Building A Quinzee
Title: Building A QuinzeeAuthor: Steve Nicolini
Rating: ****
This article talks about the materials, techniques and crucial components of building a quinzee. It tells you the process of building an effective shelter in steps along with pictures and diagrams for visual reference. The quinzee should be approximately the height of a tall person and be 4 feet wider than the tallest person residing in the shelter. It should also have a dome shape, as a flat roof will collapse. Let the pile set before excavating the snow to insure stable walls. Placing sticks as markers of wall thickness plays an essential role to ensure the roof of the shelter does not collapse due to insufficient thickness, explains Nicolini. When shoveling the snow out of the shelter it is important to not dig past the sticks you have placed. You also want to ensure you have an elevated sleeping platform so you are sleeping where the warm air is trapped. The last crucially important thing is to add ventilation holes to ensure air flow. Placing a backpack at the entrance can eliminate cold hair flow to the shelter. Ninolini explains these shelters are great group shelters and are fun and easy to build.
This article has shown me the importance of adding the sticks around the quinzee before beginning shoveling it out as they are markers of wall thickness. While building our shelter we have been flattening the roof to create a surface to throw snow on, but I now realize in the end it should be a dome shape. The article mentions placing a backpack in the entrance during the night to create a "door" something that never occurred to me and is a great idea. The article has made me more excited to spend the night in a quinzee, and possibly continue making them throughout my life.
Reference:
Nicolini, Steve. (2015). Building A Quinzee [online] Available at: http://www.wildernesscollege.com/quinzee.html
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