. However conditions deteriorated during the evening, with sleet and rain, and we ended up using a shelter tent Gray had brought. I fired up a woodgas stove I'd knocked together the previous day, which made all the difference. We all retired to the comfort of our bags fairly early.
During the night the weather got up a bit, and the mild wind started melting the snow with a vengeance. I was woken up a few times, and it was about 3am that I realised the compacted snow onto which I'd placed my kåta was melting enough for the pegs holding it down to start to loosen. So followed a quick exit from the warmth of my bag, in a welcome gap between showers, to give each peg a good stamp, followed by a fresh skirt of stamped-down snow round the kåta to make extra sure. I was happy with this and slept pretty soundly till I was woken by the noise of a heavy shower of sleet at around 8am.
I breakfasted in my bag on a ration-pack longlife turnover and a bag of fruit-and-nut washed down with a sachet of fruit juice, before rolling up my bedroll to clear space, so I could get dressed. Matt and Kit had already emerged, and it was then that Kit described how his bivi had been flooded by meltwater at around 1am, resulting in a hasty evacuation and a miserable night spent in the shelter tent ! Matt's bivi survived intact, as did Gray's, in fact he was still out cold and had slept through it all ! The middle part of the campsite, including the fireplace, was several inches deep in meltwater !
There were periodic sleet showers going on, so I took shelter again in my kåta to have my second (hot) breakfast. After breakfast we didn't hang about, got packed up and used the pickup to ferry all the gear and bodies back to the pub carpark, where we said our goodbyes. Thanks to Gray for organising this meet which I really enjoyed.
My kåta comprised two Swedish army diamond-shaped vinyl ponchos ('Regnskydd Vävplast'), buttoned together to make a 'knäppetält', the smallest possible one, known as a 'kåta björnen' (bear tent or bear hut), which is 2x2m. It's possible to make bigger shelters using up to 8 or even 10 sections. I used 4 foraged ash poles ('säppar') just over 2m long to make the frame, bound at the top with cord, and a piece a couple of foot long hanging down with loops tied in to serve as a hanger for my candle lantern. The floor of the kåta was lined with evergreen boughs straight onto stamped-down snow. This worked very well, serving as insulation and cushioning. There was enough space inside to place my bedroll diagonally across. The structure felt sturdy against the wind, and was adequately weatherproof. The only two weaknesses were the gap at the top where the poles went though, which could do with a little sleeve or something to cover it (I just bunged it with a spare stuff sac), and the seams along the length of each poncho section which seeped rainwater slightly. I may try to find some vinyl seamsealer, though I'm not sure if such a thing exists. Oh yeah, the cost was £14 for the two ponchos, and £3 for a pack of rubber bands I put onto the lower edges to serve a pegging points.
Friday's snowfall had transformed the landscape, and made the journey to the venue a challenge in itself. I got a call from Gray on his sat phone as I was en route, saying he'd not been able to get onto the site with his car, containing all if his and Matt's kit, not surprising really. So after I arrived we used my pickup to ferry everyones gear over.
The planned spot had a good few inches of snow cover, and we all duly got stuck in to creating our shelters. I think the other chaps will be posting up descriptions of their setups, so I'll just cover my own, with a few pics (below) of the fun.
The weather was pretty good during the day on Saturday, the general area (certainly to the west) had some sunshine, though Ribblehead had more of an overcast. However conditions deteriorated during the evening, with sleet and rain, and we ended up using a shelter tent Gray had brought. I fired up a woodgas stove I'd knocked together the previous day, which made all the difference. We all retired to the comfort of our bags fairly early.
During the night the weather got up a bit, and the mild wind started melting the snow with a vengeance. I was woken up a few times, and it was about 3am that I realised the compacted snow onto which I'd placed my kåta was melting enough for the pegs holding it down to start to loosen. So followed a quick exit from the warmth of my bag, in a welcome gap between showers, to give each peg a good stamp, followed by a fresh skirt of stamped-down snow round the kåta to make extra sure. I was happy with this and slept pretty soundly till I was woken by the noise of a heavy shower of sleet at around 8am.
I breakfasted in my bag on a ration-pack longlife turnover and a bag of fruit-and-nut washed down with a sachet of fruit juice, before rolling up my bedroll to clear space, so I could get dressed. Matt and Kit had already emerged, and it was then that Kit described how his bivi had been flooded by meltwater at around 1am, resulting in a hasty evacuation and a miserable night spent in the shelter tent ! Matt's bivi survived intact, as did Gray's, in fact he was still out cold and had slept through it all ! The middle part of the campsite, including the fireplace, was several inches deep in meltwater !
There were periodic sleet showers going on, so I took shelter again in my kåta to have my second (hot) breakfast. After breakfast we didn't hang about, got packed up and used the pickup to ferry all the gear and bodies back to the pub carpark, where we said our goodbyes. Thanks to Gray for organising this meet which I really enjoyed.
My kåta comprised two Swedish army diamond-shaped vinyl ponchos ('Regnskydd Vävplast'), buttoned together to make a 'knäppetält', the smallest possible one, known as a 'kåta björnen' (bear tent or bear hut), which is 2x2m. It's possible to make bigger shelters using up to 8 or even 10 sections. I used 4 foraged ash poles ('säppar') just over 2m long to make the frame, bound at the top with cord, and a piece a couple of foot long hanging down with loops tied in to serve as a hanger for my candle lantern. The floor of the kåta was lined with evergreen boughs straight onto stamped-down snow. This worked very well, serving as insulation and cushioning. There was enough space inside to place my bedroll diagonally across. The structure felt sturdy against the wind, and was adequately weatherproof. The only two weaknesses were the gap at the top where the poles went though, which could do with a little sleeve or something to cover it (I just bunged it with a spare stuff sac), and the seams along the length of each poncho section which seeped rainwater slightly. I may try to find some vinyl seamsealer, though I'm not sure if such a thing exists. Oh yeah, the cost was £14 for the two ponchos, and £3 for a pack of rubber bands I put onto the lower edges to serve a pegging points.
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