Hey guys! What is your favorite winter shelter? God knows there is a whole lot out there! Personally i like building quinzhee I am staying for a couple of nights. Gives great shelter from the elements, and I am never cold in one of those!
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Hey guys! What is your favorite winter shelter? God knows there is a whole lot out there! Personally i like building quinzhee I am staying for a couple of nights. Gives great shelter from the elements, and I am never cold in one of those!
Will be looking forward to pic'........
Kinda like the "shebang" style myself........If I gonna be there awhile.
Civil war era....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...pscb7c9dd7.jpg
That is an awesome looking shelter!Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
And you look so young hunter...;)
It is an awesome looking shelter!Quote:
Originally Posted by MrFixIt
Just don't let him fool ya on the age. This photo was taken in 1862, he just had it digitally remastered!
LMAO!! :shifty::clap:Quote:
Originally Posted by natertot
At a bare minimum, I like a very warm sleeping bag, and a gortex bivy.
I don't do winter. Not on purpose anyway.
Every winter, at some point, I have to bring the camping gear inside the house in order to survive.
If I am forced into an effort at survival camping, even with a prefabricated roof over my head,
Why should I leave the house, on purpose, in an attempt to freeze my @$$ off?
To each his own.
Hunter63,
What is the tall structure behind the standing fella?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjj
Have to admit....this shelter isn't mine....but what would be preferred in the winter months.
Yes wood chimney....lined with mud....
Actually pretty common in old log construction....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps82757350.jpg
Not meaning to steal the thread, but...........
The snow caves, quinzhee, igloo's, are not favorite of mine..... left over for childhood....and a collapsed "snow fort".......so prefer to be in the open.
It is a chimney.
"Back in the day" you used what you had and often there was no rock to be found, depending n the area you inhabited.
Chimneys were fashioned of wood, just like the cabin, and lined with whatever clay was available.
Lots of house fires back in the day. Almost everyone knew someone that had died in a house fire and almost everyone considered being "burned out" a normal part of pre-central heating life.
They also built the chimney so it leaned away from the building slightly and could be knocked over, away from the house if necessary.
Me to, if the temperature is not to bad that is, guess I am minimalistic when it comes to shelters ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by finallyME
Thats one nice looking shelter in my opinion! ;) not something you throw together when the snowstorm hits you in the face! But looks very comfortable!Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Do you usually stay in one place or do you do any hiking as well? Just writen an article about safely crossing frozen lakes, want to take a look and let me know what you think? You will find it at my profile page under the "Home Page" link
Mostly all my camping these days is at a re-enactment, we call Rendezvous.
Many time periods can be covered....but mostly 1750 to 1860's.
What you are talking about is slightly different type od shelter, a temporary, throw up to spend a night or two......
Didn't mean to steal your thread......but the question was "What is my favorite shelter "....and that would be a tent.....and have used a wall tent, lean-to, as well as a Tipi for winter camping....covering the ground with grass or straw, as your ground cloth freezes to the ground.
So anyone else like snow caves and such?
Very cool hunter63! Don`t worry about it :) A tipi is great if you want a little bit more space, there is no shortage of tipis here in Norway, it`s more or less a traditional housing for the natives up north. Lean to are great, quick to set up, usually just use a tarp or a jerven bag to make it. Snow caves can be risky if you are not careful where you start your digging. But a quinzee is great if all you have is snow :)
Was thinking about writing a short E-book on winter shelters, anything you guys would have found interesting? Just wondering if there is any marked for it :)
Ever built a quinzhee (not sure about spelling?); I have built one almost every winter. It is similar to an igloo, but is not built out of blocks of ice/snow. It is a very sturdy pile of snow about 6-7 feet high that you pile up and then hollow out after it settles for about 3-4 hours. Poke a hole in the top for air. The snow crystallizes and becomes extremely sturdy, so much so that you can stand on the top when the walls are half a foot thick. Ive slept in them, and I find them to be rather spacious and warm.
To build, it takes a lot of initial energy. It is best to pile a lot of snow as quick as possible so that the structure of the snow is consistent and so it is easy to hollow out. Watch out for sweat, and the chance of hypothermia. Best done with a lot of help from several people.
EDIT: Oops, I guess I should have read the OP before posting.
I suspect it is an outdoor fireplace with a heavy clay coating that we cannot see.
Are you talking about natural survival shelters, or what you prefer to use in general, packed in with you?
kyratshooter, ive winter camped a few times here out in the yard . and then asked my self wtf are you thinking. yer not 25 any more
just trying to see i guess how much adventure is left in me i guess. and lighting a couple of candles for warmth really
are you kidding me. it was -20 i guess i,ll try it this winter when it,s not so cold.almost forgot to mention
the cats were using the shelter as a kitty box. try smelling that and try sleeping honest to goodness.uffda
I don't get much practice close to home because in AR, OK, TX it almost never gets down to 0F. But when visiting relatives in Alberta and BC especially in Jasper National Park it can actually feel like winter, well below 0F. A key feature of a winter shelter for me is that it have a floor of dirt or wood not fabric (like 3 season tents) and a vent in the roof that allows for heat (propane, wood stove, or candles with river stone in a pot etc). In relatively mild weather, freezing down to 0F, I have used silnylon tarps but a tiny ember can melt a hole in it and moisture builds up fast on it (frost), so heavier, breathable canvas is better. Portable shelters that work OK for me are 4 season tents or a canvas sock over hammock with a lot of down and heat to reduce the moisture or dry it out if there is no sun the next day.
Hmm. Apparently the term winter shelters is different! For me it's only a little below freezing, I have no idea what extra things would need to be done for those temps. I think the lowest temperatures I ever "camped" in were in Afghanistan.
Speaking of which I just googled Afghanistan to check out the average lows in winter. Wiki makes that place look like a freakin dream vacation. :brickwall: