How-to Anchor Tent or Tarp (Winter Camping) on Snow Campsite Setup

Anchor down a winter camping shelter (Luxe Tents shown) on snow using these valuable techniques. This style of staking down your tent on the snow, can be used with traditional tents, tarps or teepees. It can be used with almost any shelter design out there. Let's go winter camping outdoors!

Anchor a Shelter on Snow Video

 

Snow Pitch Video Transcripts

Choosing a Campsite to Build Shelter

Let's go over how to pitch any tent or tarp in the snow. Make sure to choose an area that is much larger than the footprint of your shelter.

Creating a Snow Platform

Use your boots skis or snowshoes to compact the area underneath your shelter. Now wait 10 or 15 minutes for the completed area to freeze.

Snow Platform for Tent in Winter

Using the (Dead Man's) Slot Anchor Technique

Now we're going to show you how to pitch your shelter using what's called the Dead Man's Anchor, this is a very useful skill, that you can use with any forage sticks.

Lay out your shelter flat. You'll begin by digging horizontal trenches, that will act as anchors that hold your sticks in place. After you place the stick, you'll put snow over the top and compact it, after a while this will freeze and become really solid.

Slot Dead Man's Anchor for Tents

Adding Tent or Tarp Poles

Now you're ready to add whatever type of poles your tent requires.

A useful trick when setting up any vertical poles, is to find a flat piece of bark or a stone to place under the pole, this creates stability and prevents sinkage.

You can see our teepee tent is set up and ready to go, and it's a really stable setup.