Snow Season 2014 Base Camp thread

[Moondog55]

I have a ski season ticket and will be up at Pretty Valley for an extended camp next year.
I have checked once more with the Mt Beauty office of Parks Victoria and there is no objection on their part to people staying for as long as they like; with that proviso that no permanent structure is built.

Cecile and I were talking about next year and she said that seeing as how the cache was found anyway why not just leave the trailer up there with the strong boxes bolted down. I think she is right and that is exactly what I will be doing. This means leaving the trailer at one of the more exposed parts of the camping ground tho.
The more exposed position does have the distinct advantage of no overhanging snow gums to dump huge quantities of wet snow on my tipi tho.
There is also a very (VERY) strong fence structure that I could attach a length of 90% shade cloth too for a wind break 1200 high.
Looking forward to critiques and input over the next 6 months.
Leaving the trailer there will mean bottled propane stove for cooking on tho

[Giddy_up]

Sounds good Moondog,

Have you considered building a weld mesh cage for your trailer, you could make it lockable and could keep all your firewood and other pieces of kit in there safely. I doubt that any bushwalker is going to bring bolt cutters, just a thought.

G_U

[Moondog55]

Indeed I had thought of that.
I could even use cheap secondhand weldmesh.
How-ever I don't think I could fit the amount of firewood needed for the whole season and my gear in the tray, even with a cage on it.
Anybody got an old but good condition 12 * 18 wall tent??

[Travis22]

Hi Moondog, hope all is well.

How did you get on with your headlamp ideas - have you had a chance to get any 18650 battery cells etc...?

Sorry i must have missed your comments about your cache being found this year - was anything taken?

With regards to leaving your trailer up there, would i be correct in assuming you would head up on the last weekend before any gates close and leave it up there then, i guess that would be the safest option that way the only people who come across it would hopefully be honest travelers on foot..

Travis.

[Moondog55]

Hi Moondog, hope all is well.

How did you get on with your headlamp ideas - have you had a chance to get any 18650 battery cells etc...?

Not yet

Sorry i must have missed your comments about your cache being found this year - was anything taken?

Cheap blue poly tarp and a set of cheap tent pegs and an aluminium billy; bit weird really, as if they were pissed with all the hard work they had to do stripping the tarps and camouflage off and needed something to justify the hard work, shame as they got water into the steel lockers when the tarps were removed

With regards to leaving your trailer up there, would i be correct in assuming you would head up on the last weekend before any gates close and leave it up there then, i guess that would be the safest option that way the only people who come across it would hopefully be honest travelers on foot..

That is indeed the plan

Travis.

[Moondog55]

At this stage I am making the assumption that some of you will be joining me for some short time next snow season.
As a decision to leave the trailer up there has been made I could do some really luxurious things like take a deep cycle battery and solar panels up for LED lighting around the tent, and perhaps a small cast iron stove; some things that I would find physically impossible if sled hauling the stuff in.

As part of this thread and as I really do need to reduce my stash I have made the decision that my sled and pulk are free to a good home if anybody wants them.
All you have to do is collect them.

[Giddy_up]

What will you use for a table, I remember your sled inverted and being put to good use at your camp site.

[Moondog55]

Either take a proper height table or make a better sled ( probably both ) also if I leave the trailer up there the tail gate gets used a cook table to support the gas stove. Could even take the big chiminea up.
I made the chiminea out of a 90kg gas bottle, still needs some feet tho

[Joomy]

My fantasy option: http://www.hilleberg.com/home/products/atlas/atlas.php

[Moondog55]

Mine has always been the big [HUGE??] Sierra Designs "Mothership"

http://www.fishpond.com.au/Sports_Outdo ... 4003570893

Also a team of willing and low paid coolies to carry it and all the other luxuries that traveling in the style of the Raj demands

Although I really would settle for an old fashioned canvas wall tent

[Moondog55]

There is a canvas wall tent on ebay at the moment.
2400 * 2400. 1800 walls and a tall roof apex, already been outbid. I know that a tent of this design has a huge sail area and do not handle the wind all that well but a good place to put a wood heater and the dining table ; I'll see what happens.

[Moondog55]

I have found a good second hand cast iron "Sheepherder " style stove I can afford, cheap because the front door and ash pan are missing but I reckon I can make those from bits I have in the shed. Sim1oz has agreed to pick it up for me.

[andrewa]

What about just plonk a caravan up there?.. 6 months to find a cheaply on eBay!

A

[Moondog55]

Nice thought Andrew but while I can maybe find the money for a decent tent ; the caravans I have seen are much more expensive than that.
Mind you I am happy to borrow one if it becomes available. The road up there demands a unit in good mechanical condition tho and you don't see many of those on "Freecycle"

[sim1oz]

Moondog, stove picked up! It looks solid and feels heavy Definitely a trailer item and not pulk...

[sim1oz]

Mine has always been the big [HUGE??] Sierra Designs "Mothership"

http://www.fishpond.com.au/Sports_Outdo ... 4003570893

Also a team of willing and low paid coolies to carry it and all the other luxuries that traveling in the style of the Raj demands

Although I really would settle for an old fashioned canvas wall tent

OK, now for a bit of snow education time. What are the pros and cons of different tent designs for base camp in the the snow? (I have read Roger Caffin's BPL article on tunnel tents which are great for on-the-move trips)

Ease of setting up?
Wind stability?
Snow loading stability?

More specifically, if you take price out of the equation, how does the Sierra Design mothership compare to a large tipi like the Sibley (which I really like the look of!) ???

Sibley link http://www.canvascamp.com/en/shop/tent-zone/sibley-tents/sibley-600-ultimate or OR http://www.canvascamp.com/en/shop/tent-zone/sibley-tents/sibley-600-twin-ultimater

It's not going to happen for me but there is nothing wrong with a bit of pre-Xmas dreaming.

[Giddy_up]

Not that I have ever camped in alpine conditions, but my first thoughts are that snow can be knocked off a tent through out the night and yes it would be a pain in the a$$ but the ability to withstand wind especially above the tree line would be the main priority in an alpine tent......but I am really guessing.

[Moondog55]

Ability to shed or resist the wind, strength to withstand very high winds and then snow loading and slippery fabric helps with all of those, steep walls to increase internal walls is a definite advantage. Base camp? Being able to stand up to dress is one of my priorities.
Next come double or triple walls/roofs. Everything is a compromise, a pyramid or tipi sheds wind and snow more easily than some shapes but you loose a lot of room as you can't utilise the area close to the walls. Old fashioned wall tents like the canvas circus tent i bought on eBay maximise internal usable space at the expense of catching huge amounts of wind as the walls have a large sail area. The modern Sibley seems to be a reasonable compromise ( the original Sibley had no walls) I hope Corvus chimes in here.

[Moondog55]

The small canvas wall tent is mine. The sale of my ice-axes will cover that purchase
So I have a personal sleeping space 2400 * 2400 and plenty of height to stretch
My plan now is to find as cheaply as possible some steel or aluminium tubing of sufficient size strength to allow a secondary frame using fence fittings over and above the canvas tent over which I can lay a large heavy duty polytarp

[sim1oz]

Yay! Well done! You've been patiently eyeing off that tent.

I have to admit that this will probably be my favourite thread until next August I might even have a new job in a few months (someone contacted me yesterday to see if I was interested) and some extra money to pay for our ski gear. Double yay!

[Moondog55]

I got a second chance offer on it, I actually agreed to buy 2 weeks ago but I needed to sell something to pay for it. I wish Centrelink would hurry up and approve my carers allowance, then I might have some play money. Did you buy a tipi Sim??

[sim1oz]

No tipi yet! I'm still in procrastination mode. I find that if I procrastinate long enough I eventually get what I want (well, sometimes!).... which in this case is the Sibley. I dreamt about it the other night and then got a new job offer. I'll keep dreaming... That tent looks like we can have a huge party in it. Now I am thinking about rugs for the floor to make it super-cozy glamping style. I don't think Persian rugs will fit in the lock up metal trunks though...but it looks amazing on the website. The tealight chandelier looks awesome. And you can put some great heater-stoves with exit pipe out the side windows. I'll keep dreaming... sigh...

[Moondog55]

Well I'll be bringing mine and I too dream about the big Sibley WITH Persian rugs, chandeliers and charcoal braziers

[Moondog55]

I have just got a reply to my cheap offer for aluminium tubing on eBay
$150 for 4 off 6 meter lengths of 50mm *3mm awing tubing Super stiff and very strong, there goes the other ice axe

[Moondog55]

Offer rejected; counter offer of $180- accepted
So the small canvas tent will have a solidly supported fly sheet now plus a small verandah area, poly tarp next.

[Moondog55]

Question for those experienced in using the soft Tyvek. I'll be sleeping in the 8*8 tent for quite a while, would it be to my advantage to use Tyvek as an inner layer ? I would probably only use it on the back half of the tent where I will be sleeping as the front half of the tent will have the wood stove in it.
For those interested the cast iron Sheepherder will have a double heat shield on 2 sides where it will be withing 100mm of the canvas as well as on the floor

[Giddy_up]

Love to see some pictures of that stove MD.

[Moondog55]

As Sim to post a few

[Moondog55]

Here is a link to something similar tho

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stove-Large- ... 0606409194

[Giddy_up]

Wow, I'm not sure what I expected but it certainly was not that. You may never go home with such comforts available.