Newsletter

Snow is something beautiful and fun to play in. Tree boughs heavy and bending from the gorgeous white and sparkling flakes are beautiful to look at. Yet snow, even with all of its beauty it can be silent and deadly killer.  Get caught in the wilderness without protection from blowing snow and low temperatures and you might quickly discover that it is now your enemy, or so it may seem.

Snow is composed mostly of air, and air is a tremendous insulator. There are many and varied types of emergency shelters that can be built using snow. The northern Eskimos have learned to use snow to their advantage. Even the animals of the far north have adapted to extremely low temperatures and have learned to burrow into deep snow to keep warm.

Sleeping inside a snow shelter is relaxing and much warmer than the colder outside temperatures. Shelters carved out of a deep snow bank or a fabricated igloo are extremely quiet inside. The wind may be blowing at 40 mph outside, yet inside it will be quiet and if you consider 32 degrees F. warm, I guess it is. Any warmer and you will be swimming in your house, since your house is now melting. Keep in mind that 32 degrees may seem cold, but 50 degrees below temperatures outside of shelter are definitely much colder. All snow shelters should have pine boughs or insulation of some sort of insulation for bedding. Conduction is a heat thief, and you will lose the battle. You cannot heat the ground with your body. Try to fabricate a sleeping platform higher than the door opening. Always poke a breathing hole through shelter to the outside. There seems to be varied opinion on the necessity of a breathing hole. I for one think there is no harm in having one. Better safe than dead. Snow is easily fashioned into shelters. A quinzee is a shelter constructed by shoveling snow onto a large pile then digging out the center. Snow needs only to be moved once or twice and it will become solid enough for construction purposes within an hour or two. By the time you have shoveled a pile large enough to use it will already start to become firm. Dig out center and pile it on to your new shelter. Round and smooth ceiling, do not leave any hanging points. If you do they will become dripping points. Punch a hole in ceiling for breathing, bring in some bedding, plug the door and relax. You will find this shelter quiet and secure. One small candle will illuminate the entire shelter.