Climbers use snow caves for protection, Alaskan trappers would hollow out a bed in the snow using caribou pelts as ground and top cover , enjoying relative comfort. Similar for partridge, I'd wager. I know , when hunting partridge in Canada we would find them on the wind protected side of old agricultural buildings. They dislike the wind and I assume yesterday, when some drifting was going on, their "burrows" in the snow kept the wind off. The thing that amazed me was how they fearlessly dove into the snow from full flight. If it had been me flying, I would have checked the snow depth and condition before diving in.
