Shelter, for one. There's a rather egregious lack of it, as you've noticed. During the warmer months it's not as pressing an issue, but right now...well, it is safe to say that there is a problem there.
Igloos are perhaps too complicated when the goal is simply to reach the next town, but there are simpler snow shelters that can be built with less time and effort. Probably the simplest would be to find an overhanging tree with a hollow underneath created by the way the snow fell, but it is also the most exposed.
A trench can be dug with carved-out sleeping ledges and roofed over with a tarp or snow bricks, either laid flat or in the style of an A-frame. Generally speaking, that is the fastest method aside from finding a natural hollow. A quinze is another type of snow shelter made by piling snow in an even dome on top of equipment, then hollowing out the inner dome. In any of these cases, creating a sleeping ledge is important--it allows the cold air to sink away from you. And a breathing hole is also important, for obvious reasons.
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Igloos are perhaps too complicated when the goal is simply to reach the next town, but there are simpler snow shelters that can be built with less time and effort. Probably the simplest would be to find an overhanging tree with a hollow underneath created by the way the snow fell, but it is also the most exposed.
A trench can be dug with carved-out sleeping ledges and roofed over with a tarp or snow bricks, either laid flat or in the style of an A-frame. Generally speaking, that is the fastest method aside from finding a natural hollow. A quinze is another type of snow shelter made by piling snow in an even dome on top of equipment, then hollowing out the inner dome. In any of these cases, creating a sleeping ledge is important--it allows the cold air to sink away from you. And a breathing hole is also important, for obvious reasons.