Attention: blizzard!

      Some answers are bravado. I find myself wanting to end a protracted conversation with a stereotypical phrase: “Think, clarify and come back next Wednesday.” Or maybe we really are “squeezing” them? I resolutely cast aside doubts: before my eyes is Corneskorch, the Chivruay plateau, Purga. Tragedy!

      ...In the morning the wind tears at the tent, the sky is a gray canvas, the mountains are not visible. Just think about it - the Crow's Wing Pass is ahead! The leader remembers: the pass can only be passed in good weather. But the guys are “putting pressure on the psyche,” and he gives up: “We’ll get through...”

      The camp is closing down slowly. Some had already packed up and put on their backpacks. They stand and freeze.

      “Commander, what if we go forward, break the track, and you catch up with us?”

      He recalls: in conditions of poor visibility, the group should not break up. Again doubts and thoughts. True, it’s short, more for show – the commander, after all!

      "Effective."

      And part of the group disappeared in a blizzard. Several more people followed her, and then the last ones left. But what is it? The ski track is not visible! It's snowy. Where did they go? The screams are drowned in the snow... The short day quickly ended. At night there was a snowstorm. Not everyone returned from this trip.

      Then, during a discussion, they agreed: they should not have left the bivouac and gone to the pass in such weather, and moving in scattered groups, without indicating where to stop and wait, how to act if by the appointed time those who were lagging behind did not catch up with those who had gone ahead, was a direct violation of the rules for organizing and conducting travel.

      This is in a specific case. Well, in general, is it possible to leave the bivouac in a snowstorm? It is impossible to answer unequivocally “yes” or “no”. Everything depends on specific conditions, the correct assessment of which, the ability to find a reasonable course of action, determine the degree of maturity of the leader and participants.

      There is a sick person in the group. He urgently needs qualified medical care: delay is dangerous. Under these conditions, the feeling of camaraderie and mutual assistance will always prevail. Cold calculation (“Perhaps we are putting ourselves at risk?”) will not find support. Everyone decides: “We have to go!” However, a morally justified decision must be followed by correct action. Everyone will expect firmness from the leader, and dedication from each other, sometimes to the brink of human possibility. From skis and duralumin sheets, which the group took for cutting snow bricks, they quickly made sleds. The sick person was placed in a sleeping bag. Tied up. Part of the group is trailing the ski track, the other is pulling the sled. When passing difficult sections - careful reconnaissance and insurance. There's no rush. Maybe a little slower, but for sure! And so hour after hour, day, or maybe two or three.

      Everyone is healthy, there is a lot of food, they are not late. You can walk even with little experience, if the wind is not particularly strong, and the route goes through a forest, along a road, clearing or along a river (you won’t get lost). You just need to dress warmly and wear masks on your face. Do not stretch yourself under any circumstances, and resolutely stop the attempts of the “hurryers” to get ahead. While moving, check each other more often to see if your nose or cheeks have turned white. Rest stops are in places sheltered from the wind and are shorter. Movement duration is shorter. Get to bed early for the night. Don't exhaust yourself. An experienced group in such conditions can move along the tundra, and with visibility of about 500 m, even along the plateau.

      You can’t walk: the wind knocks you down, the terrain is open (tundra), you need to cross a plateau that drops into a canyon or ravine, there is no visibility. What to do in such a situation?

      If you were camping, then the most reasonable thing was to wait it out; if they were going, immediately set up camp and wait. Just at the beginning I would like to ask: why did the group find itself in such a situation, why did they not notice signs of a sharp deterioration in the weather?

      An immediate harbinger of a blizzard or “snow charge,” even in relatively good local weather, may be the appearance of a heavy cloud of a gray, ominous color on the horizon. The edges of the cloud are ragged, changing configuration every minute. Before the clouds comes the wind. It raises snow, and the drifting snow sharply impairs visibility.

      The cloud is growing quickly. Half the sky is already covered, the sun has darkened. The first gust hits like an elastic shaft. It immediately becomes cold. If you have not yet put on everything warm and have not started setting up a bivouac, please note that this is the last warning. The first impulse is followed by a deceptive short calm, after which nature begins to go wild.

      Thus, no matter how quickly the weather changes, it sends a warning about it, and by heeding it, tourists always have time to make an intelligent decision.

      They say that the blizzard on Chivruay was fierce back then. The assumption that the actions of the leader and participants were not up to the mark is also not without foundation. How else can one explain that the tent has not been pitched, warm clothes are in backpacks, skis have not been used to construct an anti-wind shield, there are not even signs of an attempt to build a snow wall. It may be objected that you cannot put up a tent in strong winds. I strongly object. The tent was pitched, and it was not carried away. Very little was required - secure the bottom with skis, throw the backpacks inside and, having fixed the corners with them, climb into the tent and dress warmly. There was something else - an extremely small struggle to preserve life. Apparently, the leader was not prepared for decisive action. It seems that such a person was not among the participants. In this regard, I would like to note the practice when an experienced tourist is included in a group, assigning him the role of a coach. Without replacing the manager, in critical situations he can take full responsibility if he sees that the manager is committing dishonesty or serious violations.

      And now about the specific actions of the group that did not notice the approaching blizzard or ignored its warnings.

      The first thing is to get everyone together, stop moving and take off your skis. If at the last moment you notice a large stone or a pile of stones nearby, if possible, go under their protection.

      The second is to build an anti-wind shield out of skis, sticking them into the snow in one row and forming an almost continuous wall. Place the skis slightly inclined, with the sliding surface facing the wind.

      Third, put on everything warm. Girls and those who are coldest get dressed first. Those changing clothes should be covered, helped, and warmed up their hands.

      There are many recommendations in this regard: rubbing, sharp strokes, warm mittens from the hands of another. But the best thing is to put your hands under your friend’s sweater and warm them up on his body.

      Fourth, set up a tent, for example “Winter”. When removed from the bivouac, it should always be rolled up, taking into account not so much the convenience of transportation, but the possibility of quick installation in strong winds. To do this, the wind edge (opposite the entrance) and the bottom loops must be on the outside.

      The tent is placed in an unrolled package (roll) behind the wind shield, the two lower loops of the wind edge are secured with skis, after which it is gradually unfolded, sequentially securing the remaining edges in the same way. You can put backpacks on the tent. The next stage is to fix the edges of the edges with ski poles: insert the handles into the upper loops, and the pins into the lower loops, and put fabric caps with a rubber band on the handles. After this, throw the backpacks into the tent and lay them out near the wind wall.

      The group's further actions will depend mainly on the condition of the participants and the weather. If the wind is very strong and it is not possible to set up a tent, then you must first build a wall of snow bricks, laying them close to the edges of the tent. Under the cover of the wall, the poles, starting from the wind edge, are placed vertically, and the guys are tied to the skis, which are stuck as deep as possible into the snow at an angle of about 40° with the edges to the tent. After this, you can install the central support, rearrange, if necessary, some skis, increasing the tension of the “rinsing” edges.

      In order to withstand storm winds, additional guy ropes are sewn to the ribs (approximately in the middle), which are tied to skis stuck directly at the wall (Fig. 108, a). To protect the tent from tearing, a support should be placed diagonally inside it - a bunch of skis. Between the stop and the slope it is necessary to place a heat-insulating mat, rolled in several layers (Fig. 108, b). In strong gusts of wind, the support and mat must be held in the desired position.

Rice. 108. Additional measures when installing tents in a treeless area in case of strong wind: a—without using a bunch of skis; b—using a ligament. 1— storm guy ropes from the middle of the slopes to a vertically placed ski; 2 - foam mat; 3 - a bunch of skis resting on the mat; 4 - pan into which the ski rests.

      If these measures are not enough and the tent is in danger of destruction, then you should lower the central support, twist the slopes from the inside into a bundle, press the top of the cone and wait out the bad weather in this position.

      The Chum tent is even easier to install: using skis, starting from the wind edge, fix the bottom loops, then install the central support.

      After hard work in a strong wind, you need to warm up. Before getting into sleeping bags, take off outer clothing and boots, clear them of snow, and put on dry and warm clothes. The boots are placed in a special bag and put into a sleeping bag. Those who climbed into the tent first lay out rugs and lay out sleeping bags. One of the tourists at the entrance brushes snow off those entering with a brush and helps his comrades change clothes.

      Having warmed up, the strongest and most resilient tourists begin to retrofit a windproof wall and shelter in front of the entrance. It can be useful to strengthen the wind side of the wall by laying a second row of snow bricks. The bricks are laid with a narrow part towards the tent, thereby increasing the strength of the wall, which can withstand the strongest winds. It is advisable to fill all the cracks between the snow bricks.

      Setting up a tent quickly and with good tension in a strong wind is not easy. Success depends on training, when everyone’s responsibilities are worked out. The group does not have the right to approve the route without repeated training in setting up a tent in strong wind conditions. At the beginning of the route, you should conduct a control test of your ability to quickly set up a tent.

P.I. Lukoyanov Winter sports hikes.