Pyramid shelters in winter

Daytrip's thread got me thinking about tents. I'm thinking about getting a BD Mega Light for winter use below treeline. I used a friend's on Rainier and Baker and a bunch of glaicers in the N. Cascades years ago, but it was summer, it didn't snow (though we always camped on glaciers), and the weather was never particularly bad. So, while I LOVED the tent for that use, it's still untested by me in NH winters. I would only use it below treeline - a Kilkenny traverse or Pemi-loop or whatever. Anyone have experience with this or a similar shelter in the winter? I searched this forum and there are a couple of users (Dave.M I think and Maddy) - no need to rehash what you've already written. Just looking for updates. It weighs and packs down to nothing, and the setup is pretty similar to my current routine for my 'normal' tent; perhaps a little easier, actually. When I used it out west, the no-floor design was awesome. No need to worry about spills, you could dig out a slot for legs to make sitting super comfortable, plenty of space for packs and gear. It was a pretty sweet gig, actually. Thoughts?

I've borrowed and used an original Megamid for backcountry ski trips in British Columbia, the North Cascades, & the East Side (Sierra), both below and above treeline (the former on dry ground, the latter on deep snowpacks)—similar to how it sounds like you have used it, but late spring. We—my trip partners and I—loved using it.

I think if you anchored it well with deadmans & your ski poles were lashed together solidly that it could withstand at least somewhat windy conditions. My concern about using it below treeline, if you're not at a designated tentsite, would be having enough room for the footprint. Depending on the snowpack & density of the woods it may or may not be an issue.

That said, because they're so spacious and do take more time to set up, I'd probably go with a bivy sack unless I were planning on using it for three or four people.

I used the HMG Pyramid Shelter in the Winter in the Pemi. I would not use anything else besides a hammock. We stomped the ground flat with snowshoes and then used ski poles as the mid pole, then used branches and snowstakes to bury the guy lines, waited for them to harden and then adjusted the tension. also created a lettle mini berm to prevent draft. Inside we cooked, used a candle (no floor), slept, woke up in the morning packed up and kept going.

I have the BD Mega Light and have used it a few times in winter/snow, in addition to summer use. I really like that is very light (2lbs?) and packs small. The best way I have found to set it up is under a large tree branch that allows you to run a line from the top of tent over the branch, thus eliminating the need for the center pole. That really opens up space inside. Also, I like to set it up so there is about 6 -10 inches of space between the bottom of the tent and snow level. I then back fill that space with snow to create a kneewall, creating more headroom space inside the tent. Of course, if there is little snow on the ground, a freestanding tent is much better, but with a foot or more of snow, I'll choose the Mega Light.

hikerbrian said:

Anyone have experience with this or a similar shelter in the winter?

Click to expand...

http://www.oregonphotos.com/SierraDesigns2.html

I used to use one of the SD 3-man pyramid tents shown in the link. It was pitched using three poles (like a teepee) and a bunch of pegs. Used it once in summer on the Middle Teton glacier during a thunderstorm and all the pegs pulled out but the tent didn't fall down because of the tripod design (and two people inside). I don't think a single pole design would have handled the storm. I also owned one of the SD Glacier tents for about 30 years. Lots of pegs were needed to set that one up.

From Philip...

Tents vs. Tarps Winter Bakeoff

alexmtn said:

From Philip...

Tents vs. Tarps Winter Bakeoff

Click to expand...

With only 6 inches of snow, the Exped snow anchors don't seem to be the best choice for pitching the tarp. Conclusions may have been different if he used strong pegs. Also, he doesn't mention the process of retrieving the Exped anchors after they were frozen in place overnight.

Thanks Alex, good thoughts from Philip. Although I have to say my experience setting up the Megamid is vastly different from his experience setting up the Duomid. Namely:
1. I never found it necessary to wait around for 60-90 minutes while snow anchors harden up. I stomp out or dig out a flat spot in the snow, jam in my snowshoes and/or ski poles as anchors to tie out the corners, and pop up the middle pole. In my experience, the snowshoes/poles are pretty solid within 15 minutes of being jammed into the snow.
2. I've never used a bivy inside the Megamid. Not sure why you'd need one.
3. The BD Firstlight is tiny. I'm sure you can squeeze 2 people in there, but probably not any gear. That might be fine, but it's not really fair to compare it to the Megamid, which comfortably sleep 3 plus gear, 4 in a pinch.
4. There's little or no possibility of cooking in a protected vestibule for the BD tent, unless you buy and carry the vestibule. There are a lot of possibilities with the 'mid.

Still, I wouldn't plan to camp at or above treeline with a pyramid shelter. Nor would I want to camp on sparce snow with it. So it feels a bit specialized. And then there is the issue of finding a 7'x7' area free of trees to set it up. Tradeoffs. $@#^ tradeoffs.

Hikerbrian,

I use a bag cover in my fake Megamid. The bag cover is Versatec, which is similar to Pertex and very breathable.

Mine is big enough to fit my sleeping pads inside of. For me, this eliminates the problem of getting snow between my bag and my pad while I'm sleeping where it can melt. It's also less fiddly for me than a ground cloth of any kind. With a ground cloth, I feel like I just get all OCD on it and am constantly brushing snow off of it in a vain effort to keep snow from getting under my bag.

Edited to add: a tarp & bag cover (not a ground cloth) is my preferred way to sleep out doors in most conditions.

Also, I've pitched mine OVER small shrubs on several occasions. I've recently picked up a Kelty Range Tarp and it's much more fiddly to set up but it has a smaller foot print and can pitched in a lot of different ways and is much more versatile.