Winter camping on peaks-what close calls or disasters have you had?

gibson 175

Full Member
Apr 9, 2022
195
126
West Yorkshire
What minor or major camping disasters have you had over the years especially UK winter camping in exposed situations eg Lakeland,Wales,Yorkshire Dales, Scottish peaks. Have you ever had to abandon camp and what happened to make you do so? What unexpected problems arose? Anything that made life seriously uncomfortable? Anything that made you abandon camp for safety reasons?
 
Last edited:

Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
4,802
3,747
66
Exmoor
Lake District camping with partner and son. Partner, against my wishes, made decision to errect tent in a little dip with a tall bank behind for protection from weather.
Weather became horrendous, torrential rain and gales. Had to float son out of his little tent on his air bed next morning, thank goodness we had put him on one rather than just a foam mat, he stayed on it overnight!
When I got up in the morning, you could feel the water under the groundsheet. We were now camped in a minni lake!
Partner decided to pack up and go home, rather than move the camp to a higher dryer location.
So my weeks holiday in the lakes ended after one night! :(
 
  • Wow
Reactions: gibson 175

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,762
785
-------------
Not really any form of disaster but once when camping near Borrowdale I want off to try and find the "Secret cave" up amongst an area of massive stones. Cacked over on wet grass and hurt my hand, didn't find it anyway and later on when back at the tent couldn't move my thumb so the long suffering woman who is now my wife had to sort the tent when the high winds loosened a couple of pegs.

I did find the secret cave another time though and a mate and I even kipped in it between Christmas and New Year when it was minus 7 so it wasn't all bad.

Another time a mate and I slept in Lacey Caves between Christmas and New year* in those German sleeping bags with the arms on them.
Slightly different versions of the same bag.
Me "Are you warm enough in your bag?"
Him "Yeah, toasty"
Me "Yeah, me too"

Both of us were absolutely freezing and hardly slept a wink. Those bags were heavy and weren't even warm.

*Bit of a pattern forming there as I used to camp out during winter a few times, after the Lacy caves time I got a very good sleeping bag/kip mat combo and didn't worry about it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gibson 175

Pattree

Full Member
Jul 19, 2023
2,129
1,144
77
UK
A necropost perhaps.

Camping in the Welsh hills above Corwen. The crazy-quasi-tipi has weathered everything that the hills can throw at it over fifteen years. It’s been snowed on, hailed on and frozen stiff. It’s been modified and adapted so that only the canvas is original. One room, one skin, no sewn-in groundsheet and I love it.
66906043626__691BC68D-493D-492E-9045-FDFCF30B5B23.jpeg

Trying to add rest of story via edit.
Failing!

An hour later and still failing. Keep getting “Oops. Etc”

Last February I pitched late, in the rain. It was a toss up: pitch or just use the bivvie sack. I pitched. It wasn’t blowing very hard and I just used the nine inch nail pegs that I always use. Couldn’t be bothered with guylines and augers. The soil was shallow and the pegs at a very shallow angle.



Sometime in the night something brushed my cheek, there was a thud and I woke up to see some stars and the silhouette of the other side of the valley. It was raining. The external bi-pole had lifted the tent clean off me.

No worries. My tech was in a dry sack, everything else in a rucksack. I just pinned down the canvas so that it stayed in Wales and slept in the car.

But

When I get it repaired I’ll use the bloody augers!!!!! (It was sold with those stupid soft wire so called pegs)

IMG_4354.jpeg

A friend of mine is an artist who knows my tent and my beard.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gibson 175

Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
4,802
3,747
66
Exmoor
Addendum to my earlier post.
We were in a tentipi, and partner decided to light the gas heater to warm the tent. After a while, I'm not sure how long, but less than 30 mins, I got up for a wee, realised no vents were open at the same moment I started gasping for air. Carbon monoxide!!! I screamed as I dropped to the floor and started crawling to the door to open it, and yelling at partner to open the top vent fast as he could. (There is a system so that you can do that from the floor, though don't ask me now how it works.)
Nearly killed me twice that night!
I'm afraid he was a bit of an all the gear, no idea bushcrafter.. had all the expensive stuff,(fyalraven trousers, Swandri tops, posh kitted out landrover, and plans to do a desert trip in it while hating the heat!) whereas I had minimal set up.
We didn't last as a couple very long needless to say!
 
  • Like
Reactions: gibson 175

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE