If built for three men, it will be about five by eight feet on the inside; if for five men, it will be about eight by ten, in order to give greater width to the sleeping platform.
Four good men can build one of these snow houses in an hour.

Each takes a saw knife from the up-standers of the sledge and sets to work cutting snow blocks.

The saw knives are about eighteen inches long and are strong and stiff, with a cutting edge on one side and saw-teeth on the other.

The blocks of snow are of different sizes, those for the bottom row being larger and heavier than those for the upper rows, and all are curved on the inner side, so that when set together they will form a circle.

The thickness of the walls depends upon the hardness of the snow.