Build a Snow Fort!
While it feels cold to the touch, believe it or not, snow is actually a wonderful insulator. Animals such as voles and mice live under a soft blanket of snow in the subnivean environment, away from the severe chills of winter winds and plunging temperatures at night. If the temperature is a frigid –40º C above the snow, it can be as much as 36 degrees warmer or –4º C, right at ground level. Voles and mice take advantage of this blanket of insulation by creating a network of tunnels underneath the snow.
You too can experience the warmth of snow by building a traditional snow fort or quinzhee. Here is how:
When the snow is more than four inches (20 cm) deep, use shovels to mound up snow as high as you can — a big pile about 2 meters high and 4 meters across is ideal. Use recycling boxes or empty garbage pails to help you move the snow from areas that are a bit further away. Make sure your pile slopes gently. Smooth the sides into a symmetrical dome shape. Here is an important tip: You must leave the mound for a minimum of at least three hours! This will give the snow crystals time to sinter (bind). If you can, leave it overnight. After the pile has settled, find a series of sticks six inches (30 cm) long and push them into it so that one end is at the surface and the other end is deep inside. There should be a stick every three feet (1 m) or so over the entire surface of the quinzhee. Next, begin hollowing out the mound. Make sure you have snow pants and an insulated jacket with a hood; this can be cold and wet work! Use your shovel and start scooping snow out. Have your children haul the snow away from the entrance. Keep digging until you come across the butt end of one of the sticks. The sticks serve as a guide so that you know the walls are of an even and consistent thickness. When the quinzhee is sufficiently hollowed out, use a larger stick or your fist (5 inches / 12 cm in diameter) to poke three or four holes through to the outside (one overhead, the rest along the sides). These holes will provide ventilation, helping to bring fresh air inside. If you are up for an adventure, insulate the bottom of the quinzhee with a tarp and sleeping pads, then add warm blankets and a sleeping bag. If you are well dressed and there is enough insulation above and below you, you and your children can spend a cozy and unforgettable night in a snow fort of your own creation.
Submitted by Jacob Rodenburg, Author & Executive Director of Camp Kawartha, an award-winning outdoor education centre and summer camp.
