I suggest a bivy . Although , I did not have one when I did it . It ' s kind of impossible to not get the outside of the sleeping bag wet . Even if your are not touching snow , a mixture of the moisture from your breath and body heat evaporating snow will build up in the confined space and get the outside of your sleeping bag damp . I really wished I had a bivy when I did it but made do by hanging my sleeping bag out in the sun when it wasn ' t snowing through out the day . As for staying dry while digging the quinzhee , I suggest you take off your jacket or any additional layers while doing so . The digging should keep you warm . If your shirt gets wet while digging be sure to change into a dry one before throwing your jacket back on . The more time you spend digging the wetter you are going to get . Thats why I suggest digging out the bare minimum . hopefully you are not claustrophobic . The smaller the better . I ' m assuming you have a good sleeping bag that ' s properly rated for doing this ?