Snow Tarp

[KerMegan]

then again if they had to wait for warm weather, they'd never go out except for a couple of weeks in July..
KM (who prefers more of an orchid climate)

[Peter_pan]

Concur in the steep sides are key points....

Would add that anticipating heavy snow loads is a good time to consider use of a strong full ridge rope under the tarp as well.

Pan

[Ronnwell]

Just bang the snow off!

That's pretty much my approach.

[canoeski]

Hey everyone!
I am looking for tips on how to make my tarp more adequate for heavy snow. Today is the first day it snowed in NJ (or my area) and about an inch came down. I left home with my hammock and tarp set up and came back to find the tarp sandwiching the hammock in between the flaps. The tarp was still staked down but it had gone from a large tent size to practically nothing. The snow was very wet and became slush on the tarp and weighed it down quite a bit. I wasn't planning on going winter camping but now that I have an UQ and a warm system I wanted to give it a try.

How can I make my tarp STRONGER! Or What could I do to keep it from sagging under weight?

Thanks,
Adrian

How's this:





As other have advised, I used a separate ridge line, and hiking poles to tie out the sides. The ends are folded in to create "doors" (staked out criss-cross fashion, except one flap which is closed with mini-beaners)
It all worked better than I could of hoped for and makes me think this "hammock -thing" could be used for winter camping too. No orchids here!

(complete pics before and after the storm are in my album)

HTH,
~bill.

[Mustardman]

Would add that anticipating heavy snow loads is a good time to consider use of a strong full ridge rope under the tarp as well.

Pan

Great point about the ridge line under the tarp. Normally I don't bother, but with all that extra weight of snow piling up, I could see the ridge rope being a lifesaver. Thanks for the tip.