If you're planning an excursion into the frozen tundra, learn a few tricks from those who've lived there the longest. The Inuit of Northern Canada have been making shelters out of snow and ice as long as the white stuff has been around.
An igloo is warmer and more durable than a tent, providing better insulation from the harsh winter elements. Here's a guide to building an Inuit snow house.
This article is part of a wiki anyone can edit. If you have advice to add about building an igloo, log in and contribute.
Watch this: http://www.nfb.ca/film/How_to_Build_an_Igloo/
It will probably take you five or six hours to build an igloo that sleeps two adults comfortably.
All you need is a large knife (a saw, a shovel may help) and a strong back. Any shovel will do, but you'll have an easier time if you use a small, sturdy snow shovel, like the kind found at outdoor and camping supply stores.
To replicate the dense, wind-packed snow of Inuit country, shovel it into a 2-foot-high, 10-foot-square sheet cake and stomp it down. Use snowshoes to stomp, if you have them. Wait a few hours, allowing the ice crystals to interlock and strengthen.
Using a knife (carpenter's saw or snow saw), cut blocks roughly 2 feet long, 1 foot wide, and 1.5 feet high. Ideally they should be approximate 4" thick. Think of them as big, cold Legos.
Mark out a ring 6 feet across and begin stacking blocks in an ascending spiral. Cut a slope on the first two blocks to start the slope. Use larger blocks at the bottom and smaller blocks at the top. Shave a slope into the top surface of each block so the wall curves inward as it rises. The best way to ensure a fit is to place a block and then cut though the joint. Work from the inside.
Once the dome is underway, lower the floor of your igloo to give you more headroom, then level it out.
Place the last few blocks on top with the help of somebody standing inside. You can spear the last few blocks on a knife to stabilize them. The anchor block may be cut bigger than the last hole and extended out through the hole (secured at the point of a knife) and cut with another knife to fit.
Smooth out the blocks inside and out. Push the excess snow into the joints between blocks, sealing any holes or cracks.
Cut a doorway. Additionally, you can help protect yourself from the wind by digging down into the snow to make an entrance, so that you duck down to enter, then stand up inside.
Poke a hole in the dome for air. To brighten up the joint, replace one block with pure ice — voilà, a picture window!
Originally submitted by Wired contributor Bob Parks
This page was last modified 07:11, 6 December 2010 by llm1. Based on work by ralfred and howto_admin.
