The Mountain Hardwear Trango 4 Tent

There’s a whole lot of good to talk about when it comes to this super sturdy tent. It starts with its overall bomber construction. Having two vestibules is also a huge bonus so you can keep packs in one end and boots/hardware in another. Two doors as opposed one is also very useful.

There’s a mesh and canopy zippered thru-vent, mesh storage pockets, and watertight door zippers. Reflective guy-out loops and zippers help if you’re setting up in the dark, and the internal guy systems along with the welded guy clip anchors are perfect for protecting your tent through major wind events. 

The Trango 4 is reasonably lightweight for such a durable tent and is very packable. You also get a guaranteed watertight tent off the shelf with a taped fly and perimeter seam as well as welded anchors and corners. This saves you the time and hassle of seam sealing pre-trip and ensures someone that knows the tool well worked on it.    

You have to adapt to the normal things that come with camping in cold places with extreme weather even with a solid tent like the Trango 4. With two people we basically lived in a palace on a glacier. With three we were comfy, but woke each morning to enough frost that even one small movement would cover you (or your tent mate) in a film of cold crystals. Ventilating helps a lot (duh), but make sure you have a warm enough sleeping bag to balance things out. With four skiers and all our gear, everyone was tight and the comfort factor went way down. Totally doable, but comfort on the mountain only comes in second to safety, so it’s worth thoughtful planning for how much space you need when doing big ski expedition trips and using the Trango 4. It’s definitely meant for  huge trips, like Denali where you’re living on glaciated harsh terrain for weeks at a time, but it would also be a pretty great temporary home winter camping anywhere in the Sierra.

 
On the West Buttress of Denali you see a bunch of Trango 4’s. Why? It’s relatively cheap and pretty much bombproof as long as you know how to build good snow walls. Sure some serious wind storms had us rocking a bit, but once the snow walls were reinforced the tent barely moved. You can use snow pickets, ice axes, or skis to reinforce it during big storms, and for three people it was snug and comfy with all our gear. Four was a bit much, but that was also due to our huge amount of equipment. Although it can’t be called super light, Mountain Hardware cut a bunch of weight off without sacrificing quality when they made the Trango 4. It made a great shelter on two Denali expeditions last season.

Overall this is a sturdy tent that I would recommend to any ski mountaineer, alpinist, or recreationalist looking for maximum protection from high altitude brutal winter conditions. This is the tent you want, and if you don’t believe me, take a look at Denali Base camp next year and the proof will be right in front of you.

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