Securing a tent is an important step every time you plan to spend the night outdoors. Coupled with bad weather, sometimes it can be a matter of survival. Losing your tent and all your drying gear at a campsite doesn’t sound all that dramatic, but it’s not so much fun on a ridge. That’s why we’ve written an article on how to better cope with the dangers of the weather, or how to cope without a pin. A storm is coming and you have a planned route. Are you still on your way? And you know something is coming at you. Weather could complicate plans.

• Find a shelter from the wind. The wind really blows the tent, so try camping somewhere behind bushes, stone walls, big rocks, sand dunes, other tents… Watch out for trees that may fall or branches that may fall from trees.
• Before removing the tent or tarp from its packaging, make sure you have all items strapped to your backpack or at least staple one corner to the ground. Sails, in particular, tend to turn into parachutes and fly away in the wind. Lower your center of gravity and work on the ground as much as possible. After unwrapping the tent, immediately drop the backpack in to secure the tent.
• Place the narrowest part of the tent against the wind. Ideally, keep your back on the windward side so that you can climb out if necessary during a storm.
• Continue to set up the tent in the manner you are accustomed to. Before setting up , please zip up everything so that nothing floats anywhere. Tie everything down, break it, secure it. Don’t skip a step because you’re so eager to hide that you’ll regret it later. Using all the nails, drive them in at a 45 degree Angle towards the tent. Pull the rope at least 1.5 m away from the tent to provide real support for the poles. If you have enough pins and cables, feel free to double the anchorage. Use stones and logs to drive nails into the ground. Improvise and use your outdoor gear such as bags, trekking poles, etc.
• If your tent has a vestibule with a canopy, the wind can easily pick up and lift the tent under the vestibule, do not set it up. If you can fold this part of the tent up, secure it to the ground, or zip it up, do so. The more gaps there are, the easier it is for wind to get underneath and cause damage.
• The key is to anchor everything properly and securely. As soon as one spot breaks and parts of the tent start flapping in the wind, other places are under more pressure, more nails are more likely to fall off, zippers pull apart, tarps tear or  poles snap, and you’re in trouble. Set for trouble.
• If there is no lee around, use rocks. On the windward side, stack the rocks together to form a stable low wall that prevents wind from passing under the midsail. Place stones directly in front of the sail so that they do not touch or damage the sail.
• Tighten all zippers and ensure that they do not open due to wind.
• If it’s going to rain, dig a trench around the tent. Let the water run off the floor as quickly as possible.

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