How to Build an Igloo (and Other Snow Shelters)

The weather outside is frightful. Actually, it's worse than that. It's nastier than the septic tank at a Mexican restaurant. As the first real jolt of winter goes trotting across our fair continent, most of us are agonizing over holiday travel plans. Snow can certainly disrupt flights and drives, but it also poses a dire threat to outdoorsmen.

Hunting seasons are winding down, but there are still the die-hard who look at a cold front in late December as a great last chance to find a trophy or meat for the freezer. For deer hunters stalking a set of tracks in fresh snow is one of life's great thrills. Of course when tracking a deer like Sherlock Holmes it's possible to get disoriented. If the sun starts to sink and you're lost the best thing to do is dig in. Buiid a new home in the snow. And the upside? You don't even need 20% for a down payment. A brand new home for the price of a cold night of sleep. Living in luxury, I say.

So in the distant land of the next page I'll list out three basic snow shelters and how to build them. And there's bonus footage: I dug up a Canadian short film from 1949 showing two First People (that's Canadian for Native American) constructing a bona fide (that's Latin for wowee) igloo.

So, first of all whenever you travel alone in the woods you should leave a detailed plan and map of where you're heading with a real person and then a second copy in the front seat of your car. That's so when you're lost the search team can figure out easily where you were heading.

Snow Trench
If the snow is deep, dig a trench about one foot longer than your height and three feet deep. Line the bottom of the trench with leaves and branches, which will be your comfy mattress. Orient the trench so that your feet will be facing downwind. Dig a hole in the wall where your feet will be to use as an entrance. Next, lay branches closely together over the top and then cover them with a thick layer of snow. Voila, an insulated snow trench.

Snow Cave
Not quite as high-tech as the Bat Cave, but it will keep you warm for a night. This is better-suited for two people, honeymoon suite anyone? Find a large snow drift and start digging from the downwind side. One person should dig and the other should remove the excess snow. Once you've dug in, then dig up. A snow cave needs a floor and then a raised area for sleeping. Once you've cleared off a sleeping platform, drive a small hole through the ceiling for ventilation and cuddle up.

Igloo
For this one we've got a guest lecturer. I've never built an igloo so let's watch two arctic natives whip up one very quickly.