Now fashion the 7 crosspieces for your snow and ice shelter. These are simply relatively straight lengths of wood (precision is not required). Limb off any branches, using your ax or saw. In this example, we need the poles to be 6' long. Rather than cutting separate tree saplings to fashion these, you may well be able to derive them from the "scrap" left over from the previous step.
Remember, the crosspieces will be used to form a grid and rest atop the 4 vertical poles of the snow and ice shelter.
If you are worried about aesthetic considerations, you can even use pine for your poles and peel the bark off. Peeled pine poles make quite an attractive building material. Their light color can be temporarily preserved with a coat of linseed oil. But that's just an option for those who happen to be particularly stylish; the present article focuses on building a basic, functional structure.
When using tools such as axes and saws, always keep home safety tips in mind.
On Page 4 we prepare for the excavation phase of this project....
