Yurt test bed located on Anvil Mountain outside of Nome, Alaska. The site was located half way up the mountain in a channeled pass to the Bering Sea. Winds were an average of 20 mph and storms with gusts to 70 mph plus were frequent. The site of the original test yurts was in an area of confused winds that often gusted to very high speeds.
The original yurt design!
Original yurt is still being used on the same site after 10 years and is left unattended through the winter months. Winters include temps of negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit with driving snow and wind chills to negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit and colder. Drifts outside the yurts are often as high or higher than the yurt walls. The original cover is still good and the yurt has had little to no maintenance over the years.
Changes have been made to the cover design but the basic elements of structure are found in todays' Nomad Shelter standard yurt.
The founders have faced heavy weather challenges in manufacturing yurts at their yurt test bed. They have worked through the yurt manufacturing challenges, designing for strength, aesthetics, and production consistency. The standard yurt is the most current reflection of their 20 years of yurt building experience.
The original yurt design!
Original yurt is still being used on the same site after 10 years and is left unattended through the winter months. Winters include temps of negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit with driving snow and wind chills to negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit and colder. Drifts outside the yurts are often as high or higher than the yurt walls. The original cover is still good and the yurt has had little to no maintenance over the years.
Changes have been made to the cover design but the basic elements of structure are found in todays' Nomad Shelter standard yurt.
The founders have faced heavy weather challenges in manufacturing yurts at their yurt test bed. They have worked through the yurt manufacturing challenges, designing for strength, aesthetics, and production consistency. The standard yurt is the most current reflection of their 20 years of yurt building experience.
Facing Heavy Weather Challenges
Standard yurts are proven in some of the harshest climates found anywhere.
When Alaskan residents ask us about how the yurts stand up to high winds. Nomad Shelter can site the 30 footer purchased as a hunting lodge on the Gulf of Alaska side of Kodiak Island. A yurt that is unattended all winter and still holding up fine in an area that has been hit by converging typhoons straight off the Gulf of Alaska. That is usually all we have to say to Alaskans about wind resistance.
When Alaskans ask about snow loads we tell about the very first yurt the Tenhoffs made and lived in across the Mineral Creek Valley from Valdez Alaska where the average snow accumulation is about 12 feet and its not uncommon to have it dump 3 feet over night and then rain! That's usually all we have to say about snow loads.
Mildew concerns are addressed by testimonial from Haines Alaska in the rain forest coastal maritime environment. Cold issues are addressed by testimony from Fairbanks mushers who live and work out of our yurts.
During The Storm
Is when it is not the time to find out that the guy wired stack is unstable and the top doesn't clear the peak, so its back drafting!
... or 70+ Mph wind gusts are creating lift on the top that is popping the rafters out of the central ring or off the cable!
... or the propane heater isn't venting properly and is causing moisture that is freezing into glaciations because of lack of proper ventilation!
...or the driving snow is forming mini drifts as it is forced through small gaps in the cover between the wall and the top cover or around the windows and door. Gaps in the yurt covering, even small openings, can let in wind driven snow and rain.
...or its snowed 3 feet while you were sleeping and now its raining! Snow loads are extremely high in some areas and must be planned and manufactured for.
Extreme weather is not out of the ordinary, its just another Sunday afternoon in Alaska. Sound like we've been there? We have! Those issues and more have been addressed with our Nomad Shelter standard yurt design.
