SKILLS
Ian Kirk, Freelance Instructor at Glenmore Lodge, shares his eight top tips so your bivvying experience is memorable for all the right reasons
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BIVVYING – short for bivouacking – simply means sleeping outside without a tent. This ‘no-frills’ approach can be a very rewarding experience if you accept some comfort compromises. Travelling light to sleep out under an open sky from sunset to sunrise can leave you feeling connected to the elements in a way that tent camping simply cannot.
1 TAKE THE WEATHER WITH YOU
Weather has the biggest impact on bivvying – avoiding wet weather is best. Compare a couple of different local forecasts, taking note of wind speeds, UV index and chance of precipitation. To deepen your understanding mountain weather in the summer months, read Fi Chappell’s advice on page 50.
2 GROUND CONTROL
Your comfort will be enhanced with a good sleeping mat as your base against the ground. Mats come as either closed grass or moss on which to bivvy. It’s like nature’s mattress! Look out for drystone walls or old shelters by which to bivvy should the wind pick up.
You’ll need a warm sleeping bag to crawl into, too. If you only have a lightweight summer sleeping bag, take warm layers of clothing that will make all the difference to your overnight comfort when the temperature drops.
(The Great Outdoors gear team offers
3 TO TARP OR NOT TO TARP?
Where you’re intending to bivvy may inform what type of cover you’ll bring to protect your sleeping bag from morning dew and dampness. It’s good, however, to accept you won’t have the same level of protection as you would in a tent and, between condensation and dew, you are likely to get at least a little bit wet!
Bivvy bags are made from a range of materials, most of which are waterproof and breathable and provide an outer shell to protect you from the wind and damp air that may saturate your sleeping bag. Some bivvy bags come with open ends. Others have zipped heads that can fully enclose you, perhaps with the addition of a small hooped pole to hold it off of your face.
A tarp is a lightweight sheet similar to the outer sheet of a tent. Most require some form of pole to hold them up or are tied to other objects, such as trees or boulders to protect you from the elements. They are better suited to low-level camps.
4 STAY HYDRATED
Water is essential to both hydration and cooking! Where you are going will inform the level of care you have to take when sourcing water. A high mountainside burn in the Cairngorms is in complete contrast to a lower elevation hillside where there may be animals roaming.
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