Easy Survival Shelters

Tree Pit Snow Shelter

• If you're in a snow belt, evergreen trees are an ideal shelter. Find a tree with lots of thick boughs and dig out the snow around the trunk's circumference until you reach bare ground. Cover the exposed ground with evergreen boughs and pat down the snow around your hole to add support and increase stability. You can add another layer of protection by laying boughs across the top of your pit to keep out blowing snow.

Debris Hut Forest Shelter

• When trees and foliage are readily available, a debris hut is your best bet. They're easy to make yet so well-insulated that you can't do better in life-threatening conditions. To build one, tie a long ridgepole to a tree at waist height and rest the opposite end on the ground. Then lean perpendicular branches against the ridgepole along the entire length of both sides.

  Continue by laying saplings across the branches in a perpendicular direction and weaving them through the branches to create a lattice. Pack foliage into this lattice to create a thick layer of insulating material and secure it with a top layer of additional saplings. Pile additional foliage at the spot where the ridge pole meets the tree so you can block the opening when you're inside.

A-Frame Tropical Shelter

• In a rain forest environment it's important to have a shelter that's above the ground and waterproof. The jungle floor is often wet and can get very cold at night. It's also crawling with dangerous insects and snakes that you wouldn't want in your bed. An a-frame shelter will give you an elevated sleeping platform that has a peaked roof above it.

  Use seven long poles made from branches and tie one end of two pairs of poles in a steep triangular arrangement. Attach one of the triangular pole frames to a tree and anchor the second one to the ground about 8 feet from the first. Add a ridge pole by laying another pole across the forked tops of the triangular pole frames and lashing it to them.

  Join the sides of a ground cloth to make a tube and thread your remaining poles through it to create a stretcher with a pole on either side. Wedge the stretcher inside your a-frame so the poles rest against the outer edge of the vertical frame. Now add a peaked roof by throwing a tarp over your ridge pole and stretching it tight with lines from the corner grommets to nearby trees or bushes.

Trench Desert Shelter

• Deserts are the most challenging places to find shelter, but you won't survive long without one. The oven-like temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and dehydration if you don't act quickly. In an underground shelter, surface temperatures are reduced by up to 40 degrees F but you should do your digging at dusk or dawn to avoid dehydration.

  Dig a trench 2 feet deep that will accommodate your body's length and width. Try to do it in a trough between two sand dunes or a hollow between large rocks. As you dig out the trench, pile the sand around its sides and one end to create a protective berm. Remove additional sand at the open end so you can easily climb into the trench.

  Lay a ground cloth across the berms lining your trench and anchor it with rocks or sand. If you have more fabric, you can lower the trench temperature even more by adding a second layer of cloth a foot above the first and anchoring it the same way. The lighter fabric should be on the outside.