Spring is truly here in my AO it seems. Old man winter has retreated for now.
What winter fieldcraft did everyone here get up to?
I tried this year building a Quinze
Here is the interior with a bivi bag
Construction photos
It was quite claustrophobic digging it out!
Making this yourself:
It has to be powder snow!
Put your pack in the snow, hopefully you have a waterproof pack cover.
Next take your trusty shovel and start shoveling.
You want it ideally the length of your body - though a bit shorter is quicker and just means you will have to curl when you sleep.
Height wise is a bit varied, I think around 2-3 feet - when you do it you start to gauge it quite quickly!
Once you are happy get a selection of sticks about a foot long and push them in.
Now excavate!
When you reach the end of the stick you know to stop excavating.
Ideally you then want to build a slightly raised area for you to sleep on and create a cold sink to trap the cold air.
(Skunkhunter said I should jump right in so I hope this is ok...)
If anyone has any questions on construction for next winter I'll do my best to answer. Keen to see what ya'll did and what you learned this winter!