Snow Shelter

This blog required us to build a shelter or fort that we would be able to hunker down and be able to stay in to protect us from the elements. When I was 10, I would always build little tunnels at the very corner of our front yard and driveway, right next to the road (probably not the safest place). I would build there because of the massive pile of snow that would be shoveled and moved from our driveway and the road onto the lawn. For this assignment, I used the same location to build my shelter this year. 

 From there I dug to the ground on both sides, and started digging inwards. 

I eventually dug to the other side and made it big enough, to where I could squeeze through. 

That tunnel, even though it was on the ground, was vulnerable to the wind, which would just blow straight through it. So, from there I started to dig perpendicular to that original tunnel, so I could lie protected from the wind. 

It's tough to see and I couldn't get a good picture, but I kept digging and made a new space, large enough I, being 6'3", could squeeze and fit into it. Then I fit a roughly circular sled, roughly 3 ft in diameter into the opening of the tunnel. That blocked the wind from entering allowing the shelter to be protected from the elements. 

I then let the snow freeze over night, eliminating the threat of a collapse. Three days later the shelter still stands and can still be used to be protected from the elements. 

Joseph McGinn