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Surviving A Winters Night in the Northern Forest: HowTo Build An Arctic Lean-ToWritten by Paul Kirtley . Topics: Arctic Survival , Bushcraft

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Ready to spend the night in the depths of the boreal forest in winter. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

A lean-to is a classic shelter of the northern forests. It is an open-fronted shelter that depends upon re

to keep the occupant warm.

This type of shelter has the advantage of a relatively simple construction method requiring few tools.

As long as you have access to plenty of rewood, a lean-to will keep you protected from the cold in

otherwise lethal temperatures.

There are, however, a few tricks to getting it right rst time.

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To Build An Arctic Lean-To Shelter http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2012/how-to-build-an-arctic-lean-to/

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The Value Of A Lean-To In The Northern Forest

All the photos in this article were taken in northern Sweden, well inside the Arctic Circle. I slept out in

the shelter depicted in night-time temperatures that hovered between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees

Celsius. This is colder than inside a domestic freezer. I did so without the aid of any sleeping equipment

no sleeping bag, bivvy bag, blanket or the like. Moreover, I was not at all concerned about freezing to

death and I did get a reasonable amount of sleep. This is the value of a lean-to.

Shelter Position And Orientation

Before you begin constructing your shelter, you should take some time to nd a suitable location and

determine the appropriate orientation.

Standard considerations for shelter-building apply with respect to positioning, orienting and building this

type of shelter, with some of these considerations even more critical in a winter setting.

Make sure there are no hazards overhead, from dead trees or hung-up branches.

Think about the lay of the land avoid localised low points where cold air will accumulate. This is

particularly important in winter.

Find the most naturally sheltered spot any breeze will diminish the effectiveness of your shelter. Think

also about gaining some protection from natural screens of small trees and overhead branches of larger

trees.

Standing out in the open on a clear night in arctic conditions, you can literally feel the heat escaping

upwards from your body. Any overhead protection from live branches will be of benet.

A key consideration in building any shelter is the local availability of construction materials. When you

are working on snow, even on snow-shoes or skis, the effort required to gather materials is multiplied.

Make sure there are plenty of materials near to your intended shelter site.

Given that a lean-to shelter requires a re to keep you warm through the long winter nights, you will

need a plentiful supply of rewood. The most efficient way of collecting rewood is in large pieces. Look

for dead trees that are still standing. Moreover, if you want to get any sleep rather than tending the re

all night, your rewood must be substantial in size. It will burn with a steady heat for a reasonable periodof time, allowing you to get your head down. I look for one or two dead-standing pine trees in the

immediate vicinity of where I am going to build the shelter.

The orientation of an open-fronted shelter is critical. Ideally the shelter, re and any breeze or wind are

parallel. There is a common misconception that putting the back of the shelter to the wind is benecial.

While it is benecial in terms of being a wind-break, there will also be an effect like water owing down a

rapid. That is, there will be an eddy which re-circulates in the opposite direction. If the back of the

shelter is to the wind, the re-circulation of air and smoke from the re is back into the shelter. This is

very unpleasant for the occupant of the shelter. Better to put ends onto the shelter and have the breeze

blowing across its open front.

Finally, if you can, orientate the shelter so that the open side of the shelter gets the sun during the day.

Assuming you are living and working out of the shelter, this will help keep you warm during the day. If

you can only get the sun for part of the day given the other constraints such as wind direction, getting

the sun onto you and your shelter in the morning will make the most difference.

The Right Tools For The Job

You could build a lean-to with only a belt knife and a folding saw. It would, however, be very difficult to

complete within a day. The more critical point, though, is that with only these tools you wouldnt be able

to access the size of rewood needed to make this shelter work for you.

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Build up proficiency with an axe before you head to more difficult climates. While you are there aim for efficiency. Photo: Stuart Wittke.

You should also make sure you are efficient with your axe. To get the most out of your axe in winter, your

skills with it should be well honed. Precision and the ease of long use only come with practice.

Specically for building this shelter you should be quick at harvesting and limbing small trees as well as

cutting poles to length while holding the pole in one hand and the axe in the other. For rewood, you

should be condent in safely felling, limbing and sectioning trees of over 12 inches (30cm) in diameter.

These are the basic jobs of winter survival with an axe in the boreal forest.

While an axe is the essential tool, a saw will come in handy. Some jobs are quicker and more efficientwith a saw. For example, when sectioning a tree trunk, a saw is less wasteful of materials and energy. It

is also safer. A saw also makes felling trees safer too, as the back cut can be more nely controlled.

You will need to safely fell dead-standing trees for firewood. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

A snow shovel is a much under-rated tool of the north. A good one makes moving lots of snow relatively

painless. A key feature is a long handle or, at least a handle that will extend to a good length. The aim is

to be able to move powdery snow in a broad, sweeping motion from an upright standing position.

To build your shelter you will need to clear an area of snow, down to the ground underneath. If you have

a snow shovel, make good use of it. Otherwise you will have to improvise (more on this below).

The Ability To Light A Fire

The open fronted lean-to arrangement is dependent upon re to keep you warm. Therefore, you must be

able to light a re. Carrying with you several means of lighting a re is a basic survival tactic. Here

sparks and matches work well and are reliable. There are common natural materials such as birch bark

and tree lichens that will readily take a spark or small ame. Small kindling abounds on the lower trunks

of spruce trees.

How To Construct Your Shelter

Once you have chosen the site and orientation of your shelter, you will need to nd a couple of sturdy

trees with enough space between them to house your shelter. Then you can get down to the business of

construction.

First you should clear an area sufficient to house a raised bed, re and the area in between. While


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possible without a shovel, this is much easier with a shovel or similar implement. Snow in the northern

forests typically remains powdery and can even transform to a sugar-like crystals, which are even harder

to move in any great quantity without the appropriate tool.

Clear an area to house the shelter, fire and space in between. Photo: Paul Kirtley

If you dont have a shovel, improvise something to scoop snow, preferably with a sweeping motion from a

standing position. Provided you have an axe, you can rough out a long-handled snow scoop of a similar

size to a canoe paddle but with a curved blade. The action of using this is similar to a canoe paddle too.

Alternatively, you could use a snowshoe, improving its ability to hold snow with a covering of any spare

cloth or plastic you might have with you.

Second, you need to locate and cut a sturdy cross beam for your shelter. This, like all the other structural

parts of the shelter, should be made from green (i.e. live) wood. This cross beam is then lashed between

the two trees you have chosen. In the northern forest in winter, it is not possible to improvise natural

cordage. While there are abundant spruce, pine and birch roots below the ground, the earth is frozen

solid. Carrying some cordage with you is also a basic survival strategy for this environment.

If you do not have any cordage, or do not have enough to spare, you can prop the crossbeam in place

with sturdy Y-poles from the front of the shelter. In either case, the cross-beam should be placed between

the leaning back wall of the shelter and the upright trees. This way the weight of the bulk of the shelter

is forcing the cross-beam onto the uprights rather than trying to separate it from them.

The height the cross-beam should be lashed onto the trees is determined by the height and width of your

bed and the desired angle of the back wall of the shelter. Generally an angle of around 60 degrees is

good. If there is any chance of wet precipitation (e.g. sleet or rain) then 60 degrees is the absolute

minimum angle. The bed should be wide enough for you to lay on it and high enough off the ground that

you can sit on it at normal chair sitting height.

Once you have lashed on the cross-beam, add green poles at the desired angle. Collect the trees and

bring them back to the area of the shelter to remove the branches. These will provide the thatching and

bedding material for your shelter. If any of the poles are too long, you can trim them down, using the

excess to form the basis of the platform for your raised bed.


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With the cross beam in place, the poles for the back wall can be added. Note the beginnings of the raised bed and thatching materials

being stacked nearby. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

Ideally, you will lay the poles right next to each other, with no gap in between them. This makes for an

awful lot of work, as well as requiring the felling of up to one hundred live trees. Spacing the poles at

around a hand span apart is a suitable compromise, particularly if you are not in a survival situation. This

will prevent the thatching material from falling in between the poles but will not be quite as wind-proof

as having the poles side-by-side.

Work in progress daylight still coming through the thatching. Note the spacing between the poles in the back wall. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

To sleep out in this environment, you should be insulated from the ground, to minimise conductive heat

loss. Air is a good insulator. If the underside of the sleeping platform is kept open to the re, this will also

allow radiant heat and the circulation of warm air under your bed.


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Raised bed platform construction detail. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

The basic bed platform should be made of long poles that have a little give in them. In this environment

spruce is best. They should all be of similar diameters. Any tapering can be compensated for by laying

the poles head-to-toe. This is then covered with spruce boughs. While a thick mattress of boughs makes

for greater comfort in its own right, it also insulates you from the warmth of the re coming up from

under the bed. So, you have to strike a balance between both these components of your comfort.

The underside of the raised bed is open to the fire; dont apply too much insulating bedding on top just enough for comfort. Photo:

Paul Kirtley.

When thatching the back of the shelter, start at the bottom of the rear wall and thatch upwards, working

right across the wall. You are aiming for the material to be 30-40cm thick at a minimum. Place the

branches on with their stems facing upwards as much as possible, interweaving each new row with the

last. Remember to also thatch the head and the foot of your raised bed to minimise draughts. An optional


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addition for extra wind-proong is to add snow to the back of the shelter, over the top of the thatching

material.

Spruce thatching on the back of the shelter. Photo: Paul Kirtley

How To Construct Your Fire

There are various res you can use with this type of shelter. All of them have one thing in common they

lie parallel to you and your bed. The length of the re should be at least the same as your height so you

are warmed from head to foot.

A classic, easily constructed long-log re is made with three logs two at the base and one on top. The

thickest log you have goes on top. There is an old saying in the north that wood as thick as a capercaillie

will burn all night . Thats a pretty big log!

You need large diameter logs to burn all night. Keep them long for a parallel long-log fire. Photo: Paul Kirtley.


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The knack with this type of re is to get the logs burning steadily and giving out heat like a grill.

You start by placing two logs on the ground and lighting a re in the usual manner in between and

making sure it spreads along the full length of the logs. Lots of small sticks and some intermediate sized

fuel ensure this. Now, if you put a large log straight on top of this lot, it practically smothers the re. This

means lots of smoke and not much heat when what we really want is the opposite, little smoke and good

heat.

Place two logs on the ground and plenty of kindling in between. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

Allow the fire to establish between the two base l ogs. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

The trick is to hammer some substantial pieces of green wood (about 2 inches/4cm in diameter)

diagonally between the two logs to form an X-shape at each end. The large log is then cradled by these

X-stays and held separate from the logs below. You obtain a constant ame which gives off a good heat


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from the gap in between. The stays take a good while to burn through as they are green.

Fire with top log in place warming shelter. Note the X-stays of green wood to maintain separation. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

Where To Place Your Fire

The common mistake with this re is the put it too far away from the shelter. This misjudgement is often

based on sitting on the raised bed and feeling the warmth on your legs. When you lie down you are then

too far from the re, particularly when it dies down a little.

This looks good but the fire is too far away from the shelter to be effective. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

The re needs to be close enough to be able to warm the rear wall of the shelter, which will help keep

you warm indirectly, adding to the direct radiant warmth of the re hitting your body and the warmth

coming up under your open-fronted raised bed. This all translates to the re needing to be a short step

away. You are left with just enough room to get your feet down in between the shelter and the re while


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sitting on the bed.

The correct separation of shelter and fi re for adequate warmth while sleeping. Photo: Paul Kirtley.

Only a short step away from the fire! Photo: Paul Kirtley.

Aim To Sleep But Adjust Your Expectations You can of course sleep in this shelter using a sleeping bag or a blanket if you have one. Just be wary of

sparks melting holes in synthetic shell materials. If you apply the principles above correctly then it is

perfectly feasible to spend the night outside in arctic conditions in only the clothes you are wearing.

If you have a big overcoat, you can use this as a blanket. Personally I nd I sleep best on my side with my

front facing the re. Therefore I tend to keep wearing the overcoat but have it open at the front this

means my back is kept covered and warm while my front gets the benet of the re.


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There is a common myth that you will not wake up if you get too cold. I can assure you that as soon as

the re dies down a little and you start to feel the chill of the night, you will be awake. As the re dies

down, it also tends to produce more smoke which, if it comes your way, will also likely wake you up.

Once you are awake, the job is then to adjust the re so that it regains the warmth required for you to

fall back asleep. Make sure you have plenty of wood ready before dark. Youll burn through more than

you expect in a night and unless the logs you are using are huge, you ll probably have to replace at least

the top log during the night.

The morning after! Photo: Paul Kirtley.

So, you will manage to sleep. It will just be in shorter stretches than you are used to. You will likely feel

tired the next morning but youll be warm and alive. You will also have the inner glow that comes from

surviving a night out in the open in the arctic forest with nothing other than your bushcraft skills and

knowledge.

Paul Kirtley Paul Kirtley is a professional bushcraft instructor. He is passionate about nature and wildernesstravel. In addition to writing this blog Paul owns and runs Frontier Bushcraft , a wildernessbushcraft school, offering bushcraft courses and wilderness expeditions.

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Posted on December 26, 2012

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