Staking out a tarp in snow

[DuctTape]

Even better that just looping the line around the stick before it is buried is to use a stick with a side branch which will stick up out of the snow and tie off to that. this requires the stick be firmly planted or frozen in.

[Mouseskowitz]

Thanks for the info everyone. We'll make it work one way or another. Now it would just be nice if the cloud cover would cooperate so we can see the Northern Lights.

[desmobob]

We'll make it work one way or another.

And it will. Don't worry about it!

On my winter hang in NH last month, I used a couple of handy saplings, a trekking pole, and a stick. On other trips, I've used my snowshoe to dig down to the ground and pounded regular "V" stakes into the frozen ground with no trouble. As others have mentioned, just be aware that things could harden up overnight, so arrange your lines and knots accordingly.

Have fun, and I hope the Northern Lights put on a show for you!

desmobob

[CamoEvo]

Dead fall logs work great.

[Mouseskowitz]

Well, it worked out pretty well. I used the horizontal stick method and my wife used the whatever is handy method. It was clear and got down to 15. I'd say that's the bottom end of my gear right now, PLUQ and military sleep system. Now I need to finish grad school and get a job so we can get some down. Didn't see the northern lights but when I got up to mark my territory at 430 the Milky Way was unbelievable.

[MAD777]

Congratulations in your successful snow hang. Looks like you wife likes to use BIG stakes!

[Mouseskowitz]

Congratulations in your successful snow hang. Looks like you wife likes to use BIG stakes!

Whatever floats her boat, as long as I don't have to carry them around.

[QiWiz]

I might get a chance to hang this weekend. The thing is, I've never been out when there's snow on the ground. As a result I'm not quite sure how to go about staking out my tarp. Do I dig a hole and try and put the stakes in the frozen ground? Or can they hold in the snow? Or is there some other way? I have groundhog stakes.

If the ground is not frozen under the snow, just put your pegs into the ground and then cover with some snow to insulate them so they don't freeze in the ground.

If the ground is frozen but there is plenty of snow, I use sticks to make an X-shaped snow anchor and attach my cord to the center. Add more sticks as needed to increase holding power.

If the ground is frozen but there is not enough snow, I will sometimes bring a single steel spike to hammer a hole at each place I want to leave a peg.