Snow Camping Quinzee Building
Introduction
Snow camping is a much different form of camping than its counterparts – dry and wetland camping. This excursion encompasses building a shelter, staying dry, and ultimately staying warm. A quinzee is a shelter made of snow that offers protection from the outside weather through its elevated floor, insulation, and all around protection. It is one of many forms of snow shelter and with the proper tools, practice, and conditions can be an effective survival or enjoyment housing medium.
Benefits
• Prevent hypothermia
• Protection from severe weather
• Fun winter outdoor activity
Audience
Beginning snow campers who have experience camping but want to broaden their horizons by enduring the cold winter …show more content…
Consider the Surroundings
1. Consider the temperatures
Any weather at or below freezing is optimal for quinzee building.
2. Assess the snow depth and quality
Snow three or more feet deep is optimal for building. Also, if the snow is dry and grainy due to cold conditions it will have to set longer after piling.
3. Determine the size of shelter needed
The shelter will have to be built with consideration to the height and number of individuals. To get an accurate idea, the campers can lie next to one another in the area of build to see how large they need to build.
REMEMBER: An extra four feet should be added to the diameter of the visualized size of the shelter to ensure enough space and to compensate for wall width.
Construction
Step 1: Choose place of construction making sure to consider snow depth.
Step 2: Stomp out a circle around the construction area.
This circle is the circumference of the shelter and will serve as a marker for snow piling.
Step 3: Pile snow into the marked out circle forming a dome shape.
This shape makes for optimal support as the roof of the structure would collapse if it were …show more content…
This step helps solidify and compact the outside surface
Step 5: Cut/break twigs 12-18 inches and stick them into the sides of the structure as shown in
Figure 2.
The twigs provide a guideline for how wide the walls should be.
This step is helpful for guidance when hollowing out the shelter. Step 6: Wait for 90 minutes.
In this time, the snow should settle and begin to form ice crystals making the structure sturdier.
WARNING: If the snow is dry or grainy allow the pile to sit longer than the 90 minutes.
Step 7: Hollow out the structure.
Make sure to put on a hood and to tighten all open areas on outer shell jacket so that snow does not get past your clothing.
Use a shovel to remove snow.
1. Begin by digging the entrance.
- When doing so, start by digging downward so that the entrance is lower than the sleeping area. This allows heat to rise making for a warmer shelter compared to a sleeping area level with the entrance.
- Make the entrance at least three feet long
2. Continue to dig out the remainder of the shelter.
- After digging out the entrance, dig upward. WARNING: Make sure to remove snow from the entrance frequently to avoid getting blocked inside the
Introduction
Snow camping is a much different form of camping than its counterparts – dry and wetland camping. This excursion encompasses building a shelter, staying dry, and ultimately staying warm. A quinzee is a shelter made of snow that offers protection from the outside weather through its elevated floor, insulation, and all around protection. It is one of many forms of snow shelter and with the proper tools, practice, and conditions can be an effective survival or enjoyment housing medium.
Benefits
• Prevent hypothermia
• Protection from severe weather
• Fun winter outdoor activity
Audience
Beginning snow campers who have experience camping but want to broaden their horizons by enduring the cold winter …show more content…
Consider the Surroundings
1. Consider the temperatures
Any weather at or below freezing is optimal for quinzee building.
2. Assess the snow depth and quality
Snow three or more feet deep is optimal for building. Also, if the snow is dry and grainy due to cold conditions it will have to set longer after piling.
3. Determine the size of shelter needed
The shelter will have to be built with consideration to the height and number of individuals. To get an accurate idea, the campers can lie next to one another in the area of build to see how large they need to build.
REMEMBER: An extra four feet should be added to the diameter of the visualized size of the shelter to ensure enough space and to compensate for wall width.
Construction
Step 1: Choose place of construction making sure to consider snow depth.
Step 2: Stomp out a circle around the construction area.
This circle is the circumference of the shelter and will serve as a marker for snow piling.
Step 3: Pile snow into the marked out circle forming a dome shape.
This shape makes for optimal support as the roof of the structure would collapse if it were …show more content…
This step helps solidify and compact the outside surface
Step 5: Cut/break twigs 12-18 inches and stick them into the sides of the structure as shown in
Figure 2.
The twigs provide a guideline for how wide the walls should be.
This step is helpful for guidance when hollowing out the shelter. Step 6: Wait for 90 minutes.
In this time, the snow should settle and begin to form ice crystals making the structure sturdier.
WARNING: If the snow is dry or grainy allow the pile to sit longer than the 90 minutes.
Step 7: Hollow out the structure.
Make sure to put on a hood and to tighten all open areas on outer shell jacket so that snow does not get past your clothing.
Use a shovel to remove snow.
1. Begin by digging the entrance.
- When doing so, start by digging downward so that the entrance is lower than the sleeping area. This allows heat to rise making for a warmer shelter compared to a sleeping area level with the entrance.
- Make the entrance at least three feet long
2. Continue to dig out the remainder of the shelter.
- After digging out the entrance, dig upward. WARNING: Make sure to remove snow from the entrance frequently to avoid getting blocked inside the