Quinzee Snow Fort | snow shelter | winter activities

How to make a Quinzee Snow Fort

Quinzee Snow Fort

stuffed garbage bags

sticks

starting the snow fort

piling the snow over the quinzee

16 inches of snow

sticks guide the thickness of the quinzee walls

here's the snow fort doorway

pulling out the bags

A sled helps get the snow out

It's nice and warm in the quinzee snow fort

A snow fort is great fun for kids of all ages. You will create lasting memories and get a good workout. Traditionally called a quinzee, native Inuit people constructed snow forts for temporary shelter during hunting excursions. Let’s learn the secrets winter camping enthusiasts and wilderness survivalists know. Right before a snowstorm is a perfect time to plan ahead, but you can make your snow fort anywhere you have significant snow.

Fill large garbage bags with leaves, shredded paper, crumpled newspaper or grocery bags. You can make a snow fort without using the bags, but they will reduce the work of scooping out the inside.

Gather 20 or more sticks or stiff plant stems about 12 – 14 inches long. Store undercover for later.

Gather your tools. You will need a pipe or broomstick, shovels, some cardboard, and the filled garbage bags.

Level your location. Shovel the snow aside in a 6 – 8 foot circle. Place the pipe in the middle with the bags around it. Think about where your snow fort entrance will be and position the cinched top of the bags on the ground facing the door to make them easier to pull out. Place the cardboard on top and tape to hold in place. The pipe will help you know where the center is as you dig out and provide the top air hole in the finished snow fort. Shovel snow on top of the cardboard to hold in place.

Continue to shovel snow to make a dome around your bags and cardboard. Make the dome at least as high as you want your snow fort to be. A flat roof can collapse – the snow fort needs to be tipi or pyramid shape.

Let it snow! This storm was 16 inches. If you don’t have a snowstorm blowing in, you can build up the snow fort to the desired height by shoveling. Make sure to break up any crusty snow.

When the snow is piled or the storm is done, poke the sticks you gathered into the dome about 10 inches deep. It will look like a snowy porcupine. The sticks will help you know how far to scrape out the inside of the snow fort; when you reach the bottom of the sticks stop digging to maintain the thickness of the wall.

Allow the snow to settle for a day or two. This is called sintering. As the snow compresses it pushes out the air pockets and becomes stronger.

Start digging. Shovel the snow away from your doorway using the center pole as a guide.

Continue digging until you can pull out the bags and the cardboard from the quinzee. Wiggle out the pipe for the top air hole.

Scoop the snow into a sled for easy removal from the snow fort. Continue scraping until you can fit inside or reach the bottom of the sticks. Your breath will create humidity and an icy glaze on the inside of the snow fort. This will make the structure stronger.

You can winter camp out in your snow fort. Use a ground mat and sleeping bag rated for 20 degrees. The inside temperature of a well-built quinzee will be around 30 degrees and can rise to 40 degrees with body heat. Make sure you have appropriate air holes if you use a pack to block the entrance hole as explained in the next step.

If a snow fort is built for shelter or wilderness survival construct a tunnel at the entrance to block the wind. Add air holes at the level of outside snow in addition to your top air hole for cross ventilation airflow. You need to allow carbon dioxide to escape the structure. Always scoop out the quinzee on your knees for safety if it collapses during construction. Snowshoes can help shovel and your pack can be used in place of the bags mentioned above (be sure to take out needed supplies during the sintering process such as dry clothing, food, water, and stove). Break up snow that is used in the walls to prevent uneven layers. If you have soft spots mixed with snow crusts such as found in a snowdrift the structure won’t be as strong and could collapse during a blizzard. Sintering in a survival situation can be as short as 3 hours.

Keep the sidewalls around 10 inches for best results. The dome shape will provide structural strength as it sinters and hardens. If the structure collapses the inserted sticks will help break up snow chunks.

Tips:

Always supervise children and monitor for safe play.
Never walk on the top of your snow fort, as it will collapse.
Check the soundness of the structure daily as weather warms and collapse the fort as needed for safety.

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