The kids and I are planing on making a debre hut this spring. I haven't made one before. I have made snow shelters for winter camping and they are warm. What have you made, what do you like?

I've done snow caves, lean tos, various constructions that a hybrids of lean-to's and debris piles.
I like them all because you never know which one you'll need. I have never had to gut out a carcass of a rotting steer and hide in it, for which I am thankful.

What would you use a lean to for?

lean to made of branches/limbs up against a rock face - cover with other branches and debris on side and on end. A tarp can cover side 3 for the door.

I have never built one. I have seen large trees blown over that have their roots system vertical to the ground. If you put branches on the roots it would make a good shelter.

Definately a debris hut, I've made several different shelters over the years. But in bad rain or windy cold weather a debris shelter will keep you warm and dry.

I did this debris shelter as a test in extreme cold last month. Now I had a sleeping bag and mat with me. So I wasn't worried about heating the shelter. If I had wanted to heat it I had 6 red house bricks under my fire warmed up. That I could have buried below my sleeping area to radiate heat and a couple rocks too. But wasn't needed... My insulation could and should have been layered on thicker. (I simply got lazy and wanted to go hunting instead)


In warmer months I like a simple body bag, or a simple lean too. With debris layered up thick on 3 sides a semi long fire with a reflector to bring the heat towards me. But hate a lean too in the winter. One side of you is always cold at night.

great pic! Thanks for sharing! So I was looking into debris hut in the winter. Read lots and lots of blogs and watched lots of videos on it. It looks like you could make a snow trench and then use the debris hut theory with the roof replacing leaves with snow instead. Does that sound right to you? In the past when winter camping I have used a tarp for a roof, but the debris with snow looks warmer?

I built a snow shelter back in high school that worked out awesome. Just haven't had enough snow around these parts in years to repeat it.

Basically started off as an ingoo about 6' in diameter. Built it up about 2 1/2' high then laid logs and boards across the top. Then piled a couple feet of snow on. Threw down a tarp inside and camped out all weekend. Was plenty warm well above freezing anyway.


Below is the link to the video of camping in the debris hut. Was a pretty bad winter storm this year in the beginning of jan.


Had a wickiup for years during and after high school too. That I used on a regular basis. It stood for several year where I'd hunt.... I bent a bunch of sapplings over and tied the tops together in a circle. Put a big brown tarp over the whole thing. Then bent more sapling over the top of the tarp. And wove in live fines and a couple of the outter saplings were live. So after the first spring it was a green growing dome. That just filled in more and more over the years. And was awesome to camp in till the tarp basically rotted out. Then we cleaned the whole thing up like it hadn't been there. But enjoyed it for many years.


winter camp in debris hut video

Great hut, Naguethey. My kids made a tipi-style debris hut one year. Lasted a few years until they decided to rip it down. I'd like to make another this year-more like the style you made.