Quenzhee building is fun.

The purpose of Quinzhee aka quenzee, quincy, quincey, quinzee, quinzie and quince (pronounced /kwinzi/)

The purpose for building a Quenzhee is that in a need for a shelter, it protects from the wind, the cold and the wet. I have slept in a Quenzhee, while -26*C outside and we measured only -1*C inside the shelter (0*C or warmer start to melt the dome). Also a total sound proofing is unreal and amazing. Quenzhees are often built just for fun and for kids to play in. If you are an outdoor active,  there can also be a day, when the knowledge “How to build a Quenzhee” might save your life in the northern parts of the world.

Building a Quenzhee

To begin, locate a relatively flat area. Do not use drifted, natural snow piles, – or if you do, break it up first, to prevent a collapse during caving, because there can be two different levels of setness of snow.  Which is usually also a cause of an avalanches in slopes and mountains.

OR  if you are making a shelter in a real wild life setting, use the naturally piled snow, it saves time and energy. It will save you from cold. Its another thing to work in a hurry, – check out that there is no stone, tree or a bush inside a nice looking pile.

Measure and start shoveling

First for a spacious and comfortable Quenzhee measure and mark the perimeter: 4m wide and 5m long. Shovel a large dome of snow,  need  2-2½m high mass of snow. We made two, for kids to play in. The size of the previous fits 3-4 people and it takes about 40-50 min for 3-4 people to pile it, if you have the needed size shovels. Also to be considered, that a smaller Quinzhee affords a warmer living environment than a larger one.

30 cm sticks for wall thickness guides

Second, insert the wall thickness guides for safety reasons. Get 20 pieces of 30cm long sticks. Stick them in 90 degree angle into the snow. The purpose of the sticks is to make sure that the walls are equally thick everywhere and there are not too thick mass of snow especially in the ceiling, which might become a major risk as the weather warms up and the snow becomes heavier. The walls should be double thick at the base.

Wait, let it sit

Third, let the snow set for a while, 3 hours is the minimum, depending on the weather, snow temperature, the type of snow you are working on. We usually let the snow piles harden for a day, for an overnight, as we are not using Quenzhees for emergency purposes and have no need to get them ready in a hurry. As this time, there were -26*C and the snow was very light and took some time to harden, to recrystalize. The domed structure becomes self-supporting because of the increased bonding strength between snow crystals  from the weight of the snow itself (Don Weiss).

Dig in

Make the entrance as small as possible if you are going to sleep in it, but a large one for fun & kids to play in.

Fourth phase is the caving of the Quenzhee, hollowing it out. You need a smaller shovel for the job and a larger snow shovels to get it out from the cave. For security reasons always dig a Quinzhee while on your knees, never on your back and never alone.

Use a smaller shovel for the ceiling, work on your knees.

Team effort, get the snow blocks out. Big entrance for the kids to play in, a small entrance to keep the warmth in.

Punch airholes

Drill or punch an air hole out, “a ventilation hole” or two in the upper half of the structure. If we have skis, we usually keep a ski pole in the air vent to keep it clear, it’s also easy and quick to clear the vent with the pole.

Block the entrance

Large Quenzees may accommodate sleeping benches made of snow. At night, you may wish to block the entrance to keep out wind – do this only after adding adequate ventilation vents.

Break the ceiling after using

You need to collapse the Quenzhee after you have used it or the latest when it gets warm, snow becomes heavier and the risk for ceiling collapse is present. Children may go in and they may collapse on them.

Place a lit candle inside of your quinzhee, it warns you if the air holes are full of snow and there is less oxygen inside the shelter than needed for a fire to burn.

Pictures courtesy of  canadiangeographic.ca