The steps to build your quinzhee in the wild are relatively easy and straightforward, although they take a lot of manpower. What’s a quinzhee by the way? It’s an icy shelter you can easily construct to pass the night when you’re out for a snowy adventure. Thanks to this cozy cave, you don’t have to worry when without shelter.
6 Steps to Build Your Quinzhee in the Wild
Seek The Perfect Spot
A snowfield may typically look like an endless wasteland covered with a white sheet. You may thus believe that you can set up a quinzhee just anywhere, but this is wrong. You have to make specific considerations before settling for a spot. What you have to do is find an even piece of land where the snow is not too deep so you can easily dig up. The snow has to be thick enough to be molded, though.
Start Shoveling
Having settled for the appropriate spot to set up camp, you have to make your snow pile. This is done by using a shovel to dig through the snow until there’s enough to shape.
Have it in mind that the amount of snow to be dug out depends on your quinzhee’s size, which is determined by how many people are to live in it. You must dig and dig again if there are quite a number of people & you all don’t want to be sardined in.
Hollow Out the Pile
When you’re satisfied with your snow pile size, the next step is to mold into a dome & then hollow it out. This hollowing is to create the entryway into the quinzhee, so be mindful of its size.
While making this door, pay attention to the reinforcement of the quinzhee. If necessary, poke the walls with twigs or sticks to stay aware of their thickness.
Assess the Interior
So, after hollowing out the mound, you have to check to see if you’re satisfied with your progress so far. Evaluate the inside of your shelter, and a common metric to use to measure success (so far) is the permeability of the walls. If the walls allow sunlight to filter in, then there’s no problem.
This is the step to confirm if the quinzhee will be enough to house everyone who it is meant for. There has to be enough dive for everyone to lie down conveniently.
Make Your Beds
Your snow beds have to be at an elevated angle, with narrow trenches in-between them to propagate airflow. Of course, you should expect that your snow beds will be cold, so you may want to come with 1 or 2 survival blankets or winter sleeping bags.
Make Holes for Ventilation
If you’d like to keep the air in the quinzhee in, you have to make holes through the walls to keep the space ventilated. Note that if you’re living in a little room cramped with others, fresh air is necessary.
Concluding The Steps to Build Your Quinzhee
Like I said earlier, the steps to build your quinzhee are simple enough. You just need to have enough manpower, which is why it is always better to have someone else who can contribute. Mind you; you may have to demarcate your quinzhee as it can be difficult to identify from a distance. You may also have to carry a shovel on your adventures as you may return home & find the entrance covered with snow.