Build a better Quinzhee hut

A quinzhee hut is a type of temporary snow shelter, as distinct from more permanent ice-block igloos, that was historically used in survival situations by Native Americans, Scandinavians, and others living in cold northern latitudes. Traditionally, the builder would create a mound of snow 4 or 5 feet high, allow it a few hours to settle and conglomerate, then hollow it out to create a small cavern or snow hut for shelter from the elements.

In real survival situations this ancient method is tried and true, but for the enterprising modern snow-architect there are a few tips and tricks that can turn a quinzhee from a crude temporary shelter into an awesome winter-long snow fort that's larger, sturdier, better lit, and faster to build.

Step 1 Materials

To build a modern quinzhee hut you will need:

• Snow, and lots of it!
• shovels, rakes, and hand trowels
• some shish-kebab skewers (or straws, twigs, etc.)
• large plastic trash bags and twisty-ties
• spray bottle of water
• cake pans
• and more water

It sounds like an esoteric list of ingredients for a snow fort, I realize, but years of building these every winter has gradually improved our method to be as fast and efficient as possible.

Comments

[Lorddrake]

now if only it would snow here I can try this out.