When the weather gods start dropping bombs on your basecamp, retreat to the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 Tent and sit out the storm in time-tested alpine style. The Trango's been around since 1995 and, like cheese and wine, has only gotten better as it's gotten older. Weighing under nine pounds, it's considerably lighter than many basecamp-style tents, but doesn't give up weatherproofing or durability to get there. It pitches using four DAC Featherlite aluminum poles (a fifth supports the vestibule for extra storage space), and boasts fully-taped seams on the fly and floor to keep the elements at arm's length, or even further away. All the fabrics are tightly-woven, high-denier nylon, and feature either DWR treatments, in the case of the body, or polyurethane and silicone coatings (floor and fly) that have been tested in a rain room to ensure they'll stay watertight through the burliest mountain storms.

You might be stuck inside for a while, but at least you'll have a small window to look out of (not that there'll be much to see), and two mesh doors that'll keep some air moving through so you don't go any crazier than you have to. If the weather gets nice, you can even set up the Trango with the Pitchlight option, which uses just the fly and footprint (sold separately) to provide a shelter that weights under 6.5 pounds. No matter how you choose to pitch, the vestibule has snow flaps that hug the ground to seal out wind and spindrift, fully-welded guy-out points and zipper flaps, and waterproof zippers for extra weather protection.