What can I do if I have 24-hour warning of very strong wind gusts (45–50 m/s), but I cannot reach a fixed shelter within this period?
Suppose I get one of those text messages, like the Icelandic authorities send to travellers:
...Wind gusts could reach speeds that are known for blowing cars off the road and even pulling up the tarmac! 45-50 m/s, 112 mph or 180 km/h can be expected in some areas!...
Suppose I've been out for a long time already, and this system was too far away when I left.
And suppose I'm here:
Svartakvísl, central Iceland.
Nowhere to hide. No building within 24 hour walking. No caves. I might be able to reach a canyon, but I have no clue if that's a safe place to hide. Perhaps it will funnel the wind, or perhaps the wind may be associated with flash floods or landslides.
What can I do to be OK? Is this a moment to call for emergency helicopter rescue (obviously BEFORE the storm hits)?
NB: I have read What is a good tarp setup for very high winds above the tree line?, but that question talks about 25 m/s winds. I might consider sheltering in a very good and very well-pitched tent in 25 m/s wind gusts. Not so when wind gusts may be up to 50 m/s. I am not confident the answers there are wise for winds such as presently occurring in Iceland.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/18501. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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In addition to Charlie's answer on building a shelter:
Make sure you don't have to move once the storm hits.
You'll likely hardly be able to walk around safely, so make sure you're in the best spot already.
- Stay well above the waterline to avoid raising rivers/flash floods.
- Stay away from ravines that could be dangerous because of avalanches/mudslides.
- Stay away from any trees (at the wind speeds you're describing also avoid forests!)
- Keep some distance from cliffs (unless you can get inside some cave/crack) because of rockfall.
- Winds of these strengths could well be coming with a thunderstorm, so keep the usual lightning protection advice in mind.
Make sure you'll be warm enough
Trying to mess about with your equipment in these conditions might be rather hard, do prepare as well you can:
- Put on enough layers of clothing (insulation, wind/rain protection)
- In extreme cases you could improvise a bivouac by wrapping a tarp/tent floor/tent fly around you before crouching behind your shelter.
- Have enough snacks/drinks ready (e.g. make some hot tea in preparation)
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/18510. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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What you are probably going to want to do is to build your own shelter out of rocks. Basically, you are going to want to pile them up into a wall a couple of feet high and get down behind that. If you know the direction the wind is coming from then you can make a horseshoe shaped shelter with the open side facing downwind.
Then you will want to get in and stay down until the storm blows over making certain that your gear is buttoned down as well. Its probably not a bad idea to bring goggles ahead of time to protect your eyes.
If you don't have to set up your tent, I wouldn't just to spare it the beating.
In fact, shelters like this are fairly common in mountain areas having been built previous hikers or inhabitants.
Afterwords, you should dismantle the shelter, but I wouldn't dismantle any you find since it they could have historic value and be a couple hundred years old.
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