We went out last weekend and like anytime you get a dump of snow you get poor visibility. Since the storm was making it impossible to ride we thought we would time ourselves to really see how long it takes to get shelter. Like any of us mountain riders we all know there is a risk of spending the night and need to know how to survive it. You will find out in a hurry what you are missing and what would be nice to have.
We started on a back of a hill so you could dig in rather than down so much. As we started one of our riders pulled his shovel handle out only to find he did not have his shovel head. We ended up doing this all with one shovel. Total time spent was 2 1/2 hours. So keep this in mind if you are exhausting yourself all afternoon fighting stuck sleds etc. You will need a energy reserve and TIME to get this built. I would say NO later than 3 pm you had better start building your shelter. Nothing worse than being cold and wet at 4 and most likely turning a 2 plus hour job into a miserable 4 due to lack of mobility.
Must haves, shovel, saw (long sawzall blade) prefer two candles, space blankets for bedding and a probe.
We were confident the snow was deep enough but if you are concerned probe for depth before you dig your pit. Once determining snow depth start by digging your cold sink pit. This will double as your hallway and cold sink. This needs to be to a depth of 5'. This is why if you use a hill you can dig 3' then go level in which will get to the depth. Once your start to go horizontal start sawing out your blocks rather than dig. I ran my saw in and made each one a foot by foot. This will really start going fast at this point. Be sure and save your blocks as they will be reset over your entrance when done. (be sure and leave the lower part of access open) Once you get 7' horizontal into the hill you can cut the bed platforms on each side. We made ours roughly 24" off the floor but about any height can be used as long as they are elevated out of the cold sink. Be sure and dome the ceiling and use your probe to keep an opening in the roof open all night. Use your space blankets to keep a barrier between you and the snow bed.
Anyway it was good practice and kinda nice to know you can build them rather quickly if you need to. We had 4 people in this one and did not have the beds completed for all 4 just 2 that is why its crowded in the one pic. Notice in one pic from outside they are sitting on the beds on each side. Btw, with two candles it will reach temps of 45*.
It was good practice and I would recommend it to everyone to at least try it so you know you can do it if needed and how long it will take you. It could save your life someday.
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