# Quinzhee Winter Camp



## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

Video to come soon, but for now a few pictures...

I went out into the national forest with a few goals...I wanted to try and go minimal...I brought a 20 lb bag + sleeping bag and Sleeping pad and wool blanket(these were the main items I needed to survive). I wanted to build my own shelter, I chose to make a quinzhee shelter(I brought a shove for this).

Temperatures got down to -5F(-20C) at night. Inside the Quinzhee things heated up to about 40F(4C).

Here is the finished quinzhee as I was leaving the following morning and i snapped a photo of it. It turned out to be a very effective means of shelter


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Nice. I had to look it up as I have never heard of it before. Did you elevate a bench inside to sleep on? It makes it so much warmer to sleep if the cold air can sit below you or drain out.
Spent more than a few nights in a snow cave. They are pretty amazing.


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

middlefork said:


> Nice. I had to look it up as I have never heard of it before. Did you elevate a bench inside to sleep on? It makes it so much warmer to sleep if the cold air can sit below you or drain out.
> Spent more than a few nights in a snow cave. They are pretty amazing.


It would definitely have helped. I started digging further back and was running into sage brush LOL...So i slept level with the opening.


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## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

have built dozens over the years. one slept 8 people. had dorm rooms off the side and a central gather spot with cooking. as a camping accommodation its really great. as a survival tool, it takes a long time to build. trenches and other simple shelters are faster in emergencies.. but if I have time... quinzee is the way to go. I always build tall enough to nearly stand up in.


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## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

here is one that shows how strong they can be if well made...


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## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

by the way... is that down to joes valley/red pine ridge potters ponds? easy way to get the thickness of your walls right (12 to 18 inches) is to take sticks, break them off the correct length, stick into the outside wall of quinzee then shovel from the inside till you hit the stick. makes uniform walls all the way around including the top. your pack makes a good door to seal off the entrance.. or a small pine tree works as well.


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

Kingfisher said:


> by the way... is that down to joes valley/red pine ridge potters ponds? easy way to get the thickness of your walls right (12 to 18 inches) is to take sticks, break them off the correct length, stick into the outside wall of quinzee then shovel from the inside till you hit the stick. makes uniform walls all the way around including the top. your pack makes a good door to seal off the entrance.. or a small pine tree works as well.


yup thats exactly how I did it  sticks.

naother way is to use a tarp and place it over a pile of snow that is the size of what you want the inside to be and then pile another foot of snow on top of the tarp, then dig out till you find the tarp.


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