Pitching the Cirriform DW for Stormy Weather

Lower the pitch

To better protect from splashing and wind spray, you may wish to lower your pitch in severe weather or in exposed locations. You'll basically sink the entire shelter lower to the ground, at the sacrifice of headroom.

  • Reduce your trekking pole heights by about 5”
  • Stake the guylines for the tarp’s corners much closer to the tarp. You may even wish to stake them directly to the ground.
  • Re-tension all guylines as necessary for a taut and balanced pitch.
  • The shock cords connecting the top of the tub to the tarp's corners should keep the tub walls raised off the ground, though the tub will likely lose its height. You may find it beneficial to run these cords through the nearby hangloops on the underside of the tarp before clipping them off to the tarp's corners. Doing so can help provide more height to the tub.
  • Note that the vestibule/beak is intended to sit off the ground to provide better ventilation. If you need to seal off the front entirely, see the bottom section of this page.

Narrow the pitch

To retain more internal height while increasing protection from splashing and wind spray, you may wish to narrow your pitch. You'll basically bring the corners of the shelter inward and closer to the ground at the expense of losing tautness in the vestibule, but there are some ways to compensate.

  • Move the corner stakes closer to the tarp and shorten the guylines to re-tension. The narrower you make the tarp, the more difficult it will be to pull the beak taut. See the section at the bottom of the page for remedies.
  • Move the intermediate stakes on the tarp’s sides close to the floor. This pulls the edge downward and closer to the floor.
  • Shorten the shock cords running to the bottom of the tub-floor as necessary using these methods.
  • For the shock cords attached to the top of the tub, you may find it beneficial to run them through the nearby hangloops on the underside of the tarp before clipping them off to the tarp's corners. Doing so can help provide more height to the tub.

Seal off the vestibule

If you want to completely seal off the front of your shelter, try staking the front as shown in these pictures.