Just about every survival manual shows how to build a snow cave. But the reality is that most people don’t have the skill, tools or time to effectively use this technique. This book, “Snow Caves For Fun and Survival,” by Ernest Wilkinson, may help.
by Leon Pantenburg
One of my favorite Boy Scout outings is Winter Skills Day, when we go out in the gorgeous Oregon backcountry to practice building emergency and survival shelters in deep snow. One of the more interesting lessons has come from building igloos and snow caves.
I was able to quickly excavate this snow cave, using a piece of plexiglass and a small shovel. There was plenty of room for another person to work at the same time.
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Igloos, IMO, require skill, a lot of time, building technique and the correct snow conditions. Most people in a survival situation will have none of these things. This rules out igloos as a practical survival shelter for the average person.
Same thing with snow caves – we see a drawing in the book, and there is little discussion about the realities of burrowing into a snow drift to make a shelter. The general idea, according to most authors, is to dig sideways into a drift, and then up. A minimum of two to three cubic yards of snow must be dug out and removed out the small entrance hole.
Several problems crop up immediately when using this model:
- The small entrance severely limits the digger’s ability to remove snow.
- Only one person can effectively work at a time.
- The cramped quarters limit what tools can be used, and the efficient use of them.
- The snow in a drift is usually hard packed and difficult to remove.
- You will probably get really wet wallowing around in the hole while attempting to shovel out the loose snow.
To further test conventional snow cave techniques, I asked my 17-year-old son, Dan, to make a snow cave by himself on an outing. A skilled outdoorsman, Dan has helped build many igloos and emergency shelters in deep snow, and knows exactly what to do. But even with the proper tools, and youthful enthusiasm and endurance, it still took over two hours to make a single-sized snow cave.
When the cave was completed, Dan was tired, wet and cold. Spending the night in that shelter, in his condition, would have been a rough experience.
“Snow Caves” can help you learn how to build and use these shelters. Author Wilkinson is a former Search and Rescue member, and an experienced Colorado mountain guide, specializing in snowshoe treks and winter camping. (This post started out as a book review, but I wanted to test some of his techniques first!) According to the book liner notes, this backcountry experience lead Wilkinson to develop his own shelter-making techniques that save time and energy and increase comfort and safety.
Wilkinson’s technique is simple: cut out blocks from the front of the drift to the width of the cave. Excavate. Then, use the removed snow blocks to create a front wall.
These scouts were well-protected from the weather in this snow cave.
I tried this technique at the Boy Scouts annual Winter Skills Day. Taking only some minimal tools, (a piece of Plexiglas, machete and small shovel) I started digging into the wall of snow next to the parking lot. Using the Plexiglas, I quickly outlined the width and height of the cave.
Within 15 minutes I was about three feet into the bank. (Another person working would have speeded things up – I could handed the snow blocks out more easily.)
Once the desired depth and width was achieved, it would have been simple to dig out a trench in the middle for a cold well, thereby creating two benches for sleeping.
But within half an hour, working alone, the cave was big enough for two people to take shelter from a storm. Blocking in the front was quick and easy. Maybe most importantly, I didn’t get wet or expend a tremendous amount of time and energy in the process.
Covering the front with a tarp was also an option. With my space blanket and tarp from my Ten Essentials kit, and a candle to heat the interior, it would have been possible to survive a night out in the deep snow. It could even be reasonably comfortable!
Like any survival technique, this should be tried and practiced before you consider a snow cave a viable survival shelter for you.
Check out “Snow Caves For Fun and Survival” here.
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