More Tips for Building a Winter Shelter
Shelters are particularly important in cold or rough weather or when you must remain in an area for a prolonged period of time. Good shelter should:
• Protect you from the wind and the elements.
• Be easily built to conserve energy.
• Be easily and adequately ventilated.
• Be large enough to be comfortable but small enough to heat easily.
• The better your shelter, the less energy lost in compensating for its inadequacies.
• All shelters should have entrances placed at 90 degrees to the prevailing wind. This will maximize your protection from the wind and prevent smoke from your fire from curling back into the shelter.
• For large parties, it may be better to divide into groups of two, three, or four, with each group building their own shelter. This will keep the shelter sizes small and easier to heat. Build them close together to make communication and work easier.
Shelter Visibility
Remember that almost all outdoor shelters (especially snow shelters) have extremely poor contrast with the environment and will be difficult for search parties to see. Keep a watch or make sure plenty of highly visible signals
