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#76909 - 11/14/06 05:09 PM snow shelter type?
jay2 Offline
Newbie

Registered: 11/14/06
Posts: 35
Loc: idaho
i'm a snowmobiler, and I was wondering what type of snow shelter would be most practical to attempt to build with 1 to 2 hours, tops, of day light left. not wanting to start sweating, evergreens available, plenty of snow, some basic gear in your pack, such as shovel, knife, saw, fire equipment, food water and steel cup, rope, string, bailing wire, etc. 1 man or a party of 3 does that change the shelter type. do you go for the pit, cave, evergreen, spend the time and energy for a big fire? Assuming you have to spend 1 night at least, prob. not more.

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#76910 - 11/14/06 07:50 PM Re: snow shelter type?
thseng Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/24/06
Posts: 900
Loc: NW NJ
#1 A snow cave type shelter (build a big pile of snow or find a deep drift, then dig a cave into it) can be good, but there are a number of disadvantages. It is a lot of work. It is harder without a shovel. It takes a lot time, especially if you give the pile of snow time to harden before you start to dig. You can get pretty wet crawling in and out of it with armloads of snow and knocking snow down on your face as you dig it out. If the snow is very dry and cold it can be hard to get it to pack enough. That being said, it is 100% windproof and well insulated, albeit with 32 degree F walls.

#2 Probalbly better would be a pit type shelter. Dig a pit in the snow, build up the walls as required, roof over with branches for structural support and a tarp and/or evergreen branches and/or snow for insulation.

#3 A shelter constructed from evergreen branches and possibly covered over with snow may be a bit more cozy, but it may take a lot of time and effort to cut and gather enough branches.

#4 Possibly the best would be the tree pit shelter. It's pre-dug and the floor is pre-insulated with pine needles. Roofing material is close at hand.

#5 My last choice would be a big fire out in the open, unless you want keep warm by trudging around all night gathering more wood. Plus, you end up crispy on one side and frozen on the other.

I've personally tried #1, 2 and 5.
_________________________
- Tom S.

"Never trust and engineer who doesn't carry a pocketknife."

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#76911 - 11/14/06 09:46 PM Re: snow shelter type?
SARbound Offline
Addict

Registered: 06/08/05
Posts: 503
Loc: Quebec City, Canada
I'd make a small pit next to a natural object such as a large rock formation or a large downed tree. Then i'd use my tarp, reflective side in, to make some kind of enclosure, and build a fire in this shelter.

I'm pretty sure i'd be fine.
_________________________
-----
"The only easy day was yesterday."

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#76912 - 11/15/06 02:41 AM Re: snow shelter type?
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Thseng, that covers most everything I was going to cover in terms of types of shelter, but I might have put the pit at #1 if you are soloing- small volume means you have to use less heat.

Your biggest challange is staying dry. Most snow mobile gear is very insulative, but if you have to dig, take it off. It is better to be a little cool and not sweating than warm and sweating, becuase once you stop moving, you might as well be sitting on a sheet of metal. You'll be loosing something like four to five times as much heat if your soaked than if you are dry, so while you might yelp when you put that icy cold jacket back on, at least it will warm in a few minutes.

If there is a group, you want a group shelter: cuddle like a man, or freeze to death. Group heat is good heat, particularly if you have a shared moisture barrier and insulation layers below you and insulation above you. Humans evolved in a temperate grassland, we waste most of our heat, so using your buddies as external heat sources is a good thing. You might not get much sleep, but you have a better chance than if each of you were in individual shelters.

Either alone or in a group, looking over the list of gear you've got, you should be good. The only thing I didn't see was a sleeping bag and a moisture barrier bag for it, but that's an item most people don't ride with becuase of the bulk and I guess I can understand it. One thing to keep in mind is that you do have your machines, and while canniblizing them isn't usually the best option, using them to form part of your shelter (wind break/heat reflector/wall, or maybe even an anchor point) isn't a bad idea. Remember, it's a couple hundred pound weight, it isn't going to blow away.

Are you carrying an family band radio? A lot of groups around here use them, so if you hear a machine and start cruising the channels, you might be able to signal someone.

There is no one shelter I'd recommend, because I know if you've got someone injured or who has taken a soaking, if you've got a lot of dead trees around (they are called widow makers for a reason), is it actively snowing, do you expect your lostness to be noticed soon? If I don't have to worry about things landing on me, I might go with the tree shelter. If I do, or can expect a search party, I might do a trench in an open area if the winds aren't horrible. The only reason I'd do the big fire, in any season, is to signal. But in any case, I would stay close to the trail. Never seen a trail that didn't have night traffic unless it was inhumanly cold out, and most trails are generally within a mile or so of a roadway, so you might be able to hike to it in morning.
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

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#76913 - 11/15/06 04:17 AM Re: snow shelter type?
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
I would sure carry a decent sized tarp.

Sue

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