Digging the Snow Cave

Dig a cave with a small opening that's lower than the inside of the cave so you can keep the heat you generate inside your cave.  We typically dig an opening that's 18" square approximately that goes in for about 18 inches before opening up to the room of the cave.  If you dig uphill, then the heat you generate in the cave will stay up in your cave.  If you dig downhill, the heat you generate will raise up and out of the opening, leaving you cold.

Make the snowcave tall enough to sit up in and you'll be more comfortable, but if you don't have much to keep you warm for the night, the smaller the better to stay warm

• Dig down to the ground, but then leave a thin layer of snow on top of the dirt so it's not muddy inside.
  
  
• Head Lamps are very nice when digging at night.  It's dark in the cave and you need both hands to dig with.
  
  
• If you are digging when it is light outside, stop every so often and block the opening for a minute to darken the cave so you can see if there are any light spots in your ceiling.  If so, be careful in that area.
  
  
• If it’s dark, take a thin, long stick and have someone stick it through from the outside.  Then when the inside person pushes it back to the cave wall, you can tell how thick the wall/roof is.  Thickness required totally depends on the snow, but a good thickness is typically 18 inches or more.
  
  
• It’s nice to be able to sit up in your cave for changing purposes, but I’ve been in a cave that was less than 18” tall before too when that was the best we could do with the snow we had.

Simple snow cave sketch.  Make the entrance lower than where you sleep and you'll stay warmer

When the snow isn't deep enough or packed down enough, you may have to dig a trench and put a tarp over it.  The boys that slept in here stayed plenty warm

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