Winter Survival - 15 minutes shelter 

I tried this in Florida. I dug a hole in the sand and covered it with palm branches. It worked! I was so warm...

Watching this video brought a rush of emotion because my father taught me how to make a shelter like this when I was a little girl in Minnesota USA. He had been caught in a sudden blizzard when he was a teenager in 1940 & had built a shelter with his younger brother. They survived, but many people died during the blizzard. He thought it was important that I know how to survive a blizzard if I couldn't get home. Thank you for reviving a wonderful memory for me.

Built a similar shelter with the Marine Corps in 84 in Korea. Bad snow storm set in and we out on a long range exercise. We used shelter halves on top, pine boughs 2 feet thick on bottom and sides, snow sides about 18 inches deep, slept 4 men to a shelter with standard (crap) military sleeping bags circa 1970's. It was around 15 degrees and a very heavy snowfall. One of the warmest winter nights I ever spent.

95% of commenters have never been out camping...let alone camping during winter. They teach the Swedish military to make a similar shelter, it's pretty simple cover yourself from the elements and don't sleep direcly on the ground.

Still contemplating why this looks more comfy than my bed

My father was a soldier in the Finnish Army during World War II. He described how the soldiers slept in either underground dugouts or large round tents with several soldiers per tent. Obviously that wasn't the same as this shelter, but he did describe making a pile of evergreen branches for a bed, as here. He said that the pile had to be at least 3 feet (1 meter) high or else the cold would seep up from the ground into your body and you would freeze - something to consider if you are in this situation someday.

Back in the days when I was serving as a ranger in the Finnish army this was the basic overnight shelter I used to make during the winter..

I remember sleeping in a similar set up. When I say sleeping, it was more like waiting every second for the sun to come back up.

This took way more than 15 minutes. Plus if you use a tarp, or more pine boughs on the top with no snow. Just a simple candle lit on the inside can warm it up a lot. Even covering yourself sitting up in a blanket and lighting a candle can increase the temperature to over 60 degrees. I always carry small candles with me whenever I go out. Many times they have warmed my hands when my gloves got wet. Life saver!!

Looks like it would come in handy to know if you are hiking and get hit with weather. A FAST shelter that is lined with pine boughs. Not the Ritz but way better than freezing to death. Thanks for the video.

This shelter is one of those taught as part of winter survival training for soldiers. The military of countries with harsh winters have millions of soldiers experience and knowledge to help design their training regiments.This is just ONE of the shelters that can be used, as stated in the video description. "Not everyone has ski's," Use 4 more branches. "Not everyone has a shovel," Use your hands/arms/feet, a wide piece of bark from a dead tree, a branch or stacked branches with pine needles as a rake, etc. Not as efficient but doable. "Not built in 15 minutes, this is click-bait," It is a 15 minute video with a 5 word title, so it can be interpreted multiple ways. It could be clearer. "Just build a fire," Much harder than most arm chair survivalists realize. A rapid increase in wind is one of the most dangerous and likely events to occur for you needing to build an emergency shelter. Wind-chill can easily drop the relative temperature by 10s of degrees. By the time you are done gathering enough fuel clearing a space for the fire, your manual dexterity will be reduced making it harder to cut shavings, strike a spark or even light a match. You can grip branches in your elbow or with your arm-pit after your hands are too cold to grip something. In regions that have cold winter, it is common practice to leave cabins unlocked with a pre-built fire and a matchbox with matches sticking out of it or laying next to it. This is done so you can grip the match with your teeth and strike it in case you can no longer move your fingers.

I live in Canada. I think everyone from cold countries should learn how to build one of these because it's a quick way to get out of the cold and find shelter. Thanks for this.

Wow, i am gobsmacked by the high level of ignorance in the comments. Dude was sharing knowledge, not documenting a real survival situation. He could have used a ski to dig. He was just showing a concept. Just learn something, be grateful and stfu already.

In basic training we had to spend a week out in the woods and I was lucky to be paired up with an Eagle Scout! We had to dig out positions around our camp to watch the line and sleep in. It was the dead of winter and the ground was like ice but we built something very similar to this. I slept so good in it too!

I literally watched this before going to bed and I can tell ya... I've never slept better

I like watching these in winter, in my bed, eating a snack with the covers pulled over my head like I am in a little shelter.

Genius move, I once spent the nervous night in a snow cave/ shelter in 8 feet of snow 0 degrees. To my surprise it was quite comfortable and I slept great. Thank you for sharing ✌️

We used to build shelters like that for fun where I grew up in Maine...and many times as a child we built snow tunnels and caves in the snow banks in our yard after plowing the snow. I also served in a true Mountain Infantry unit at the end of my Army career and cold weather tactics and survival was our biggest focus.

Finally….someone who knows how to make a winter shelter without burning down the forest to stay warm. Mark this video, folks. The only caveat is that you need access to evergreen trees. I experienced a situation in Alaska once where the moose had eaten all the available spruce vegetation in the area.

Survival tip #1: when it gets to cold go rest in house that's on left of screen at 3:08. Just a joke. This is great survival video for those who dont know this info.

I'm writing a book and realized I had no idea how to describe someone building a shelter in the snow. Thank you for this! helped a lot.

FANTASTIC Shelter, Not only for the Obvious Protection from the elements but can be Great shelter for Evasion.

It's well insulated, and it's a psychologically safe enclose good for sleeping and surviving storm. Kudos!

That's a cold night for sure. But a cold night is better than no morning.

This whole Tiny Homes fad is getting outta control!

Fast, functional, practical and relatively easy to make. Nice job. Thanks for the great idea.

I've done this in Northern Norway 100 miles south of the Artic Circle back in 1976. Kept me warm. Can't say I miss the cold and snow.

I deployed to Norway not that long ago. More Expensive than the United States.. .But first thing that came in my mind, when I arrived in Norway. Was it looks just like back home in Maine. Love it, such a beautiful country.

Nice! Simple, quick and effective. Straight to the point without a lot of idiotic commentary.

A native american told me about how you could survive in the cold by sleeping in pine needles - that's why I clicked this video when I saw it! Cool stuff.

I made very similar shelters growing up in northern Ontario, Canada, in my youth. Biggest difference was that I usually put a slightly raised V-type roof on them to allow just a bit more interior space so that I could sit if I wished. Also, as someone else noted below, I also used thin heat-reflective blankets on the sides and top. These were especially effective if you built a small fire just outside the door, with a reflector to put heat into the shelter.

I used to make these as a kid in British Columbia Canada-thanks for sharing they work great !

Very similar shelter to what we used to habit for even a week in my service in the Finnish defence forces. Though our shelter of course inhabited 9 men at most and was often built in a hurry, so they didn't look as comfy as yours. Great work, was a pleasure to watch this :)

An emergency shelter everyone should know.

I’ve done this, for a merit badge in Boy Scouts. It was a 2 person shelter with a raised roof of 2ft. We clocked it at 60 degrees inside while it was -10 outside.

Very nice, much better than being out in a blizzard. Thanks for posting !

alot of people complaining saying should have this and that.. i think what he's getting at worse comes to worse these are ways to survive. thanks good video appreciate the survival tip. only the strong survive!

my days of roughing it in the wilderness is over .. everyone should take advantage of it while young enough to enjoy .. I miss those days , but getting older with health problems catches up to everyone

We actually used this in military training as a "emergency shelter" Its really warm with a sleeping bag. You can easily spend night in -20 C maybe even -30 in those

A classic winter shelter very well done mate.

Well done Sir. One of the best night's sleep I ever had in the woods was in a Spruce bough bed in deep snow just like yours. Most people only use 1/10th the amount of Spruce boughs they really need. More is always better! Great video Sir!

I think this is a very good vid. I've heard and read about these kinds of shelters but never a actually seen one built. There's an old book here in the US by a couple named Helmericks that spent the 40s living off the land in Alaska. They often describe using a winter shelter like yours, and they used them for many years.

As a Scot i like your way how to survive , as that what is all about out there in the wilderness . Duncan .

I like the simplicity of this 'green igloo'. Thanks for posting!

This is a good shelter. Used to make something like that as a child when playing in forest.

Great way to stay alive if you are lost in the woods and it is cold. Thanks.

Genius shelter. Tried myself in a blizzard. Keeps you warm and dry!

Might be a little more than the 15 minutes it says in the header, but this is one of the quickest, most efficient overnight survival-shelter builds I've seen on RU-vid. Getting debris or spruce/pine boughs (nice when you're in such woods, and there's plenty of young stuff) surrounding you on all sides makes for a pretty snug shelter. Probably be able to shed an inside layer and dry it out if need be. This is very simple, and a child could do it, but it's one of few such videos where I don't think I'm watching an overgrown child with lots of extra energy to waste, building their idea of a fort, instead of just trying to build the quickest nest possible.

Made one of those (kinda) during Battle Griffin. Woke up about 3-4 times that night, but the FSK operator (special forces) who helped me told me it was normal the first time. The cold ditch did its job. It was more like a grave though, with a lower ditch at the end. Everyone else slept tightly together in makeshift shelters called “Gapahuk”. A great, though somewhat cold experience.

unlike most commenters hear I've actually slept overnight in snow (snow caves, tents, trench w/bivy). One modification I would make is the entrance. That is where all heat will escape so it needs to be as closed off as possible. Or if the snow depth is deep enough dig down to form a step so the top of the trench floor is lower than the top of the entrance. A small vent hole or two in the ceiling will reduce risk of suffocation

Excellent, I've done lots outdoor camping in winter never seen this style. I may just add that if you push stem of the branches into the floor at an angle a few cm it will help the branches to not compress so easily.

The one thing that I would recommend is instead of using your skis and poles put more branches on instead. If you need to use your skis, for whatever reason, you'd have to tear down the shelter to get to your gear. Just something that I learned in Winter Survival Training in the Army...

So it looks like the wife kicked you out the house again.

You made that shelter faster than it takes me to set up a tent.

I always carry a shovel with me in the woods

Well done, I like it. Thanks for sharing.

I lived up north for there years, it's a valid shelter.

Thank you for a helpful and possibly lifesaving demonstration on survival ...

Thank you. This could save someone's life one day !!

This version with a proper sleeping bag and a closed door remaining only a small hole for breathing is not for under -1 Celsius. Combined with a candle a much thicker snowcover and a cold ditch it could be until under - 20 Celsius. I did try this out.

Very practical. I'd rather know how to do that quick set-up and be out of the elements than be found following a blizzard. You could sit tight right there, for some time, and be just fine. Cold and miserable, no doubt, but otherwise just fine. Excellent video.

That is so cool!! Awesome job!

survival tips are key, getting stuck outdoors and not knowing what to do would be horrible

I live in Texas and I typically only spend time outside when the lawn needs mowing, but I love these videos.

You straight up built a nest. A cozy, kick ass nest...

Thanks for this. I live in Canada. If and when things hit the fan, this could be a good thing to know how to make, if I have to leave my home.

I think I'm gonna try this next snowstorm we get. I'm still new to Bushcraft, but this looks easy.

thats a really good shelter but a couple of little suggestions to make it warmer: 1. its a little risky but more snow on top means more warmth. the drawback is that if it snows even more and your shelter colapses on you your kinda screwed. 2. i recommend a door made from the same branches you used in the video (or maybe just a pile of the leaves in the entryway) to keep the heat in 3. make it a little smaller or more heavily packed with leaves to make your body heat turn the place into a sauna and thats about all the improvements i can think of (though honestly it would make it take wayyyy longer to build so maybe not for a quick shelter)

I know I will probably never need this but hey, its still pretty cool. *Like dropped*

I did a Pulka trip with ski in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park in Finnland. I planned to do it with a guy I knew only from the internet. He wanted to bring the tent for us. On the departure day on the airport he phoned me to tell me, that he decided on short notice (literally) not to come. It was too late for me to return home and pick one of my tents. So I spent all of the nights of the two week trip in temperatures of -25 celsius in biwaks like that. Wasnt too bad. But I had a down sleeping bag without a biwi bag. So the last nights have been pretty cold: the down got wet and lost their insulation because I became too good in building the snow trenches and raised the temperature inside above 0. And you cant dry a sleepingbag on a fire outside: even the insulation of the wet down is still too good: the sleeping bag gets hot outside but inside the down stay wet and lumpy in -25. On a fire inside a hut the sleeping bad gets dry after half an hour.

Reminds me of a small igloo. Very nice! Definitely good to know how to build a shelter quickly.

This shelter is good for conditions around the freezing mark only. If the weather gets below 20* your going to freeze to death before morning. In weather below freezing you have to have a heat source or be bundled up in a bag or extra clothing, because your not moving and your body temperature will drop over night. Your shelter has to hold a temperature above 32* for you to survive the night. The higher the inside temperature is the better your chances are to make it to daylight. Good information it was a good video.

Nice quick shelter. And, just in case his house was 100 yards behind him :)

This is actually good and convenient.

Nicely done, sir. Right to the point. Thank you

Awesome set up. I live in Norway too- will definitely try this out for an overnight sleep.

Why did I just watch this I live in Arizona

I love these survival videos! Thank you!

Nice little emergency shelter--no matter what any of the suburban tactical tarp brigade says. Seriously, during a blizzard, being able to build a quick little shelter, like this, that requires zero tools and little time can be a life saver. It will be cold and fairly uncomfortable but you'll survive. Too many people think that survival is about what gear you have and how you use it--it's not its only about survival. It's about using what's above your neck to survive to see the next day and the next day after. There is no choice to be made between making this kind of shelter or trying to make a fire in the middle of a blizzard with Temps below zero. One you will die trying to make and the other you'll be cold and uncomfortable but alive.

Fantastic quick shelter for those of us that live in the northern climates!

Man that must smell amazing!

I'd be grateful for this shelter if it was my only option. It's a lot better than being unprotected.

Thank you so much, it’s so important to utilize natural materials and have the knowledge to use them... !! You’ll, will live and survive anything, on any given day!

Fortunate to have a snow shovel while trekking. Not something I'd be likely to carry while backpacking. However, moving the snow can be done with some improvisation. Knowing how to build the shelter - this video - is greatness!

Not exactly Leave No Trace, but in an emergency when you are facing an unplanned overnight, it looks like a good shelter.

Good advice.

that was different but very interesting. i like how fast it is. something extra to add to the arsenal thanks!

Well done! Using all equipment you have on hand to make a quick and warm shelter!

Nice! Something to keep in mind for the future though: in such a dense pine forest, it wouldn't take much longer to take one branch from many trees than most of the branches from a couple of trees. Especially if you're just doing this for fun or for instructional purposes rather than true survival. Most trees can easily survive losing a branch, but not many can survive losing most of their branches. And if you were in a sparser woods with far fewer trees, it would take longer, but it would be even more important to minimize tree loss if your survival didn't depend on it. Again, just something to keep in mind.

Simple but effective , I love it 👏👏👏👏👏👏

awesome. I slept in a shelter like this on a scout camp once with a medium sleeping bag and was very warm all night.

one should always have a bivvy-bag lining your rucksack. climb into that and it helps. also if you have your spirit cooker with you (which one should if traveling in that weather and in circumstances that might require you build an emergency shelter) then fill the cooker with stones, heat and use that as a hot waterbottle.

Excellent video, this might one day save someone's life

Thank you making me a nice cave. Signed-Mr. Hibernating Bear.

That is quite a nest! Big Bird will be envious! Seriously, cool tips.

That night vision shot, when you pulled your hood back, I thought that I was looking at Liam Neeson.

Nicely demonstrated and thanks .

With my luck, I would crawl in there and go to sleep and that night it would snow 4 feet. They would find my body when spring comes.

A "fir" lined snow shelter! Good job!

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt.