Insulated Tarp Shelter

Pole Arch

Suspension--

The idea here is that suspension can be done w/ a lot less material & weight than compression structures. So I thought if I can make a strong ridgeline, & hang some spreaders from it, it might work. Here is a ridgeline of cheap braided nylon rope. It might have worked better if I used paracord, or something with less stretch to it. The spreaders are sections of bamboo, with each end tied to the ridgeline, like a suspension bridge. There is a line tied to side of each to keep them from turning.

Natural Insulated Bivvy

I spread a tarp over the ridgeline & spreaders & staked to ground.

Then I started loading it with snow. This snow was quite wet, & weighed it down way too much. Many of the spreaders were on the ground.

Like I said, it might have worked a bit better to use a better rope on top, but it would require a great deal of tension to suspend the weight of that much snow, especially from that length of rope. If you could get that much tension on it with a trucker hitch, etc, it might tear the tarp. As near as I could tell, the distance between spreaders was ok, & maybe I could have gotten away with fewer trusses.