I sleep very rarely in a shelter. Without generalizing, some of them represent the opposite of what I come looking for in the mountains. There are too many people. There is sometimes an individualistic and competitive atmosphere that I do not like. There is noise, lack of privacy. And of course, sleeping at the shelter means staying away from many routes, or it substantially lengthens the path ... and finally, casually, it's expensive for a small budget like mine
Come on, let's be honest all the same: I do not spit all the same in the soup. It still has plenty of small shelters away, very nice ... and then, when we are caught in the turmoil, we do not do difficult when the silhouette of a pointed roof appears through the blizzard. Still, I stay away most of the time.
In short, as I wanted to continue to spend long time in the mountains, I had to learn to bivouac. Bivouacs, with tent and down, with down but without tent, without tent and without down, planned or undergone, happy or frankly limits, under the stars, the rain or the snow, at 1500 or 4000 m, in summer as in winter , in a crevasse ... I can say that I have known, probably more than the vast majority of mountaineers who generally prefer to spend as little time as possible in the mountains - philosophy that I have never understood ... So if I have acquired a particular skill, it is perhaps this one, and I told myself that to share my know-how on this subject was worth a small heading.
Here are some tips for a bivouac in high mountains or in high mountain conditions: cold, snow, wind.
So where to sleep?
Nights are to be cured especially when sleeping outside. They should always be restorative, calm ... they can sometimes be trying, frightening ... or frosty. We must carefully choose the way we will spend our nights:
A priori, during a properly organized raid, we choose the solution of the campsite. This will require appropriate equipment and know-how. Advantage: comfort. Disadvantage: the weight, and the space needed to install the camp.
But it is possible that one chooses to sleep without tent:
in an igloo. Advantage: very comfortable. Disadvantage: long and painful to build, impossible by some snow conditions.
in a snow hole. Advantage: fast enough to build. Disadvantage: rustic (!), Impossible by some snow conditions.
under the stars. Advantage: ultra fast to install. Disadvantage: it all depends on the weather and the quality of your down!
Finally, in case of delay, storm ... sometimes it is necessary to stop for the night when it was not planned, it is the night without down! There, it is limited, but it is necessary to be prepared because it happens
In this section you will find tips for every situation, including when you are in the tent, or when you dismount it.
The snow hole
If you had planned to sleep in an igloo but the quality of snow is not favorable, or if you do not have the time or the energy to make one, remains the solution of the snow hole: Try to bury yourself as much as possible to conserve some heat and protect yourself from the elements (wind, precipitation).
if there is no precipitation, it may be a simple hole surrounded by snow pellets to cut the wind.
If it snows, a good solution is to find a steep snow slope, and to practice a horizontal hole to build a semblance of roof.
Some scenarios allow to lodge quickly, well and cheap:
The crusty snow
then spot a snow bump, or a steep slope, break the crust to form the entrance and clear the snow from below, which is often easy and quick to clear snow. You can hopefully have a shelter as good as an igloo in 15 minutes. On the other hand be careful not to walk on it inadvertently, your friends will moan when they will receive you on the corner of the figure and that in addition it will start all over again.
natural forms
In particular, there are two types of places where you can find almost complete natural shelters:
At the foot of the rocky bars. There are often accumulations of snow that complete the wall formed by the wall to give rise to kinds of caves, or at least shelters
Rimayes or some non-vertical crevices. I sometimes slept in crevasses that were real natural palaces. Just identify which are largely clogged and reveal a small opening. The accumulated snow inside is in most cases very light and easy to handle to arrange the flat and comfortable spaces. This is often the best solution for "emergency" bivouacs.
Under the stars
It's the bivouac reduced to its simplest expression: one settles on the snow, one puts on his down and the turn is played. It is a choice, it is better to be very well equipped (excellent down, possibly sursac in goretex) because the temperature will often be about ten degrees lower than it would be in a tent, not to mention the effects of the wind , rainfall.
It is a practice to book for safe and lenient weather: no wind, no precipitation expected. A clear and starry sky is not necessarily the best thing, it indicates that the night will be very cold.
Do not forget to ask yourself the question "If the weather gets bad during the night, what will I do? "
