During my second month-long deployment to Alaska we were required to spend a night out in an improvised shelter. One squad spent the better part of a day making a super lean-to, only to find out that they all didn't fit.

I showed my guys how to make a simple snow grave. Lie down, stand up, make it 2 feet longer and 2 feet wider than your imprint. Shovel the snow out with your snow shoe, then pack down what's left. We had air mattresses back then and insulated our sleeping bags with our extra clothing underneath. We put some sticks across the hole, draped our ponchos over the sticks and used some snow to pack down the edges. To close off the entrance, we used our wet weather jackets (no one carried the pants). Snug as a bug in a hole.

This was a really quick and dirty survival hole as it were. No telling how long we "could" have used them for. But for the one night, they were fine.