What’s worse than being stuck in the woods with no shelter in the middle of summer?
Being stuck in the woods with no shelter in the middle of winter.
Make no mistake, both situations are dangerous, and you should never underestimate the elements, especially in a critical situation like either of these.
But shelters built that would normally work for regular and summer days have no guarantee to produce the same effect in winter, especially during harsh weather. How sure are you that your lean-to will provide you with enough heat to ensure that you don’t freeze to death in the middle of the night?
Couple that with massive risk of both hypothermia and frostbite when staying out in the cold or too long, and you’ve got an extremely critical situation in your hands. In this scenario, time is of the essence.
In this article, we will discuss different shelters that you can build, should you find yourself in such an emergency.
But before we do so… Clothing.
It cannot be stressed enough how valuable the type of clothing and how much you are wearing during winter is. Your clothes are your first line of defense against the raging cold and dressing poorly drastically reduces your survival chances in an emergency.
No matter where you are going, always dress appropriately. It may buy you enough time to save your life.
With that said, let’s get on with discussing possible winter shelters.
The type of shelter you might be able to make or should make is limited and dependent on how many people you are with, and if there are any complications (such as injuries in the group or other health problems). So, before you start building, consider your manpower and supplies that you can use.
It is also important to try and build a shelter while there is still light out. It becomes increasingly difficult to do so when the sun sets due to limited visibility alongside the frigid air.
Snow Cave
It’s larger than it looks on the outside.
The snow cave is a fast and easy shelter that can be built with virtually no materials on hand. However, building it requires that the structure be built on a very specific location, with a certain amount of snow fall at least, which may prove difficult to find.
Nevertheless, should the requirements be met, this shelter can be made quickly in an emergency without having to scavenge for materials.
To start, you should scout the area you are in. You are looking for a large pile of snow that has been piled on by the wind, and the best snow conditions for creating a snow cave are the same as those for creating a snowman: snow that can compress and pack easily.
When you’re sure you’ve found a suitable location, choose a spot to start digging. The best spot to start is one that is as low as possible, and start digging upward. While you dig, try to make the shape of the inside of your
structure like that of an upside-down bell, as it keeps the roof of the snow from sagging or falling over you and potentially burying you due to your body heat.
The result should be a sleeping platform structure whose location is higher than the entrance, meaning that the cold air should sink while the hot air inside remains.
If you can, make a very tiny hole at the top of your shelter for some ventilation.
It is also recommended to create a snowpack block by the entrance of your snow cave to prevent unwanted cold drafts from seeping in.
Tree Pit
Nature got you into this mess, but also might be your way of surviving this.
A tree pit utilizes, you guessed it, a tree in the middle of a dug-out hole to provide you both insulation and cover from the elements.
However, like the snow cave, the tree pit has some requirements before it can be considered a safe location.
For starters, like the snow cave above, the snow needs to be of decent size above ground before you start digging. With deep enough snow, you’ll be able to create a makeshift shelter without needing too much materials.
Once you have ascertained the size of the snow pile and are confident that you can turn it and the tree it is surrounding into a shelter, you can get started on digging.
Dig out the snow near the tree trunk until you’ve achieved the depth and diameter that you wish. Or until you hit the ground. The latter is more recommended.
Be quick but cautious while digging out the snow, as snow from the outside might shift and start pouring in your hole by the number, wasting away your previous efforts of removing snow near the tree.
When you’ve finished digging, pack the snow at the edge of the top of the holes, as well as on the inside to support the snow walls of the shelter to ensure that snow doesn’t start falling in the hole.
Afterwards, place some evergreen boughs on the top of the hole to keep the heat inside and the snow outside. You can use evergreen boughs as insulators on the bottom pit of your shelter as well.
Quinzhee
It might almost look like an igloo, but it’s not.
Unlike igloos, quinzhees are not meant to be permanent shelters, but they are easier to build. Though, as a result, they are less sturdy and more prone to potentially collapsing if done poorly, or if under harsh weather.
The quinzhee also calls for a considerable amount of effort, compared to that of the tree pit and the snow cave, so it might be worth thinking about whether the effort is worth it. One important aspect to consider is whether you still have enough time in the day to do so.
On the other hand, quinzhees have their own advantages as well. For instance, it is a relatively comfortable shelter and it can be built even on a flat surface with light and powdery snow. This makes it more flexible than the previously mentioned shelters.
To start, pile snow up on a flat surface, around 6 to 10 feet high in a dome 10 to 12 feet in diameter. Afterwards, let it set for at least two hours to sinter. Packing snow can speed up the process while also strengthening the structure at the same time.
When enough time has passed, start tunneling in the middle of the structure. Create a hole for your entrance, and start hollowing out the structure by removing the snow inside.
You may choose to create a large hole on one of the walls at first to reduce the amount of effort and time needed to hollow the structure. It is unlikely that the structure would collapse as a result, as it would need to be even larger for that to happen.
While removing the snow from the inside, carve it upwards, as you want the quinzhee to be dome-shaped as much as possible while removing any possible flat edges. You can stick small sticks around 30 to 35 centimeters long on the roof of the structure as a guide to see how much snow you need to remove from the inside.
When you have adequate space on the inside, you can permanently seal the hole you made while hollowing out the structure by packing the snow you removed on it. Should any small holes appear on the walls, simply pack them with snow from the outside.
And if you are able, you can quickly melt and refreeze the inner side of the quinzhee to help strengthen it, by using candles or lanterns.