Mini – Quinzee

A Quinzee is comparable to an igloo but made from loose snow which is compacted into a rough dome and then hollowed out. It is a simple but involving project which you can possibly introduce when the snow has fallen like it did on a recent training course in London. It can be a very stable structure and can last long after the rest of the snow has melted.

Sizing

For a mini-Quinzee you are looking for it to be large enough to one or two people. To give a rough guide for this, have one person stand at a fixed point, hold holds with another and have that second person shuffle their feet around the person in the middle.

Collecting Snow

There are a number of ways to collect the snow required, which is more than you think. The easiest is to have everyone line up and shuffle towards the planned Quinzee, collecting the snow as they go. Rolling large snowballs works well also, rolling them onto the growing hill of snow then breaking them up pack down. A couple of snow shovels make all the difference however sheer joy and enthusiasm of things to come can make light work of the task in a short space of time.

Compacting Snow

As you collect the snow it is very important that you compact it down to create a dense mound. Compact the snow through stamping it down or dancing a jig, filling in any odd gaps with more. Leave it overnight if possible but at least a couple of hours (in Arctic conditions it can take as little as an hour) to allow the compacted snow to form a solid block, dense enough to hold its form when it is hollowed out. Think of those horrible ice-creams that have been allowed to thaw out and then re-frozen. They are full of ice, but this is more or less exactly what we want in the Quinzee as ice is harder and stronger than snow.

Sticks

Gather a large number of approximately 8-10” sticks, as thick as your fingers. These sticks will be used to leave a uniform thickness to your Quinzee which is important for strength. You will also notice daylight starting the change the colour of the snow as you thin out the walls.

Insert these evenly over the surface of the Quinzee and push them into the mound until they are completely inserted into the structure. Try to make sure you have covered the entire surface as these will be an important guide for later.

Hollowing Out

Once the snow has frozen together you can begin to hollowing it out. Starting with the entrance way, begin to dig a channel directly in towards the centre. Once this has been done, you can start to widen the channel as well as carve away the roof. Be careful when doing the latter as it can be the easiest way to get snow down the back of your neck. So this is the perfect time to let someone else have a go! Continue to carefully carve away at the snow, stopping when you reach the ends of the sticks previously inserted into the Quinzee walls.

You now have a Quinzee!!

If you are going to try and keep the Quinzee for a while, you will need to add snow to the outside as it shrinks over time, so no, you haven’t become a giant.

It is important that no one is left alone while in the Quinzee in case it collapses in on that person. There needs to be others whom can help excavate them as it is akin to being trapped in a an avalanche.

Author: Paul Moseley