In a winter survival situation shelter from the elements is essential.
Without it you will not last long (usually just a couple of hours once night falls).
Here’s the basic knowledge you need if you are going to survive out in the cold.

Your environment and the equipment you have with you will determine the type of shelter you can build.
You can build shelters in wooded areas, open country, and barren areas. Wooded areas usually provide the best location, while barren areas have only snow as building material.
Wooded areas provide timber for shelter construction, wood for fire, and protection from the wind.

Note: In extreme cold, do not use metal, such as an aircraft fuselage, for shelter as the metal will conduct away from the shelter what little heat you can generate.

Shelters made from ice or snow usually require tools such as ice axes or saws.
You must also expend much time and energy to build such a shelter.
Be sure to ventilate an enclosed shelter, especially if you intend to build a fire in it.
Always block a shelter’s entrance, if possible, to keep the heat in and the wind out.
Use a rucksack or snow block. to do this.

Construct a shelter no larger than needed.
This will reduce the amount of space to heat.
A fatal error in cold weather shelter construction is making the shelter so large that it steals body heat rather than saving it.
Keep shelter space small.

Never sleep directly on the ground.
Lay down some pine boughs, grass, or other insulating material to keep the ground from absorbing your body heat.

Never fall asleep without turning out your stove or lamp.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can result from a fire burning in an unventilated shelter.
Carbon monoxide is a great danger as it is colorless and odorless.
Any time you have an open flame, it may generate carbon monoxide.
Always check your ventilation.
Even in a ventilated shelter, incomplete combustion can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
Usually, there are no symptoms.
Unconsciousness and death can occur without warning.
Sometimes, however, pressure at the temples, burning of the eyes, headache, pounding pulse, drowsiness, or nausea may
occur.
The one characteristic, visible sign of carbon monoxide poisoning is a cherry red coloring in the tissues of the lips, mouth, and inside of the eyelids.
Get into fresh air at once if you have any of these symptoms.

Over the next few days I’m going to show you some various types of field-expedient shelter you can build quickly and effeciently in a winter survival situation.
Stay tuned!