Quinzee Snow Shelter – review and build (snow cave, snow kennel)

Snow shelters come in all shapes and sizes, from the renowned Inuit igloo to simple snow trenches. This is the Quinzee snow cave, made by heaping snow into a dome and then tunnelling out a living area within. In this video I make a Quinzee snow shelter and give my honest opinion on how useful it is in a survival situation. The Quinzee snow cave is useful when hard packed frozen snow is not available to build an Inuit igloo, and there is only powdery snow.
I made it primarily because it was fun to do so and so that my Jack Russell could have somewhere to hide from the constant freezing temperatures, snow and blizzard winds while he is protecting my property (he still gets to sleep in my bed though…).

Filmed with a Panasonic Lumix FZ300/FZ330 with a Polaroid UV lens and an Apeman 4k action camera

Throwing Hot Water Into Cold Air (2) – or how to make snow

Hot water freezes when exposed to cold air creating a cloud and snow. Today we finally had blue sky and freezing temperatures so I thought I’d remake the first video (and make it a lot shorter) to show what happens when you toss a cup of kettle-boiled water into sub-zero temperature air. There was a blizzard going on whilst filming so it did affect the cloud somewhat, but it still looks beautiful.

Warning – don’t try this at home as it does involve boiling water!

Filmed with a Panasonic Lumix FZ300 / FZ330 with a Polaroid UV lens

Slow Motion Garden Bird Battle – Great Tit versus Blue Tit (in snow)

All-round favourite Great Tit goes up against the tiny contender Blue Tit in this shocking battle for dominance over cake crumbs in snow in the dead of Winter. Who will come out on top? Never before seen footage of two of the most popular garden birds duking it out for their very survival, and fat bellied greed. All bets are off when it comes to ornithological aerial combat…

Filmed with a Panasonic Lumix FZ300/FZ330 with a Polaroid UV lens at 100 FPS

Soul Food – Stalking Red Deer In Snow

A short escape from city life and pandemic lockdowns. In this video I take you tracking animals with me in the deep snow. Along with a red fox hunting for rodents, I stalk a pair of red deer hinds as they try to rummage for food in the freezing conditions of the Carpathian Mountains. There’s also an old abandoned log cabin in the woods….
I live a very isolated rural life in my cottage in a small village, but this provides me with what I believe to be the most important aspect of our existence (apart from family and friends) – a deep connection to nature. Sadly, the modern world, and especially fast-paced urban city life, removes people from understanding their true selves and becoming more in tune with nature and the environment. Tracking a specific animal and stalking it over some distance in harsh winter conditions really brings me to a deeper understanding of what my ancestors must have felt, when they lived side by side with wildlife and nature, and depended on it for their existence.
This type of activity is true soul food, and I hope this video encourages others to spend a little time, leave the city, escape the office environment, and get out into the countryside to spend some time with nature. It doesn’t have to be a wilderness environment, just somewhere where you can reconnect to nature – listen to birds singing, or watch deer and rabbits eating. Somewhere away from the chaos of modern life where you can free your mind and your thoughts for a while and breathe in clean air.

Filmed with a Panasonic Lumix FZ300/FZ330 with a Polaroid UV lens and an Apeman 4k action camera

Throwing Hot Water Into Cold Air (boiling water, freezing air)

It’s minus 15 so I decided to show what throwing a cup of boiling water does upon coming into contact with freezing air. Hot water on ice, or hot water in cold air, does strange things. If you’ve ever wanted to create your own cloud, or mini snowstorm, then this is how you do it. It also exemplifies the difference between cold water and hot water – hot water freezes much faster than cold water does, bizarrely. This also shows you how to make steam.When you live in a cottage in a small rural village in the middle of nowhere in Eastern Europe, and the Siberian sub-zero Winter just keeps on going and going, you have to find ways to entertain yourself. Next week I’ll show how to lick metal poles like Dumb and Dumber….

Warning – don’t try this at home as it does involve boiling water!

Snow Thaw Self Reliance – life in a rural cottage in Winter

When Winter comes and goes, bringing with it first the snow and the ice and then the desolation of the thaw as the long road to Spring begins, the devastation that blizzards and freezing temperatures and tonnes of snow have created becomes exposed. It is at this time that one really begins to understand the concept of self-reliance in a rural, country setting. When one has to turn to one’s own inner strength to remedy the damage left behind. This is the truest part of Winter, after the romance has faded.
Choosing to live a cottage or cabin life is quite different to that shown on TV as it requires one to develop skills and inner strength – it’s not just about whimsy and fantasy.

Death, Reincarnation and the Soul (and NDEs) – some thoughts

A Death Studies Faculty should be a major part of every university, but instead any scientific research into the single most important human question – what happens when we die – is ridiculed. This video is part 2 of my Life Before Birth series, and in it I question certain illogical societal traits regarding life after death, and give some of my own views on the nature of the soul and human existence, based on many years of research into the paranormal and ancient belief systems. I also discuss doctors and neurosurgeons who have taken an interest in near death experiences (NDEs).

Again, this video is metaphysical in nature rather than wilderness based so if you are uncomfortable with such topics then please don’t watch it.

Mini Gray Man Every Day Carry (EDC)

All the basic survival essentials in a small pouch, subtly disguised as something innocuous which can be carried or worn in daily life at work or at the gym, etc. The gray man (grey man UK) technique is a way of disguising the individual and their equipment , but it means that the most important every day carry (EDC) items are there at hand should they be needed. Useful tips for preppers and survivalists. This video answers questions such as what to carry, how to carry edc, which survival items are most useful, which items do you need to survive, etc.

Life Before Birth – A Personal Memory (similar to NDE)

Two memories of what I remember/experienced before being born. Unlike Near Death Experience (NDE), these happened pre-birth, one memory being of the end of a previous life, and the second of what happens in between lives. In the video I also discuss OOBE (out of body experience), astral projection or the soul leaving the body, the tunnel of white light, the life review and being greeted by loved ones in Heaven. I also mention the famous medium Dolores Cannon and her teachings on the soul, aliens and other dimensions.
My own memories/experience are quite a bit different to the usual accounts of after death experience or near death experience. I also briefly explain the Gnostic reasoning behind life itself, and question whether we are here out of choice or as a punishment on a prison planet. Similarly, I also look at arguments supporting reincarnation.
This video is metaphysical in nature, rather than wilderness-based, so if you are not a fan of such things then please don’t watch it. If paranormal, supernatural or interdimensional/extraterrestrial topics are not your thing, then please watch my other videos based more in the real world.

Home-Made Snow Camo – a wearable work of art

How to make snow camouflage at home. Basic arts and crafts applied to a bushcraft or wilderness winter environment. Especially useful if you find yourself, like in The Long Dark, in extreme winter conditions and you’re unprepared yet you need to hunt or use evasive techniques to avoid detection. Simple to paint and make at home using paint or a permanent marker pen. Create your own abstract real tree camo and throw in a bit of flecktarn, Siberian and digital camo for good measure…
Also, the video shows how to paint your own clothes to create a wearable piece of art. Breathe life into clothes you haven’t worn for a while and you not only create something individualistic and original, you also save money as you don’t need to buy expensive latest fashion trends (in camo styles).

Hand Painted Clothing