At last, some good news from the Cascade Range:

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Two Visitors Survive Night In Snow Cave

Rangers received several reports of an overdue party of two who went skiing and snowshoeing in the park on Sunday, December 13th. They did not return home Sunday night and were reportedly not prepared to spend the night out. Rangers began a hasty search on Monday morning, called in park and mountain rescue resources, and made arrangements for a helicopter to assist with the search effort. Avalanche conditions, an approaching storm, possible medical complications for one of the individuals, and limited daylight were considerations in stepping up the search. Before search resources arrived on scene, the pair – a man from Kirkland, Washington, and a woman from Wenatchee, Washington – walked out to their car, having spent a cold night in a snow cave. Both were okay.


And they all lived happily ever after.....

That is good news.

The snow cave experience probably won't soon be forgotten.

Snow caves has saved many lives... but I have absolutely no illutions that digging and spending the night in a cave without dedicated gear will be anywhere near comfortable.

First: Unless you're lucky enough to have 100% water proof clothing you will get wet digging. Not wet all over, but your knees, bum and boots will be wet or at least damp. Very few people hike in 100% water proof clothing because they do not breathe well enough (despite marketing statements to the contrary).

Second: You're finally inside the cave, which is much better than the outside. But you're essentially sitting still in your outdoor clothing in a big fridge (temperatures at or just above freezing). And your clothes are wet or at least damp from digging. Sure, it beats dying. But it ain't exactly a good time either.


I've slept in snow caves - but putting on my dry wool underwear, entering my warmest sleeping bag which is on two ground sheets and eating half a pound of medium/rare steak with all accessories (including red wine) has very little in common with their emergency shelter...

+1

Every time I've dug a snow cave I have gotten soaking wet - with sweat, head to toe, even if I try to pace myself. If I didn't have a change of long underwear and a dry sweater I would be shivering from the get-go. And yes, you have to have at least some really good ground insulation and a bivvy sack to crawl into, otherwise you are sleeping in the proverbial refrigerator.

The one part I've been able to improve on from my first snow caving experiences has been keeping my gloves dry - I wear rubber gloves under my insulated gloves, the kind you use to scrub dishes (the gloves they make for spreading grout over floors seem to do the best, though a friend uses an extra heavy pair used for chemical spill cleanup). Hands can get cold, but keep a dry pair always in reserve, you will have a dry pair of insulated gloves to put them in eventually. Its usually after snow camping that younger Scouts learn to carry 2-3 pair of gloves into the snow, whether they're building snow caves or not.

If you always carry a sleeping bag and insulation above the snow line, I much prefer a tent for shelter. The most I have ever had to do is build up a wind block to stop prevailing winds hitting the tent wall. And it also seems much easier to me to hollow out an existing tree well for enough space to sleep or pitch a tent, rather than to start from scratch building a snow cave. Snow caves seem to go better with more builders too.

Not to hijack the OP, but more good SAR news:

FNP Search Story - Frederick, Maryland


Pete

Think you guys have got it right. To be comfortable at all, you need to be able to put on dry clothes, gloves and socks AFTER you've made the snow cave.

other Pete