| Covering Gear With Ponchos / Author: Gustavo Sakuda |
 Here you have an example of how ponchos, combined with rocks, can serve to protect your mountain gear as well as act as a shelter for you. In the picture this may not be immediately noticeable, but this particular shleter was constructed deep in the Andes, within a sub polar weather area with strong winds and at about 9:00 PM in the summer. The party of explorers could go no furhter since they had a glacier ahead which requires hours to cross, and the construction of a shelter was mandatory since Patagonian winds can easily surpass 80 knots (about 150 km/h) when you less expect them to do so. This kind of shelter surely helds against that kind of natural pressures; you start by building pircas, or small walls made out of stone, and making them taller and thicker in proportion to the strength of the winds expected. Then you place your gear in one side of the shelter (where the walls are lower) and the people in the other half, covering everything and everyone with ponchos tied to the rocks using climbing ropes or parachute cords. One of the explorers is hurrying to cook the last hot meal before going into the shelter, using wood brought from pretty far away using one poncho as a bag. No one knows for sure for how long they will stay inside: depending on the incoming meteorology it could be a couple of hours until the next morning, or a couple of weeks, until the moon changes phases. Notice also how well the woodland shape of the camouflaged jackets blends with the environment. |
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