Waiting Out a Winter Storm at Altitude in the Colorado Rockies

You are holed up in a snow cave waiting out a heavy winter storm at 10,500 feet in the Colorado Rockies. Your sleeping area is raised a few feet above your entrance. You have been cooking outside with your stove sheltered from the wind by strategically placed snow blocks. A ski pole poked through the roof of the cave provides much needed ventilation. To save batteries, you have been using two candle lanterns to provide enough light to read and play cards. After a day, the air inside the cave is slightly stuffy and both you and your partner have a slight headache.

What's wrong and what can you do about it? Click here to find out.

Don't know where to begin or what to do? Take one of our wilderness medicine courses. Guides and expedition leaders should consider taking our Wilderness First Responder course.

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