Best Snow Anchors fer Tents

[mattyg]

What are the best, lightest weight snow anchors available? Sure you can use your ice axe & ski poles, pickets etc - but what about after you leave in the morning? I know Bibler used to sell these fabric patches that looked promising but I don't see them on the website anymore. Any alternatives? Looking for super light weight here.

[Alex]

sill nylon stuff bags filled with snow and buried

[mattyg]

What is sill?

[knelson]

Another option is those mesh ditty bags filled with snow and buried. The mesh allows the snow outside to bond to snow inside.

 

I've also used those worthless "snow stakes" buried as deadmen in a t-slot. Just girth hitch a nylon loop through one of the holes in the middle and hitch the other end to your tent.

 

-kurt

[iain]

I've found it best not to skimp on materials with the snow anchors and use patches of cordura. No matter how careful I am, I seem to trash the material as I unbury them, since it's usually work-hardened snow and I have to chop a bit. My megamid has a lot of damage around the edge from this. Maybe I should be more careful, but it's hard to be careful after a few days out there.

[Dru]

What are the best, lightest weight snow anchors available? Sure you can use your ice axe & ski poles, pickets etc - but what about after you leave in the morning? I know Bibler used to sell these fabric patches that looked promising but I don't see them on the website anymore. Any alternatives? Looking for super light weight here.

 

camp near the moraine and just use a couple of rocks.

[thelawgoddess]

What is sill?

i think he meant sil - as in sil-coated nylon. just a "fancy" lightweight stuff sack material. you can use any type of stuff sack. i would recommend against the mesh ones, though, unless you use pretty hearty mesh or don't expect it to get crazy cold. i ripped a few using them as anchors because the mesh wasn't as strong as the bond of the ice that had formed overnight.

[wrench]

I really like these:

snow anchors

 

I've got friends that have made the same thing out of sil nylon (that's silicon-impregnated nylon), which is a cheaper and lighter way to do it. But the Mtn Hdwr ones still don't weigh much and are extremely durable. The make bomber anchors, but are easier to dig out than a stuff sack.

[luwayo]

regarding the mesh bags - unless you're already packing them for organizing, i wouldn't recommend bringing extras. they are deceptive in weight. including its toggle, a med.sz mesh bag can weigh close to a wiregate!

 

i've been using plastic orange golf balls strung with lite wt. cord. so far indestructable!...even after 4 seasons of abuse. they've never pulled, not even in winds over 90kph. must bury them deep.

 

i have a feeling they're lighter than the Mt.Hardwre product. drawback is that you can't compress the golf balls for packing.

[Ducknut]

The cheapest, lightest snow anchors I have every used are plastic bags from the grocery store. You know the ones they use at the Safeway checkout instead of paper bags. Tie your tent guylines to the handles, fill them with snow, bury them. They won't pull out in any weather. Who cares if they get trashed when you dig them out? Try them you'll like them.

[sobo]

Now that's true blue dirtbaggin' style. Gotta love it!

[Billygoat]

Well, I have the Mtn Hrdw ones and they work great. But I think Ducknut has the better idea

[spicoli11]

You tell'in me those handles on the ol plastic bag are gonna hold up???.....best double that sh*! up........ maybe someone can use the remanents as a poop bag when it melts out in the spring

[Ducknut]

You tell'in me those handles on the ol plastic bag are gonna hold up???.....best double that sh*! up........ maybe someone can use the remanents as a poop bag when it melts out in the spring

 

Be my guest to double them up, its not like you are adding expense or weight.

[Ireneo_Funes]

Ducknut taught me the plastic bag anchor method a couple of years ago on Rainier and I've used it ever since. If you don't trust the handles, fill them with snow and tie your guyline around the bag.

 

Or, if there's rocks handy, tie your guyline around a rock & bury it. Works just as well.

 

The only problem I have is not wrecking the cord when I'm digging out. But cord's replaceable.

[billcoe]

You tell'in me those handles on the ol plastic bag are gonna hold up???....

 

Awesome idea Ducknut!

 

Spicoli: if your going for strength, take a 9mil rope and tie off to the front of your hummer. It's already got a d ring and everything. Double that up if you need it .

 

Hope that helps.

[Bill_Simpkins]

Leave your trekking poles with the tent and take the stuff you need on the climb. It doesn't really matter if your vestibule and guy lines are down when you are out climbing. This is usually what I do.

I've buried plastic sacks too, that works good and I tent to do this when Ill be using the camp for a couple nights.

[Double_E]

grocery bags... who woulda thunk!

[Thinker]

I like the ones I got at FF a few years back. They're essentially hard plastic discs about 6 or 7 inches in diameter with nylon webbing strung through them in a way that they self-equalize to the angle they're installed. They're absolutely bomber. (Don't know the brand and I'm already at work...)

[Dr_Crash]

I really like these:

snow anchors

 

I've got friends that have made the same thing out of sil nylon (that's silicon-impregnated nylon), which is a cheaper and lighter way to do it. But the Mtn Hdwr ones still don't weigh much and are extremely durable. The make bomber anchors, but are easier to dig out than a stuff sack.

 

I like those. Still, 9.5 ounces, that's more than my bivy sac...

 

drC

[Ducknut]

I tell you these are bomber, light-weight, strong and free. Even dirt bag climbers can afford them to anchor their Biblers.

[griz]

i sit dumbfounded that grocery bags work. i'll have to try that sometime for grins.

 

i've always used deadmaned snow stakes. pretty light,bombproof,cheap and you can beat the holy shit out of them when digging them out with your ice axe.

[wrench]

I like those. Still, 9.5 ounces, that's more than my bivy sac...

 

drC

 

yeah, i was pretty surprised by that weight... i just checked the mtn hw site tho, and they say they weigh 1 oz, so who knows. i don't own a scale, so i can't weigh them myself, but i'm pretty sure they're not half a pound.

[Phil K]

Yeah, I just checked out a Mtn. Hdware catalog; that's 9.5oz. ripstop nylon material- the actual anchors are 1 oz each. I've got four of 'em and they work great. The plastic shopping bag idea has been around for a while, I first read about it in a British "Climber's Handbook" under a section on expedition climbing written by Alan Rouse. The bio on the cover of the book (published shortly after Rouse's death) lists him as the first Brit to successfully climb K2. I always wondered about that, it seems to me that getting off the mountain alive was part of the whole success thing. Oh, and they work great too, surprisingly strong. But be sure to dig all the shredded plastic out when striking your tent.

[btowle]

Take a soup can. Eat soup. Cut off the lids. Take pliers and bend the edges over so you don't get cut. Take nail and poke small hole in center. Take tent cord and run 3' or so section through hole and tie knot.

 

I have about 12 of these in my 4 season tent bag. I usually only use 6 or so. They will bend if you hit them with a shovel, but they are easy to bend back.

 

I dig a hole, throw one in, holding the chord and then tie it to the tent. In really fluffy snow, I may wait a few minutes before I tighten down the tent to let the snow settle. They are lite, durable, cheap and work great. At least in the Pacific Northwest.