Quinzee is not a dirty word

“I'll make this a gear thread... what the heck.

We got a little snow this last weekend so I took the kids out in the side yard and I taught them how to build a qunizee. They were amazed at how warm it was inside (but it was their imagination, the snow was starting to melt already). My oldest wanted to sleep inside it the first night... that's the spirit!

I am curious if others are into making and using snow shelters? I learned to make a quinzee in Boy Scouts. I have never built an igloo but have heard these block building tools are very nice and work well. I plan on teaching this to the Boy Scouts this winter.. the same place I learned it.

Man, was I whipped when it was done... whipped and wet. I forgot how wet the guy gets who has to dig out the inside of the quinzee! You want the job of piling up the snow if at all possible in my opinion. It's as much work if not more work but hollowing it out is a messy job.

I use a "snow claw" snowshovel, sort of a piece of plastic like a rectangular plate with hand grips to use as a shovel. It's great for backpacking (very light) and the BEST for hollowing out a quinzee since you can use it easily in close quarters. It's not as good for moving large amounts of snow into a pile but will work with patience.

The one I made for the kids wasn't technically a proper quinzee. I didn't make the shelves for sleeping in. I opted to make more room for kids. Also I made the walls a little thinner than I would since insulation wasn't really that important. Also, I made the entrance a little easier to get in and out of for the kids. Other than that we sat down after dinner and I had them outline the basic construction process and they all nailed it on the head. The next one that is made they do all the digging!

:)”

“Used to make them as a kid in Pa.....but we called some of em 'snow forts'.....and, with freezing rain on top of snow, we could also cut 'bricks' out and construct em that way.”

“Oh, if you don't know what a quinzee is use Google. I am sure there are a number of good pages on their contruction, pros and cons versus igloos (there is a clue as to what a quinzee is), trail tails on their use, etc. They really are a lot of fun to build!”

“Oh, yeah, the kids called it a "snow fort" as well. :)

So long as they know how to keep the snow insulating (not packing it down) and how to use sticks to set the wall thickness they can call it whatever they like... :)

Funny, chappy. :)”

“the other half of the fun was trashing the other kids 'fort' to declare the winners of the battle......haha”

“Jimmy San, I built one in Dc when we had good snow. I never finished hollowing it out. Next big snow we get I am making another...Sounds like you had fun.”

“but I've built a lot of igloos. An igloo is a lot of work too. My personal best was set 2 years ago on the Norcal Snowshoe trip.

http://community.webshots.com/album/117510565XSPMsY

Good snow and great depth, it took me 3 hours from start to finish, solo! Big enough to sleep 3 and tall enough to stand up. It usually takes 2 of us more like 4-6 hours (depending on snow depth and consistency). Being more of a builder than a burrower, I have a preference for the igloo, though I am sure in certain circumstances it would be impossible to build and igloo but still possible to build a quinzee.”

“I cut down the "set" time, by using 1-2 inch deadfall across the roof. I then add another 10- 12 inches over the top. When I hit sticks, I know I'm done. It seems to support the snow better and quicker that way.

It's a great skill to know, and a blast to make them, even if just for practice. Here in upper Wisconsin, I'm still waiting to make the first of the year.”

“Really great pics trailbum. If we ever get any good snow I may try my hand at an igloo. I am certain we won't get snow deep enough to cut blocks from. Anyway thanks for posting them pic, I really enjoyed them.”

“Just as an FYI, my core muscles (abs, etc) are totally screaming these last few days from digging out the quinzee this last weekend. Talk about good exercise! I am such a tub!”

“very cool, its unlikely that I will ever get the chance to build one, but the google searches have been interesting reading.”

“I taught winter survival camping in WI for the "Becoming an Outdoorswoman "program and had a ball doing it. Most of the women had never done any kind of hardcore activities like that and they really got a kick out of the classes. One of the ways I used to make the qinzee was the old build mound, put 12 inch long sticks in mound so you stop digging when you hit a stick, then hollow mound. My favorite way is just gauge the thickness by the color of the snow. Dark blue faint light is ok, light blue light is ok, gray light very bad, prepare for collapse. I prefer snowcaves of quinzees, less work, much warmer. One class session the women that decided to stay out overslept and almost missed breakfast. It was 22 below that night and they were all more comfortable in the shelters than in their beds.”

“I got an email (a nice one) pointing out that it's spelled "quinzhee". I think it's neat that Google has as many good web pages for the word spelled incorrectly as it does for the word spelled correctly. I have no idea which is the correct spelling but thanks to the person that sent the email.”

“Correction, I know now that the person that sent the email is correct. Quinzhee is Inuit for snow shelter.

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/1066/543quinzhee.html

You learn something new every day. I may go back to calling them "snow forts"... :)”