Again, look to traditional native shelters and for that matter mimic the animals. A well constructed shelter is suprisingly robust if built well with proper angles to shed wind,rain etc. Julia Butterfly survived a massive El Nino storm, harrassing timber company helicopter that deliberately hovered within feet of her and 738 days of occupation. Her shelter consisted of two 6'x 4' platforms with cheap blue tarps on a scrap wood frame secured on a main crossbrace with climbing rope and nails!

Frenchy:

Thanks, that's the one!

Bountyhunter

Go with proven technology -- the teepee.

Simple to build, proven design, portable, parts can be imporvised...

tro

Saw a documentary with Julia Roberts about the Mongol nomads in Siberia. They had a portable round hide covered shelter that was put together with no fasteners except for the cord that wraped the skins around the final structure.

I don't know if instructions for something like that is on the web, but it looked very solid and comfortable.

Bountyhunter

A yurt? Round with vertical sides & a pointed roof?

There is at least one company here (Pacific Yurts) that makes them, and some people who have used them "temporarily" say they're in no hurry to leave them, as they're very comfortable. Some of the state parks have them & rent them out.

But I think they're a bit too complicated as an emergency shelter. The teepee is simpler.

Sue

It's a Yurt, Large center pole, surrounding expanding wooden frame and heavy felt. They are available @ $5,000

Chris:

Seems to me you could acquire a whole lot of roughly tanned cowhides and poles by yourself for less than $5,000.00 and it wouldn't "Yurt" your finances. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Susan:

The ones in the documentary were not that pointed, more dome shaped.

I have been to a website that showed the setting up of a tee pee. Based on this threads stated "Long Term Survival Shelter Ideas", I like the design of the Yurt primarily because of the lower roof line which would tend to use heat more efficiently.

Bountyhunter

Reminds me of an old joke.

A guy went in to see a psychiatrist. He explained that he had these recurring dreams, one night he would dream that he was a Tepee, and the next night a Yurt. He asked the doctor what the problem was.

In a thick german accent, he said "I know vat der problem ist. You're two tents. Try to relax."

Oh, the yurts seem much more comfortable, and the lower ceiling would make it easier to heat. The problem is that they're time-consuming to build, if you have to include collecting the materials. The sides are many pieces of wood, criss-crossed (see central photo here: http://pacificyurts.com/what/default.aspx ), and the roof supports might be hard to get into position without help. And I believe the roof supports are held together at the top with a cable. You'd really have to plan ahead.

That said, I would still love to have one!

Sue