*** Building Snow Caves & Shelters ***

Fri Nov  4 09:11:00 1994
Message : #18465428    From: Bill Rhodes
Address : brhodes@panix.com
Group   : Usenet.rec.backcountry
Subject : How to build a snow cave?

From: Secrets of Warmth by Hal Weiss

Anywhere the snowpack is sufficently deep, you can probably build a
snow cave.The snow should be consolidated enough so that it does not
collapse as you dig. Sometimes a steep area will have plenty of snow at the
bottom, even if it's just the steep face of a boulder. Dig into the side of
a snow mound rather than into the front,where the snow deposits. Also, be
careful not to dig in at the bottom of an avalanche slope.

If the snow is the right consistency, the best way to dig a cave is to
cut blocks and remove them. The best tool for a snow cave is a snow saw or a
pruning saw (or machete, bayonet, et cetera). Next best is a shovel. Or use
anything that will work.

How to build: Start low on the snow drift and dig a hole straight in
about three feet in diameter. Turn up at abhout a 45 degree angle for
another three feet, then dig straight in again and start enlarging the area
in front of you. Poke 1 foot long sticks into the outside of the snow mound.
That way when you're digging it out, you can tell when the roof is 1 foot
thick.

Angling up at 45 degrees before you dig inward will make your sleeping
platform higher than the air inlet, so you will be in the higher, warmer air.
Dig out enough to make a shelf for your waterproof groundcloth, foam pad and
sleeping bag. If neccessary, you can create a wide enough area for two or
more people.

Form an inner dome by carving the snow overhead. This will give the
cave needed strength. Smooth the overhead snow dome as well as you can to
prevent dripping. Make a hole in the roof with a stick or ski pole for
ventillation. If you intend to use a stove or make a small fire, create the
vent hole right above where the stove or fire will be. The vent should be
about two inches wide, in use it will widen by melting some of the snow
around it. Make sure the cave opening is large enough to admit sufficient
air for the cave occupant(s) and the fire. You can carve a few small shelves
for items you want to keep handy.

The smaller the snow cave, the warmer it will be. Larger caves with
interconnecting chambers are for fun times. Caves just large enough to hold
its occupants huddled together are the most appropriate for emergencies.

Now some more words from me....

I agree with practically everything he says here. The only things I
would add is to remember that if you use a candle lantern it is also a fire
-as I found out as it tumbled out through the hole it melted in my wall once!
and be sure to take your digging tools INTO the cave with you, as you never
know when you will have to dig out of the thing. Likewise keep your ski pole
/walking stick in the cave to keep the top vent open, it would really suck
if that froze over somehow. Also, you have to block off the entrance at
night to reduce air flow, but not enough to stop it. This is eaiser said
than written, believe me, when you are in there, you will see!

Other than that, in a non survival situation, there is no greater fun
than messing about with snow caves. I try to build one every winter as early
as possible in an out of way place and use it again and again if I can.

There are other options for using snow as a shelter if the snow is not
right, ranging from trenches to igloos. I am also sure there a re other
books which cover this, I just like this one. Got it at REI.

If there is anything else I can do to help, let me know.

Bill Rhodes

                 *** How to Build a Quinzee ***

From: Paul Wake <Paul.Wake@m.cc.utah.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Subject: Re: Snow houses
Date: 7 Jan 1996 03:38:08 GMT

Are there techniques other than building with bricks?
- Yes, and it's a lot simpler than trying to make an igloo. It's called a
quinzee -this spelling is wrong; I'm too lazy to look up the right spelling.
If you can put a tall, thin pole in the ground to mark the middle of the
pile, you might do so. Then pile snow up (use a snowshovel). It's work, so
be careful about sweating too much in the cold,or you'll get cold.
Once you have a big pile (how big depends on how biga shelter you want), let
it set for awhile. Then take some thin sticks (if you have some about) and
poke them into the sides of the pile just afew inches, all around, so that
the pile looks sort of like a porcupine.

Then dig a tunnel into it from the bottom of one side, to the center pole
if you used one, and start hollowing it out. You'll know when the wall is
about the right thickness when you reach the inside end of the little
sticks you've stuck in the pile (you'll also know when you see a blue
glow in the walls from the outside light); you don't want to make the
walls too thin or burrow right out. Try to keep the inside as smooth as
possible, so water drips less. Take out the center pole and remove all
the ridiculous looking sticks from the outside. You might well want to
carefully punch a ventilation hole in the roof. If you want, you can
shape a little entrance tunnel, plan the structure so the doorway is
below the level of the surrounding snow, or so forth.

A way to do the whole process faster is to pile up a bunch of gear and then
pile the snow on top of the gear; when you dig into the pile, you'll pull
out the gear, leaving an open space there and requiring less overall snow
throwing.

A good structure should last for days even in relatively warm weather
(over time it slowly slumps down and outward, in sort of a very slow fluid
manner (which, of course, it is)). In really cold weather I'd think it
would last much longer; pretty good for a simple pile-and-dig-out
structure! It's kind of fun just to build one out in the yard after a
big snowfall and just let the kids play in it.


                      **** Cold Weather Snow Shelters ***

Sun Jan  7 12:40:15 1996
Message : #37213213    From: Philip Lussier (Mohawk)
Address : plussier@k12.oit.umass.edu
Subject : Re: Snow houses

Mark D Holbrook (holbrook@world.std.com) wrote:
How do you make a snow house?  Efficiently?

: 1) Are there techniques other than building with bricks?  (E.g. make a
: big pile and hollow it out?)

The powder house or quincee is made by piling loose snow, allowing it to
set for an hour or more, and hollowing it out.

: 2) What does one do when the temperature is so cold that all the
: available snow is loose and won't pack into bricks?

Cold powder snow will pack very efficiently if you give it time. Jon Deleo
of Lyndonville State College teaches how to make igloos by packing out a
"quarry area" of snow ahead of time using snow shoes. The snow needs to have
some reasonable depth to it but he's said that as long as it doesn't
compress to less than 6 inches the blocks you cut from the quarry area will
still work. This is the method I use most for building igloo-type shelters,
but the time involved (packing, waiting for the blocks to set, cutting
blocks and assembling the igloo) is longer than for a powder house in most
cases.

: 3) Is snow in the arctic commonly very icy or already quite packed and
: therefore cutable into bricks with a saw or ice ax?

Yes. Most igloos are built from snow that is cut directly from the snow
pack. The wind is what makes it firm, not iciness. In fact, icy snow is much
poorer in insulating power than dry wind-packed snow.

The fastest method by far is a snow cave. Find a snow drift of sufficient
depth and hollow it out. You can be in out of the cold in less than an hour
if you have a good-sized shovel (aluminum grain scoop -- cut down with a
removable handle is my tool of choice.)

(Philip Lussier (Mohawk)

Mon Jan  8 19:15:01 1996
Message : #37266019    From: Paul Repak
Address : repak@rl.af.mil
Subject : Re: Snow houses

Yes, arctic snow is typically much older, denser, and packed by the wind so
that stable blocks can be cut fairly easily. It is relatively rare to have
good block making snow in our subarctic regions. If it is available, the
secret to making a successful igloo is to build up a spiral of block rows,
starting by cutting a triangular slant in blocks of the first layer. Spiral
up to the top keystone block from there.

The quinzee is conceptually fairly easy to make (as explained in other posts
here), but you will almost certainly get wet from both perspiration and snow
melting on warm clothing. I wear minimal clothing and a gore-tex rain suit
when constructing the shelter. Given reasonable snow, 2 people can pile a
mound 8 feet high (plenty large enough for 2) in not much over an hour or
less.

The trick is to throw snow into a pile and let it fall down the slopes of
the pile and settle naturally into its own rounded shape so that individual
snow crystals interlock on their own. Any snow will work, dry and loose or
wet and packy, but try to get it to "fly" or fluff into individual grains as
you heave it. Begin throwing snow from at least 10 feet away from a central
vertical stick so that you do not later end up re-throwing snow that rolls
down the slope. Avoid solid chunks and don't try to force the mound into a
shape that the snow does not naturally fall to on its own.

Once the mound is built, you must wait to let it settle for at least an
hour, two hours is much better if you have the time. Do not manually force
pack it in any way. If I have built it right, I often hear the whole mound
make a dull "whump" sound on its own as the grains interlock and it
compresses an inch or two all at once under its own weight. This can be
scary if it happens while I am digging, but it is the sound of becoming
stronger and I have never had one collapse on me.

I do not like to use the small porcupine gauging sticks as they are
difficult to reach to remove without damaging the completed structure. It
is important that you make a couple of air vents about half way up the mound
anyway (punch out with your fist, shovel handle, or a ski pole), so when I
feel that I am getting close I make vents to gauge the thickness - it just
takes practice to estimate how thick the walls are. Extra vents created
this way can easily be plugged.

I use a cheap collapsable shovel that you can find at discount stores meant
for storing in your car trunk for emergencies.  Often see them after
Christmas on sale marked down from $20 to less than $5. The one I have has
a natural curve in the blade which nicely matches the curve I want to dig
into the walls and ceiling, and the handle is short enough to easily
maneuver while digging inside.

Finish the inside by smoothing with your hand and build a sleeping platform
a few inches higher than the floor of the entry-way (coldest air settles).
Fashion a snow-plug doorway from a bag filled with loose snow, and use
excavated snow to construct a windblock entrance. A candle or two and body
heat will keep the interior near 30 degrees F (avoid going higher), even if
it is well below zero outside.

- Paul Repak

                      *** Quick Snow Houses ***

Mon Jan  8 19:15:20 1996
Message : #37266044    From: Rob Shane
Address : robshane@community.net
Subject : Re: Quick Snow houses

Wow Mark...very ambitious! When I was a Boy Scout, we'd go snow camping
twice a year. Some would use tents, others built caves, still others built
'igloos'.
My first attempt was a rectangular igloo. We never got the 'top' on...
probably because a snowball fight was breaking out. But we started by
moderately packing the area we built on with snow-shoes. Then using cookie
sheets (without sides) or a "borrowed" fast food tray (cut off one end) cut
snow blocks from the packed snow. The we built up while we dug down (half
the blocks). It looked like an inverted V without a top -- / \ -- when we
through. We just threw a tarp over the top and had no problems. With another
half hour and an adult to help us, we could have capped it off.

-Vacaville, CA
<robshane@community.net>
(Rob Shane)

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