Winter is coming in the northern hemisphere, time to ask some hard-hitting questions.
Are you a burrower with a hollowed out snow drift? A mason who shapes and packs each block? Do you have snowball caches in case of attack?
Share your style and techniques.
I’ve never seen snow except through an airplane window
Pile the snow into a big mound, pack it down, then hollow out the middle. Camping overnight is optional.
This is the way. I grew up farther north (compared to now) with decent mounds from snow plows so it was just a matter of waiting for those and then tunneling into them.
These days I shovel the snow from a larger area to build my mound before tunneling. Kids love it regardless ☺️
This is delightful. I haven’t quinzhee camped since I was a teenager, but once my friends and I made one tall enough to stand in with the help of a friendly gravekeeper and his backhoe.
Thanks! This has become a January tradition with my kids. We are trying a different winter camp location in 2026, and I really hope there will be enough snow to do this again!
You still get…snow?
That even stays?I steal it from behind the ice rink.
There hasn’t been enough snow for that in a while. Many years ago I used some big plastic boxes to pack and mold snow bricks though, and that really workes great for build a little “iglo”. Stood for over a week, was the last thing that melted in the garden. Good memories :)
What hell is “snow?”
In this context? Cocaine.
If only…
I build quinzhees, a snow shelter that can be built at any temperature below freezing. Once the temperature gets below minus 5, snow no longer packs. Quinzhees can be built at any temperature.
