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And idea so crazy...

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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
So, like many skiers, I'm a dirtbag. I want to spend a month in BC the cheapest as possible.

I'm exploring the idea of living in a hollowed out snow bank, has it been done? I'm sure it has, more specifically, has anyone on here done it? (please share)

I don't want to use a winter tent to draw attention to myself.

I'm pretty good at building snow forts, I've even slept in them a couple of nights.

I was thinking of bringing two -30 sleeping bags, so one can be in my truck drying out for a few days while I sleep in the other for a few nights. Rent a hostel when I really need a shower.

I have a wisperlite universal camp stove I'd use for cooking and pre bed time heating (will include proper ventilation in ceiling, see above note to good fort building skills)



Dec 17 2012 9:44PM
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Fonzy.
Posts: 216 - Karma: 30
You would probably fucking hate it.
Try to find some roommates maybe?
If not then post pictures of your sweet snow fortress.
Dec 17 2012 9:48PM
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clive_bixby
Posts: 1834 - Karma: 499
And what happens when a plow, plows the snow bank while your in it? Better get a beacon while your at it..
Dec 17 2012 9:50PM
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Round-Four
Posts: 1073 - Karma: 174
if you pull it off, id respect you forever and youd be a true bad ass mountain man.
Dec 17 2012 9:51PM
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ironic
Posts: 735 - Karma: 104
Click for larger image
Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you start.
Dec 17 2012 9:52PM
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Gnarbangalakazoo
Posts: 561 - Karma: 262
Definitely can be done.

"Few tips, snow is a great insulator, but if it starts to melt and you get wet you will be in dire straights. Staying dry is the name of the game, even sweating too much is dangerous. make sure to account for ventilation. Also dig a "cold well" in your cave, this lets any cold air sit at the bottom, while your up top with the warmer air. a door is key, but you need airflow too."
- some survivalist blog

Just look up survivalist snow camping on google

But yeah, just some basic research and this can totally be done. But remember, the bigger the snow bank the bigger the room. Also put a hole above where you'll have your fire. Don't want it collapsing in the middle of the night haha.
Dec 17 2012 9:58PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
doooo it, then make a 4 minute documentary about it
Dec 17 2012 10:03PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
i dont know, but when the snow reaches above the windows of the dorms at my school, people hollow out the snow and make rooms. its pretty fricken cool.
Dec 17 2012 10:06PM
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Zimmerman
Posts: 6992 - Karma: 1,021
This could be cool.
Dec 17 2012 10:07PM
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Rafiki
Posts: 3858 - Karma: 2,251
i'll put money down that a hollowed out snowbank will collapse after a week of staying in it. i've had snow caves fall in during the day when it was just above freezing. build an igloo, although they do suck to build by yourself.
Dec 17 2012 10:08PM
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JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,175
*An

Sorry I just had to point it out. But I think it would be possible, may get miserable after a while though.
Dec 17 2012 10:08PM
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DR.SHRED
Posts: 2134 - Karma: 503
yolo haha for real man do try it you will never know if you dont like it if you dont try it. i plan on doing the same type of thing in the next few year for my whole life
Dec 17 2012 10:09PM
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GEORGEzimmerman
Posts: 1473 - Karma: 440
fuck yeah
Dec 17 2012 10:16PM
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grapejuice3000+
Posts: 2132 - Karma: 1,985
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/winter/wintshel.shtml
Dec 17 2012 10:22PM
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SwagtasticWalrus
Posts: 1268 - Karma: 184
Sleep in your car
Dec 17 2012 10:46PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51595 - Karma: 161,759
Too bad it will never happen.

Do it OP. Don't be a pussy like everyone who posts these threads.


DO IT

inb4 op dies in a snowbank.


Dec 17 2012 10:48PM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
I kept my OP short so as not to lose interest, but I assure you all, I have thought of a lot of the things you mentioned.
-I realized I misspelled the thread title the second I hit post
-it wont actually be in a snow bank, it will be back in the bush a little ways from the parking lot so I wont get plowed over or discovered
-into the wild is one of my favorite movies
-if the snow fort is hollowed out of packed snow, it wont melt melt in and collapse, further more, I will ice the inside with my stove set on high for a while.
- might possibly get miserable after a few days I admit it, but I love camping and testing my survival abilities and I do have the proper gear to pull it off. I'm from Saskatchewan, I work in northern Saskatchewan, where it isn't uncommon to reach -40C and closer to 55C with windchill, I'm pretty sure I can handle mild BC winters
Dec 17 2012 10:50PM
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DeRizzo
Posts: 3827 - Karma: 3,485
Why not this?
Dec 17 2012 10:51PM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
I have a truck, and last week I actually spent the night unplanned in the back seat after getting stuck bumper deep in a snow drift in a field. Its not comfortable at all to sleep in, and I plan on staying for a month. A properly built quinzee will be much more comfortable, being able to actually stretch out completely in my sleeping bag.
Dec 17 2012 10:55PM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
Not planning it until February,
I will however build a quinzee at the lake over Christmas break and sleep in it, pics to follow.
Dec 17 2012 10:58PM
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cwphoto
Posts: 2332 - Karma: 780
threads. that'd be pretty awesome if OP delivered.
Dec 17 2012 10:59PM
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SwagtasticWalrus
Posts: 1268 - Karma: 184
Get a lid thingy that does over the bed and put a cot or mattress in the bed of the truck. Done that a few times myself on trips in Alaska
Dec 17 2012 11:03PM
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De-Clan
Posts: 1920 - Karma: 3,696
if u have a pick up get one of those roof bed covers thats kinda tall and build a fort in there, u can lock it, warm it, sleep right in your own car

Dec 17 2012 11:03PM
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seb_hofmann
Posts: 155 - Karma: 1,453
if OP pulls this off i will be very impressed but it is definaitly possible! please post pics/vid and keep updates
Dec 17 2012 11:06PM
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Pikachu.
Posts: 1290 - Karma: 1,641
fuck february? its gunna melt dude
Dec 17 2012 11:08PM
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Steve-Brown
Posts: 1894 - Karma: 810
you'll have to dig a new one every 4 nights, they sink.. like the roofs do.
so it's great! but you need a lot of candles too, it makes it like 60 degrees min, so it's super cozy.

orrr you could get a job and some friends up there and save up to stay at a house or rent it out with some buds
Dec 17 2012 11:08PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51595 - Karma: 161,759
If you don't do it for at least 10 days you will be for remember as a total pussy. And at that point should probably leave and never come back.

Click for larger image


And even if you do it, what the hells the point. Go on a hike and do it on a mountain. What's the point of living in the snow in a parking lot? That's not exactly wilderness survival.
Dec 17 2012 11:11PM
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Rafiki
Posts: 3858 - Karma: 2,251
i've done a lot of snow camping, and from my experience, igloos work 1000 times better than snow caves/snow forts/hollowed out snowbanks/whatever you want to call them. igloos are a lot more solid, a lot less likely to collapse, and will all around keep you warmer. i stayed in one where it was close to or lower than 0 degrees out and it stayed a comfortable low 40 degree temperature on the inside with an adult and a teenager. it was probably 8 feet in diameter and 4.5 feet tall, for reference.
Dec 17 2012 11:13PM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
a few more reply's
-I dont want to get a cap for my truck because its a specific model and there arent many on the market, and im selling it so I dont plan on spending any money on it. I am however planning on getting one for my next truck.
-February is quite mild in BC, that may be a problem for melting, Im used to Saskatchewan winters.
-I am very familiar with melting sinking roofs, and I will say it again, I have good fort building skills, I discovered that a hard packed snow bank hollowed out, then iced over with a propane torch will prevent that.
-I actually have a really good job, one that allows me to take a month off, and I wont even bother being modest, I make a lot of money, but the point of this is getting back to my inner dirtbag and living as cheaply as possible.
-10 days, challenge accepted. Also, I realize its not exactly wilderness survival being that close to a parking lot, but I still want to be close to my vehicle so I will be able to wax skis, charge phone, dry wet gear of need be, drive into town (depending where I am) for groceries. And most importantly I still want to be close to the village so I can party
-an igloo is a lot of work for one guy, but then again so is building a quinzee.

keep in mind, I do have proper winter camping gear, although bulky (not back packing gear) it will work just fine. I grew up outside skidooing, ice fishing, camped outside on the ice and in the forest in -40C. my bag is a -30 and I have a low collapsible cot to keep me up off the snow. A candle is all I'll need for heat.
Dec 17 2012 11:36PM
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Ryguy920
Posts: 898 - Karma: 207
Do ittttt
Dec 18 2012 12:33AM
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VT_scratch
Posts: 8781 - Karma: 6,213
sorry if it's been said already because I didn't read all the responses.

but I'd just like to remind you to build a snowfort far away from where vehicles may drive.

i remember reading on here that someone made a snow cave in a parking lot, and in the morning a plow came to do the rounds on the parking lot and killed who ever was sleeping inside.

careful!
Dec 18 2012 12:48AM
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MothaHucker
Posts: 4678 - Karma: 2,591
threads, definately a dope idea
Dec 18 2012 1:01AM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
packed my bag up with a few extra wool blankets to smuggle out from the work camp I'm in. Should add some warmth.
Dec 18 2012 6:48PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Ray Mears show you how it's done:


Dec 18 2012 6:52PM
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Randy_Marsh
Posts: 253 - Karma: 35
I definitely want to something like this at some point in my life
Dec 18 2012 7:13PM
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Wulfty
Posts: 344 - Karma: 1,876
That would be so awesome
Dec 18 2012 7:41PM
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ihitchadsgap
Posts: 472 - Karma: 55
if op could build something like that. it would be sick
Dec 18 2012 8:15PM
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accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
Somebody actually got mutilated this way. Not too fun
Dec 18 2012 9:14PM
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accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
It was like a snow blower zambiniblike attachment to a bulldozer from what I heard. Dude died
Dec 18 2012 9:21PM
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Steeze_Irwin
Posts: 161 - Karma: 218
there's a guy in my town that's been living in the woods/mountains for years..

anyone from Rossland/Red mountain BC will know of Gary Camozzi
Dec 18 2012 9:27PM
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Vitiligo
Posts: 535 - Karma: 1,126
When you do it please film yourself during tthe whole thing
Dec 18 2012 9:29PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
He does look like a genuine mountainman.

Click for larger image
Dec 18 2012 9:35PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
My sister had a challenge when we were younger to spend a night in a snow fort. We built it and it lasted over 2 months in Minnesota.

we built the fort to slightly bigger than the size we wanted the inside to be. then poured buckets and buckets of water over it for a few days except where the entrance would be. Then we covered it in snow and put a lot more water over it. Then we hallowed out the inside and the thing was legitimately entirely made of ice by the time we had it hallowed out.

Then we put down hay to keep everything on the ground dry. My dad drilled a few venting holes into it and they were good to go. It seriously lasted for so long though. It was a pretty awesome snow fortress.

I think you could do it but that it would take more than a day or two of set up.
Dec 18 2012 9:35PM
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daannnnieel
Posts: 5163 - Karma: 4,293
bring some sort of cot so you're not sleeping directly on the floor, and if I were you I would also get a form of box to sleep in so if there is a chance of collapse, you won't take it directly.
Dec 18 2012 9:47PM
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CaelW
Posts: 400 - Karma: 108
I would not want to come across him in the woods
Dec 18 2012 10:37PM
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LoathesRaisins
Posts: 3612 - Karma: 4,735
What are you talking about man???
Dec 18 2012 11:41PM
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ihitchadsgap
Posts: 472 - Karma: 55
squeal boy!
Dec 18 2012 11:42PM
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Peach.
Posts: 3879 - Karma: 933
I can't remember where it was but someone was killed in a snow bank a few years ago after building a snow fort in a ski area parking lot and spending the night. Evidently that plow is a bitch.
Dec 18 2012 11:45PM
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KrazyistKarl
Posts: 1725 - Karma: 599
bringing this back up, looks like I'm going to have a month or a bit more off work in 2 weeks from now
Jan 28 2013 7:26PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
This.

I bet for the price of two -30 sleeping bags you could buy a cheap van, which would be soo much better than a snow cave.

If all else fails, rent an abandoned caboose like in that movie Aspen Extreme.
Jan 28 2013 7:39PM
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accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
I don't know. I'm so warm right now I don't even want to think aboot how cold you'll be
Jan 28 2013 7:43PM
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