Quote Originally Posted by mountain_man_mike View Post
I understood snow caves to be dug into a hillside or area where snow had already dumped by mother nature and quinzees to be shoveled snow on top of gear.
Yes, that is the difference - piling the snow causes the snow to sinter so that it will hold the shape of the shell after the snow is dug out. Quinzees tend to be larger inside as well. Probably due to the more stable shell.

We didn't have the right conditions for true snow caves.

Quote Originally Posted by mountain_man_mike View Post
Maybe yes, maybe no but my travel agent says a two night minimum is required to build a quinzee. Warm, quiet (to an eerie point) but a lot of shoveling. We built one last year that stood up to the Scoutmaster and five scouts standing on it. It took a stomp job to break it down.
The building of the quinzee probably takes 3-5 hours depending on the size, snow condition, and amount of help available. It does need to sit for a 1-2 hours between piling the snow and digging it out. The big disadvantage is the amount of snow being moved - piling, digging out, clearing from the area. I don't think one person could realistically build one.

However, in a backwoods situation, I wouldn't build one unless it was an emergency or I was planning on using a base camping for several days. It is a lot of work. For a long stay it could be worth it.