Tarps & Shelters Masterclass
Get the knowledge, skills, and hands-on practice to build shelter that actually holds — in any conditions, with what you've got and what you can find.
May 2 10am-6pm
$150
Williamson Preserve Raleigh, NC
When the weather turns and the wind picks up, a poor shelter can be anything from uncomfortable to downright dangerous. A shelter that can't withstand the storm can turn a backpacking trip into a survival scenario. And if you find yourself in the woods with nothing, knowing how to build shelter from what's around you could be the thing that keeps you alive.
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This 8-hour masterclass goes deep on one of the most essential (and most underestimated) wilderness skills there is. Whether you're a backpacker chasing a lighter, more versatile setup, a car camper who wants real living space when the rain rolls in, or someone who wants to walk into the woods and build something from scratch, this class meets you where you are and levels you up.​
Shelter is Critical
Shelter isn't a comfort item — it's survival infrastructure. But shelter skills aren't just for emergencies. A well-rigged tarp setup transforms a rainy camping trip from miserable to genuinely enjoyable. It gives you flexibility that a tent can't — more space, more airflow, more adaptability to the terrain and conditions you're actually in.
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The problem is most people learn a single tarp set-up and hope it'll work for every scenario. This class teaches you to build with intention — so you which structures, knots and hitches work best in different conditions, how to adapt to what you find, and what to do when the environment throws you a curveball.
What You'll Learn
You'll get eight hours of hands-on practice where you'll rig, test, adjust, and build until you know which knot to tie when, and where. You'll leave with skills that work whether you've got a silnylon tarp, a canvas canopy, a space blanket, or nothing but sticks and leaves.
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Knots, Hitches & Lashings- The difference between a shelter that holds and one that collapses at 2am is almost always in the rigging. You'll learn the essential knots and hitches for shelter work — ridgelines, anchor points, tensioning systems — plus the lashings that let you build sturdy structures without any hardware at all.
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Tarp Configurations- From a simple A-frame to a doors-up lean-to to a fully enclosed storm shelter, you'll work through multiple configurations and learn when and why to use each one. Understanding the tradeoffs — airflow vs. protection, visibility vs. stealth, speed vs. stability — means you can make smart decisions in any situation.
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Environment-Specific Adaptations- Standard setups fail in extreme environments. We'll cover how to modify your approach for sand (where stakes are useless), snow (where your shelter can become your insulation), and other conditions that require you to think differently about anchor points, drainage, and heat retention
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Natural Shelter Strategies- No tarp? No problem — if you know what you're doing. We go deep on natural shelter building: reading the land for the right site, working with debris, boughs, and bark, and building something that actually keeps you warm and dry overnight. This is where survival skills meet ancestral knowledge, and it's one of the most empowering things you can learn.
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Site Selection- Half the battle is knowing where to pitch. We'll cover what to look for and what to avoid — drainage, wind direction, widow makers, and how to read terrain for natural shelter and windbreak opportunities.
About your Instructor
Ali has been teaching wilderness survival and leading expeditions on three continents since 2010. She doesn't just have these skills — she lives them. Ali spends three to six months a year in wilderness areas leading trips, managing real risks in remote places from North Carolina to Oman. When she teaches shelter, she's drawing on thousands of nights outside in all kinds of conditions. You're learning from someone who actually lives in the shelters she constructs.
Why Choose Us?
This isn't your standard survival course full of machismo and dominance. We don't see the wilderness as an inherently hostile place that we need to conquer. Nature is our home- we are nature. Most wild places are abundant with resources ready to help us survive, we just have to learn where to look and how to see.
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Our mission is simple: get more people confidently adventuring in the wild. Wilderness survival skills are critical to doing that successfully, so we made it accessible by keeping costs down and class sizes small- all while supporting our local nature conservancies and our instructors.
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We donate 15-20% of revenue to Triangle Land Conservancy. Our pay structure is inverse of most outdoor companies so that our instructors receive the highest possible pay. Read more about our business model here.
Come Prepared
This is an active, outdoor intensive. Be ready to walk, crawl, bend, and sit as we practice skills in real conditions. You're invited to bring any of your own survival kit to test out. Please note that there is not a bathroom facility on site and you'll need to use the woods. ​
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The Essentials:
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A day pack you can carry comfortably with extra space for provided gear
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Lunch, water and snacks. We will have water for refills
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Sunscreen + bug spray
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A camp seat or chair
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Layers that regulate body temperature, appropriate for conditions
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Rain gear that lets you stay comfortable if the sky opens
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Any tarps or materials you would like to experiment with
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A notebook, pen and pencil
