Building a Quinzhee AKA Quinzee
The quinzhee is a makeshift shelter made from snow. Unlike an igloo which is built from bricks made of ice the quinzhee is made from fallen settled snow. It is important when determining a location for your shelter that you destroy any natural drifts or rifts in the snow and build on as flat an area as possible. These structures are intended to be temporary necessities and not for long term use. They simply are not stable enough to use for the long term. When using one in a survival scenario you should always insure you keep a shovel with you to dig out in case of a cave in. They do however, create a rise in temperature inside that is survivable in a stranded crisis situation. The graphic below gives instruction for building one with just the materials around you. If you are fortunate enough to have tarp and tent poles among your supplies this method taken from Wikipedia could be faster and safer.
Much time and effort is used to hollow out the center of a Quinzee. Instead, make a hollow volume before you pile snow. Use 6-10 old fiberglass tent poles and a heavy blue or silver tarp to create a dome. Duct-tape the centers of the poles together for strength. Do not let the tarp edges extend too far from the dome. PIle snow >2 feet deep, using sticks to measure depth. Let solidify for >2 hours. Tunnel under dome, remove tent poles, remove tarp, add an airhole, and then create another dome. Use a backpack for a door.
The inside of a shelter can easily rise above the freezing point. Smooth the inside roof and walls to prevent dripping. Scrape the walls and roof of the cave to make it smooth. Irregular, bumpy surfaces will drip water onto the cave floor, instead of directing water down the walls to gather around the edges.
These structures are intended for emergency use only and are not safe to use for play.
graphic from treks in the wild
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