Snow Shelter

Snow Shelter

Supplies: 10x12 2mil plastic & (10) 2-section 30-36" tent poles

I think I would make the entry come back downhill, parallel to trench,

If in a survival situation, could cut cedar/fir bows, & make cross pieces of branches & use whatever plastic I can find, if any, or just make branches thicker for roof. could make it smaller to conserve heat, rather than being able to sit up in it. Could use the permeable reflective bivy bag w/ bows if no sleep bag. Could make mylar bivy bag into tube tent as I did last time. There would be a vent at each end. Could add warmth by draping 1-2 space blankets over support poles in place of/in addition to plastic.

--Dig trench & lay plastic down in it, flowing out of both sides,

--then fill in w/ bows, sleep bag, etc,

--then put support poles across,

--lap the downhill side over poles,

--then lap uphill side over that,

--then pile 6-12" of snow over top for insulation.

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Ben Anderson: This is very similar to the snowpit/tent shelter I was envisioning.

http://www.climbing.com/skill/tech-tip-alpine-the-ultimate-alpine-kitchen/

I had never heard of this before but have been familiarizing myself with tarp-tents lately and ran into this. I really like the idea.

GA: That looks like a good place to get in out of the wind. It will not provide much insulation, like a foot of snow would, in really cold weather.

I'm losing track, but I think the trips I've been on were:

yr1--Tried to build a simple 1man T-Tunnel, but ran into ground, so slept in big cave w/ 3 other men

yr2--Built the 2man T-shelter ( TajMahal )---6hrs to build for 2 people w/ sitting up on beds

yr3--by self---Block Trench & & Tarp trench

I tried to pile snow on the tarp for more insulation, but it was on a hillside & the tarp was slippery, so it all slid off. I didn't stay overnight.

yr3 w/ Troop---slept in 4-season tent. Experimented with reflective bubble wrap---Tent was cold, & it made me sweat>cold

I also built a Snow Trench w/ reflective tarp top for Ripley --similar to one above, but using reflective tarp on top.

yr4--Trench triple-Tent--I got there late, so had to sleep away from troop. I used plastic drop cloths as a barrier on top, & as an inner tent. I draped a space blanket in pup tent style over me. no sitting up area. Not having 1+ft of snow on top made it pretty cold, but the 3 layers of air separation made it not too bad.

Designs after that--I want something fast, easy to make, that doesn't depend much on the type of snow, using a minimum of man-made materials to make it easier. I wanted a shelter that has room to at least sit, probably not stand, out of the weather. something that is well insulated, & conserving heat from body & small source. This is one prelim plan.

If we were camping at a place that allows us to break trees, it would open up possibilities of things to try.

I would like to have something that could be easily done that requires a minimum of work, a minimum of supplies, is easy enough to pack that I would be automatically taking it on a day hike. It should be well insulated, besides conserving/reflecting body heat.. This implies use of some man-made materials like tarp or space blanket, to ease the task. I'd like to be able to do it above/below snow level. If there is very little snow, it could be just piled on top easily.

Anyway, since you mentioned it, these are some of the ideas I've been playing with.

The design you sent looks like it would block the weather, but be cold because it is tall & the top is exposed to the wind.

But you said your sleeping bag is really good, so you aren't as worried about the temp.

The pic you sent shows standing & sitting---Where would you put your sleeping area? Make sitting area a wider shelf, since the floor would be coldest?

Anyway---fun to exchange ideas.

Gaaren