Lookout Pass - Winter - REI Quarter Dome Air

**509-T203-KG** · 05-11-2018, 00:30

Boy Scout troop snow cave campout back in February. 12 boys, 4 adults, 2 days, 1 night. Lookout pass on the border between the Idaho panhandle and Montana. Elevation = 4,700 feet. 1.5 mile hike in. Highs in the low 30s, low of 13 degrees fahrenheit. First attempt at anything like this, so I was just winging it. Turned out ok. Definitely more comfortable than last year in a cave.

Under insulation = 25" wide inflatable pad (5.7 R-Value) and a dirty old foam pad laid across for the shoulders. Top insulation = 15 degree sleeping bag with liner. Warm enough. Next year I'll try to hang in a fully enclosed igloo!

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**dkurfiss** · 05-11-2018, 00:34

Now that looks like a good time. Love the set up.

**Burg54** · 05-11-2018, 00:58

Awesome hang. I bet shoveling all that snow was hard work!

**509-T203-KG** · 05-11-2018, 01:20

Yes it was! Haha. But it was fun. Luckily the snow was perfect for digging out large blocks for stacking. And the walls made quite the difference whenever a breeze kicked up!

**sloanie** · 05-11-2018, 14:09

Great hang, great pictures

Especially enjoyed the one of the scouts at the end. How did they do? I still remember freezing my rear off on the hard ground in a snow cave as a scout... probably had gear that was not rated for those temperatures. Looks like they had fun though!

**TrailSlug** · 05-11-2018, 17:17

That looks like cold fun. I can't figure our how the snow was stacked? It almost looks like poured snow. Thanks for sharing.

**geronimo** · 05-11-2018, 20:24

Never been camping in the snow like that but it sure looks like fun!! Thanks for sharing!! Camp on!

**509-T203-KG** · 05-12-2018, 00:43

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

That looks like cold fun. I can't figure our how the snow was stacked? It almost looks like poured snow. Thanks for sharing.

I dug down about 3 feet, and stacked up about 3 feet. The snow was perfect for using my shovel to carve out large blocks (as big as I could lift). Then I would stack them up and fill in the gaps. In some areas I wanted more room so I used the shovel to shave the walls back.

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**509-T203-KG** · 05-12-2018, 00:58

Originally Posted by sloanie

Great hang, great pictures

Especially enjoyed the one of the scouts at the end. How did they do? I still remember freezing my rear off on the hard ground in a snow cave as a scout... probably had gear that was not rated for those temperatures. Looks like they had fun though!

The boys did well. Cooked their own food, stayed warm for the most part, had fun. Seems they always forget to bring their boots into their cave at night and wake up to them being frozen solid, haha.
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This cave had two entrances, which seemed like a cool idea, but ended up being a bit of a wind tunnel. Oops, lesson learned.
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