How to Make an Igloo With Soft Snow
While most experienced igloo builder recommend cutting igloo snow blocks from hard, naturally compacted snow sheets, you can make igloos with soft snow, using block molds. Building igloos with soft snow creates a construction alternative for people living in areas that have small amounts of snowfall unsuited for cutting snow blocks. Igloos were once built to accommodate Inuit travelers, but most of the igloos built today serve only the purpose of entertaining.
Things You'll Need
- Insulated winter clothing
- Insulated, water-proof gloves
- Sunglasses or snow glasses
- Snow shovel or spade
- 5-gallon buckets
- 2-gallon buckets
- 1-gallon buckets
- Hand saw
- Water hose
Instructions
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Get ready to spend a lot of time outdoors in the cold. As you build, wear insulated winter clothing and insulated and water-proof gloves to protect yourself from the cold. Wear sunglasses or yellow-tinted snow glasses to protect your eyes from the bright snow and snow-blindness. Thoroughly prepare yourself as you may spend several full days outside, depending on the size you intend for the igloo and the outdoor temperatures.
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Choose a site for the igloo. Building on or next to a steep slope allows you to cut down on the igloo construction and use the ground as the back of the igloo, but you do not have to build on sloping ground. You can build on level or uneven ground, but you should mark off the intended diameter of the igloo using the stick end of the snow shovel or spade. Compact the snow inside the igloo site with your feet by walking over the site numerous times.
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Use the snow surrounding the igloo site to build the blocks for the igloo. You may also use snow from a different area, if necessary. Shovel the snow into 5-gallon buckets to make the first blocks of the igloo walls. The more buckets you have, the more blocks you can construct at one time. If you only have one bucket, your igloo construction will take forever. Shovel each bucket full of snow and compact the snow into the buckets with your hands, adding more snow after each compaction until each bucket is completely full of snow.
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Let the buckets of snow sit for a few hours or overnight to harden in the low temperatures before setting the snow bricks into place. This may not be an option, but helps to harden the snow for building.
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Set the snow blocks into place around the perimeter of the igloo site. Place each block horizontally and as close together as possible. Stop once you have one full layer of the igloo complete. Pack soft snow into the cracks between the blocks and mist water over the blocks with a water hose. This will encourage the blocks of the igloo to harden together when the temperature drops below freezing again.
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Construct a second layer of bricks in the wall using the 5-gallon buckets and apply the snow and water again. Then stop using the 5-gallon buckets and switch to the 2-gallon buckets for your blocks. Remember to leave an opening on this side to enter and exit the igloo. Cover the top of the opening with a block to support the additional layers of the igloo walls.
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Set these smaller block on top of the larger blocks, moving the blocks in slightly to begin tapering the igloo and creating the signature dome-shape of the igloo. Place 2 to 3 layers of the 2-gallon snow blocks, applying snow to cracks and wetting the igloo structure between each layer. Allow the structure to harden overnight before adding more layers.
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Compact soft snow into 1-gallon buckets and allow the snow to harden into blocks. Use a hand saw to cut these blocks into trapezoid shapes. By cutting the blocks into trapezoids you can taper the walls further inward because the trapezoid blocks will support themselves. Carefully pack cracks with snow and apply water between each layer.
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Shorten the width of the blocks in each layer by sawing the snow blocks with the handsaw. Continue to place the blocks, leaning them inward against each other until you have only a small hole at the top of the igloo. Leave this small hole for light or to vent smoke if you plan to build a fire inside the igloo.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit iglu image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
