Spring in Lapland - 19th May

I awoke to find that it had been snowing for most of the night and it continued to do so during the day, but with brief sunny periods.

I decided to walk to an area of marshland about 1km from my cabin from where I could hear many birds calling and displaying, but my singing and talking loudly incase of bears was getting on my nerves and probably disturbing some of the things I was trying to see, so I put some stones in a plastic water bottle

and taped it to my walking staff and each time I moved the staff, the stones rattling in the bottle made a noise.

The conditions made walking quite a challenge because you might be in deep snow for a short distance and then in areas where the sun had penetrated, the ground was clear.

Walking in snow was also unpleasant because often below the snow there would be deep melt water and so my boots and trousers were constantly wet and my feet cold. Another issue with ground covered by snow was that you could not see the many holes and cracks in the ground and at one point my leg went down one of these and I cracked my elbow on a rock.

Arriving at the marsh it was well worth the walk though. There were Ruff displaying, Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Whooper Swans, Whimbrel, Goldeneye, Smew and Teal. It was amazing to see wading birds displaying in these snowy, wintry conditions.

Back at the cabin I continued clearing the snow, carved a spoon from Birch and put together a wooden bed. Birds close to the cabin included Great Tit, White Wagtail, singing Redstarts, Raven and Meadow Pipit. There were also fresh Hare and Elk tracks.

Spring in Lapland

My first task was to get a fire going in the stove to heat the cabin and melt snow as this was my only source of water at this time. The most efficient way to melt snow is to put a small amount of water into the saucepan first and to then keep adding snow as the water heats.

You would be amazed at how much snow is required to produce a saucepan of water!

There was a lot of leaves, Pine needles and many other items in the snow, so after melting the snow and boiling the water, I then filtered it through parachute material.

The next task was to clear paths through the snow to the toilet and wood store, and remove the shutters from the cabin windows. It was -5 degrees and snowing quite heavily and I was so pleased that I had thrown a set of merino wool thermals into my pack at the last minute.

After cooking a small meal of meatballs and dehydrated potato mash, my warm sleeping bag was calling to me and I decided it was time for bed.

Making a snow shelter or quinzee

Step One

Clear a circular area in the snow about 8 feet across.

Step Two

Using a shovel or snow shoe make a large pile (about 6 feet high) of snow on top of the clearing (the snow should be heaped, not packed.) Mixing snow of different temperatures will facilitate the hardening process.

Step Three

Allow the mound to freeze and so harden for 1 to 12 hours depending on weather and snow composition. Push sticks 20 – 30cms long into the snow heap, as this will help you to maintain an even thickness over the whole of the shelter when hollowing out. When you find the end of a stick from inside the shelter, you know you have a thickness of 20 – 30cms.

Step Four

Begin to hollow out the mound once it has hardened sufficiently. Dig straight in at first to create your initial opening, and then dig upward slightly in order to make an elevated sleeping area. This will allow cold air from inside to flow down and out of the shelter.

Step Five

Use the snow you dig out to make a windbreak in front of the entrance, or heap it onto the exterior of the shelter to thicken its walls and increase the available interior space.

Step Six

Smooth the interior surface of the walls and ceiling to prevent any melting snow from dripping on you.

Step Seven

Poke a ventilation hole through the top of the dome using a ski pole or long stick. Make sure this hole stays clear of ice and snow.

Step Eight

At this point I usually reduce the size of the entrance hole by packing snow around, but the snow was so powdery, it was impossible to do this. Use your pack or reindeer skin to block the entrance of the shelter once inside, but leave space for air to flow in and out. Keep your shovel inside while you sleep in case you need to dig your way out.

Building a shelter is hard work, so wear the minimum clothing necessary, to reduce the risk of sweating. When you are working you should be cool enough to feel that you need to put another layer of clothing on. Excessive sweating can lead to hypothermia. Once the shelter is completed put all your layers of clothing back on.


Personally, I find this type of shelter hard work and time consuming to construct. The locals just dig a trench in the snow and line it with reindeer skins and sleep in the trench in a sleeping bag. If the air temperature is very cold, they use a stick to prop a reindeer skin over there face to reduce the effect of the cold.