|
Post by hawkeye on Oct 6, 2007 11:31:43 GMT -5
I've never had any experience with them. I've read about them, but I dont know if what I read is a bunch of hoooey, or not. I do know that one constructed wrong can kill you.
Every year we have hikers and climbers get lost or stranded in snow storms on Mt Hood and build snow storms. Some of them survive for days, some die overnight, because they didn't know the basics of building a sno cave or they simply weren't prepared with the right gear.
Do any of you know anything about snow caves?
|
|
|
Post by huckleberry on Oct 6, 2007 15:08:43 GMT -5
I made one one time for a bunch of kids school project.........I read about the how to......it worked ok...but it takes time to do.
Not for the areas where the snow is deep enough as it falls....but for lesser snow areas.
Pile the snow up with what ever ya can find....make a large pile of snow ..I made this one between 10and 12 feet wide and round. About 5 feet high. As ya pile the snow push sticks into to.....in the areas that will remain your walls.......I used 1-1 1/2 inch sticks 3-4 feet long.
Once ya get the snow piled....it should be packed pretty tight from just the pilin of it. ......ya then start diggin out the middle of it. Makin a igloo type shelter. Once ya have the interior dug back out use your hands to rub the walls down a bit.....this melts a little of the snow and causes it to become a sheet of ice......builds strength into the walls along with the sticks.
Probably took three of us 4-5 hours to make that thing....but it lasted for a few days and was lots warmer than being outside of it. Gettin out of the wind was a biggy.........Chris even stayed in it one night by himself. He said he was comfortable enough.
Other than that one...I ahve never used one or seen any.
|
|
|
Post by mudtracker on Oct 6, 2007 16:20:56 GMT -5
Built lots of them, all for fun never becuase I needed to use one. The style Huck described works good if the snow isn't deep. If you have deep snoe/drifts you can simply excavate a cave making sure to keep the roof dome shaped and to make the entrance small. You also need a ventilation hole in the roof. Snow never gets colder than freezing point and makes a good insulator so it can be much warmer inside a snow cave than outside in the weather.
|
|