Snow Caves for Fun and Survival

Rating:
Summary: Good survival tips for winter camping/emergency situations.
Review: "How many rabbits have you seen sitting by a fire to keep warm?"

So begins Snow Caves for Fun and Survival, in which Wilkinson demonstrates how people can learn from nature and survive in the wilderness without a fire by using materials at hand- snow, fallen logs and tree branches, whether it be on a winter camping trip or during an emergency situation. Rabbits and birds burrow in the snow and so can humans! Diagrams and photographs aid in the explanations of how to build snow caves, igloos, and other temporary shelters that could save your life.

This book would appeal to two groups: those interested in winter camping and those interested in learning basic survival techniques. For the serious camper there are chapters on Food, Clothing, Tools and Gear. The author draws on this experience as an outdoorsman and describes his own close calls: how to dry out your clothing after accidentally falling into freezing water, etc.

This reviewer spent the first 25 years of life in Minnesota and thought I knew all there was about snow, but I learned a lot from this book. I wish the topic of cave-ins had been dealt with in more depth, since as a small child I was instructed by my parents about the danger of snow collapsing on me.