If you ever find yourself in a winter survival situation, will you be able to keep warm through the night? Stop asking yourself that question and answer it with the igloo-building tutorial below.

• Cut your building blocks, making them about 6 inches thick, 30 inches tall and 36 inches long. You’re going to need about 50 of them.
• Start with a circle in the snow that’s 10½ feet around. Set your snow blocks side by side along the circle, leaning the blocks inward just enough so they lock solidly against one another. Use the saw to make them even, and pack snow against the outside of the blocks to make them extra sturdy.
• Remove one of the blocks from the foundation, and then move as many of the remaining blocks as you can inside the circle. (It’s easier to build an igloo correctly if both the builder and the blocks are inside.) Once in, you can close the temporary entrance by replacing the block.
• Use your saw to cut two 5-foot-long slopes into the first tier of blocks. This is important. The slopes are critical to making the igloo sturdy and windproof. Cut the tops of the blocks so they tilt inward toward the center of the igloo.
• The next block should go at the low point of the spiral you’ve just cut into the foundation. Use the saw to trim it for a tight fit. Pack in some snow to fill in any spaces. Continue building upward, leaning each level more sharply toward the center of the igloo. As you get toward the very top, your blocks will be almost horizontal, but they should stay in place by being wedged into the surrounding blocks. Once the igloo is done, you should be enclosed completely. Remove a block from the foundation to crawl out.
• Start the doorway with a trench about 24 inches wide at the top and 36 to 48 inches wide at the base. The trench should run right into the igloo wall. Burrow under the wall and up through the floor to create an entrance.
• Lean blocks of snow over the trench to cover it.
• Create a ventilation hole in the roof of your igloo. This will make the shelter much more comfortable. It’s great that you’re protected from the outside, but you need to be able to breathe, too.

While this is just a basic outline of how to build an igloo successfully, it should be more than enough to give you a strong idea of how you can construct this structure in order to survive even the most dangerous blizzards. Just make sure your entrance is facing away from the wind; the last thing you'll need is to have to dig yourself out of your igloo in the morning when all the snow drifts over the doorway.

If you like the idea of building your own igloo and would like to learn more about this topic, read more at Boys Life.