building a quinzhee snow survival shelter part 2 of 2

In this video (2 of 2) I will build a quinzhee, a snow survival shelter to protect you in harsh winter conditions. It is basically a pile of settled and optionally compressed snow that you hollow out / excavate to make a space to provide shelter and protection from the elements outside. I built this small one in the mountains of Austria and used it in temperatures ranging from -10 degrees Celcius to -20 degrees Celcius (14 to -4 degrees Fahrenheit) with snow and wind on two consecutive days. The one I built gave about 10 to 12 degrees Celcius of extra warmth (-20 outside, -8 inside) which can mean all the difference in a survival situation. You can use a man made sleeping pad or natural materials for insulation from the ground and you can optionally build a simple door or windbreak to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. You'll see the ins and outs of building a quinzhee, how to construct it and what to watch out for. I'll be crawling in it, you'll see me getting in there and doing some temperature checks in the night both inside and outside. I'll finish it off with a good old destruction test. You can build one of these on your own in about 30 to 45 minutes in perfect conditions with the right tools. It took me a little longer because of the filming and goofing around.There is danger in building these shelters as any snow structure might collapse if not properly built. This is not a disclaimer, if it collapses on you, you're just sh*t out of luck. good luck sueing me :-).

Category:

Education

Tags:

• quinzhee
• kwinzi
• quinzee
• snow
• shelter
• cave
• iglo
• protection
• survival
• fallkniven a1
• fenix ld10
• north face superlight
• bivy bag
• how to
• demo
• tutorial
• austria
• thermarest
• piss bottle
• nalgene winter

[newtubetubetube]

Why not put snow over a saplings shelter. There was plenty of conifer to make a nice support for snow.

[zyhano]

@newtubetubetube I just wanted to do this type of shelter, I've got good footage in a new review of a 'saplings shelter' and the esee junglas in Finland. Check back in about 2 weeks, it'll be up by then

[paintbranch100]

Enjoyed watching thanks for posting

[zyhano]

@paintbranch100 thanks brother, much appreciated that you let me know! I've got a new review coming up on the esee junglas in Finland, lots of snowshelters in there too. And loads of chopping lol

[paintbranch100]

@zyhano can't wait to watch

[zyhano]

@paintbranch100 it's coming :) editing is taking some time

[snatchhog]

-10c? thats t-shirt weather!

[oogp]

weren't you afraid the snow would cave in on u?

[NorthSurvival]

Nice video, i like it the shelter, and winter is always great, right. You make great videos.

Best Regards

/NorthSurvival.

[008808800]

Sometimes there's freezing weather without or very little snow. Everyone should always carry a tarp, thermal blanket (like carrying a napkin) small saw, make sure you have something to start a fire, or bring along a candle (wax is good) and some dryer lint (fire starter).

I LOVE quinzhees, I've made my fair share of them, but it’s been few and far between I could. In the US I challange you to find me an area where a quinzhee would actually come in handy, vs the other items I mention.

[008808800]

@newtubetubetube Lightweight tarp. Going where there's snow? If temps are too cold, snow is dry, it wont pack. You'll try to pack dust. If it’s deep enough, you can pack it, if not, pffft no go. Best you carry thermal blankets with you on a hike or where ever you’re going. You can have little now, yet sub 0 temps. Bring a candle, saw, reflective blanket a tarp and some energy bars with ya, and you’ll be ok. Oh yeah, bring a shovel, lol, in case you “can” make a quinzhee!

[brynmag]

How do you stop build up of snow acros the entrance?

[catascouts]

I built a snow pit, something like this but smaller, and slept in at -17 C. My head was inside and it was warmer indeed.

[catascouts]

Sweet cave. Nice mountains there!

[multictfxcftw]

@Takiado I did that EVERY winter from 5 years up. ALONE

[Takiado]

Id be so afraid of it collapsing on me >.<