Winter camps and snow shelters (picture heavy!)

[Stuart]

browsing through the gallery and recent threads it looks like lots of people got out and did some snow shelter building this winter (even here in the UK!)

So let’s see your photos of what you got up to in the snow this winter, show us your winter camps and snow shelters and tell us a little bit about them.

Whist visiting friends this winter I got the opportunity to build some snow shelters:

Our Quinzee:

Which sleeps 2 with plenty of room:

And my first Iglukaktok!:

Cutting the blocks:

Getting them in place:

With some expert guidance:

Almost done:

View of the finished roof from the inside:

A raised platform inside for the bed and to allow the cold air somewhere to pool beneath the sleeping area:

Testing the roof (best to do this after you have finished using it as a shelter, just in case!):

 

[tomtom]

Fantastic pictures Stuart, thanks for showing them!

 

[loz.]

The Igloo at night is a beautiful picture. Christmas Card image for sure !

 

[CLEM]

Great stuff mate,great pics too!

 

[tedw]

Thanks, great pics! Very envious!

Just to go off-topic - is that a MSR Titan kettle rigged with a hanging bale? How did you do it?

Ted W

 

[jon r]

Thats a real nice shelter! I cant beleive how strong it is! You can stand on it! Looks nice and light inside too. Great job!

Thanks for showing us!

Jon

 

[Greg]

Nice shelters and photos mate, I love the Igloo it was the one snow shelter I never got to build, but always wanted to, on my trips to Norway with the Army.

How long did it take you to build?

Very Impressed!!:You_Rock_

 

[themac]

Awesome pictures, was there another pic where the roof gave in on the guy standing on it ? ;-)

 

[C_Claycomb]

Which sleeps 2 with plenty of room:

Yeah, but I bet Mors wasn't mad enough to join you!

Nice pictures! I particularly like the stomped on snow quarry. Good stuff.

 

[Gailainne]

Who needs stained glass windows, best cathedral in the world.

Stephen

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

Great post and thanks for sharing!

Cheers,

Phil.

 

[Stuart]

Just to go off-topic - is that a MSR Titan kettle rigged with a hanging bale? How did you do it?

It is a modified Titan kettle, well spotted! Its my favourite cooking receptacle and travels with me everywhere.

There are probably better ways of doing it than the way I did, but I used a high temperature epoxy to attach to short steel tubes to the sides beneath the rim, then ran though these tubes a length of stainless steel wire with spade connectors on the ends.

When not in use as a bail arm the wire pulls though and connects together via the spade connectors under the base of the pot, keeping the bail wire stowed and securing the lid in the process.

Doesn’t make much sense written down, I'll try to get some pictures of it up at some point in the future

Awesome pictures, was there another pic where the roof gave in on the guy standing on it ? ;-)

Thank you, no it held solid, the structure is extremely strong by design. There are Inuit accounts that tell of Iglukaktok taking the weight of curious polar bears!

How long did it take you to build?

if you have suitable wind driven snow (we didn’t so we had to pack it and leave it overnight to consolidate) it only takes a few hours to actually build a Iglukaktok

 

[Stuart]

no one else has any pictures of winter camps?

come on i know I have seen pictures in thread and up in the gallery! show us what you've been up to.

 

[Squidders]

this is the start of the fire, the logs to my left are to get it going and right in the foreground are the all nighters

Finland a week and a half ago... the snow was powder and it was impossible to make any kind of shelter from it.

The locals pile up loads of powder and hose it with water to make theirs

 

[tomtom]

Looks like a lovely spot Joe!

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

[Finland a week and a half ago... the snow was powder and it was impossible to make any kind of shelter from it.

Lars someone in a ray mears prog. shovelled powder into a pile, came back an hr later and then dug into it. The snow re-crstyalised apparently.

Great photos.

Nick

 

[spamel]

Nice igloo Stuart, I understand an igloo is the only arch that can be built without using a formwork. Quite amazing really!!