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safety T niseko survival guideHow to build a snow caveBy Matthew Thomasniseko survival guide T safetyPhotos: Ross Monaghan.Now roasting...Fresh roasted, organic coffeeCoffee cocktailsLocally grown gourmet foodcafeIT’S a skier, boarder or hiker’s worst nightmare – the cold, harsh reality that youunwillingly have to spend a night out in the backcountry.You simply have no idea where you are, have exhausted all your options, andnight is drawing in very fast. With darkness comes cruel weather, temperatures ofminus 15°C and much lower – not factoring in wind-chill. In these conditions,hypothermia can hijack your body in a matter of minutes. In light of all this, youneed to hunker down and wait out the night in the warmest, safest locationpossible until the sun rises. Then, you can reassess your options, or wait untilsomeone finds you. In many cases, the best place to spend the night is in a snowcave…READERS may recall that in the last edition Powderlife we brought you tips fromBlack Diamond Lodge tour guide and certified Canadian Avalanche Associationguide, Andrew Spragg, on how to survive being lost in the backcountry. Thisedition, Andrew takes you step-by-step through how to build something that mayjust save your life – a snow cave.Step 1: In order to dig a snow cave, you need to find a sufficiently deep pocketof snow. Use your avalanche probe to find a suitably deep location, hopefullywith at least three metres of snow pack depth. Adequate snow depth, free ofrocks and ice, is needed. Look around trees and on leeward slopes if the snowpack is shallow. In Hokkaido, this will generally not be a problem much past mid-December, thanks to heavy snowfalls.Step 2: Once you have found a suitably deep location, dig a hole straight down at leastthree meters deep. Try to avoid sweating while working by shedding layers of clothes.Use a shovel to dig the snow cave – something that you should always carry with youout in the backcountry (an ice axe may also come in handy). Digging by hand should befor emergencies only. Following this, dig an entrance into the side of your hole. If youare on a slope, the entrance would go on the uphill side. Keep the entrance at the verybottom of the hole and as small as possible, then tunnel into the slope.Step 3: Once you have dug inwards about 50cm, you can begin to dig upwardsand sideways, opening up an area to sleep in. Make sure it is big enough toaccommodate everyone, but not so big that it is harder to stay warm. The roofshould be in a dome shape to prevent dripping on the occupants. The idea isthat you will actually sit/sleep above the height of the entrance, so that yourbody heat will be trapped inside the cave and not get sucked out the door.Remember that over the course of the night your cave will settle and sag lower,so make sure that the roof is sufficiently high to allow for this.stronger, as well as providing valuable heat that should remain trapped insidethe cave.Step 6: After this, head back outside and poke a few air holes through the roofof the cave with your probe before going back inside.Step 7: Use the remainder of your gear to plug the entrance hole of the cave totrap all possible heat inside. The entrance may be partially blocked with chunksof snow to block wind and retain heat, although it is vital to prevent driftingsnow from completely plugging the rest of the entrance in order to maintain aconstant air supply.Step 8: While waiting out the night in your snow cave, here are a few tips onhow to stay safe and warm:* Stay dry – avoid sweating and keep yourself off of the snow as much aspossible. Always stay one step ahead of your body temperature. If you're aboutto work hard, take a layer off to avoid sweating. Conversely, as soon as you stopworking hard, re-layer again. It’s much easier to stay warm than get warm.* Insulate yourself with anything and everything you can: backpacks, treebranches, space blankets, all available clothing. If things are really bad, focus onkeeping your core warm and ignore your extremities.* Keep moving. Swing your arms, jump up and down, hit yourself... whatever ittakes to keep the blood flowing.* Urinate frequently. Your body expends a surprising amount of heat energykeeping the fluids in your bladder warm. Since this is waste product, and nolonger much use to you, there's no point wasting heat energy keeping it warm.* Keep yourself well-fed and hydrated if possible. Staying warm requires your bodyto burn energy, so the more available energy you have, the warmer you will stay.Ventilation holeDomed roof with sheer wallsStep 4: Once you have cleared a sufficient sleeping area above the height of thedoor, you need to prepare a bed or sitting area for yourself. You need to try to getyourself off of the snow so you don’t lose valuable body heat, or get wet. If thereare trees nearby, you can use tree boughs or branches to form a sleeping surface.Otherwise, use your pack and anything else that you can think of to sit/lay downon that keeps you off of the snow.Sleeping PlatformStep 5: Next, light candles (if you have some, they are a good idea) inside thecave. This will help the inside of the cave to develop an ice layer to becomeEntrance lower thansleeping areaOpposite SeicomartFree InternetBreakfast, lunch anddinner in a warmlounge atmosphereOpen 08:00 - 22:00Ph: 090-7516-7898Why are snow caves warm?ALTHOUGH it is made entirely of snow and ice, a snow cave has thermalproperties similar to an igloo (as used by Eskimos), and is particularlyeffective at providing protection from wind and low temperatures. This isdue to snow’s excellent insulation properties. A properly made snow cavecan be 0°C or warmer inside, even when outside temperatures are -40°C.36 powderlife ISSUE 15 february 21 – march 6 2009 www.powderlife.com www.powderlife.com february 21 – march 6 2009 ISSUE 15 powderlife 37