Yesterday I made another attempt to build an igloo. The process took 5 hours, the structure reached a height of 1.5 meters, but due to a design error, it was never completed. There was no point in continuing – the dome simply would not have had time to “converge” at a height achievable for me. Initially, it was necessary to fill up the walls more inward.
Literature on building an igloo.
Before going to the landfill, I searched the net and read the manuals available. In Russian, the construction of the igloo was best described by Alexander Berman in his book “Among the elements” and in the manual “Young Tourist“. From the English Internet, only Susan Labiste’s article “How to Build an Igloo” .A search on YouTube has not brought anything useful so far – I’m interested in the little things, details, and in the videos I’ve watched there are only a couple of general shots, wonderful landscapes and a lot of text. We must look further.
Tools and clothes of an igloo builder.
This time I used two tools: a hacksaw and a long knife. If the knife were another 10 centimeters longer, you could do without a saw. True, I got quite pliable snow. It is possible that in a denser crust I could not work effectively with a “toothless” knife.At first I worked in fleece gloves. Snow was constantly pouring down their collars, the gloves quickly got wet and began to freeze, turning into a rigid ice shell. In addition, after each contact with snow, I shook out the gloves, which took too much time. I had to go home, dry the gloves and add them with tops. These are very long mittens, almost to the elbow, with tight cuffs and almost waterproof fabric, to which snow does not stick. At the top, work went faster.
Speed.
So far, it’s not engineering miscalculations in the design that upset me the most, but the low speed of construction work. Masters write that you can learn only by building a dozen igloos. It is suggested to do three per day. In the meantime, I’m stretching one hut for two days.Time is lost on trifles: extra running around quarry-construction-quarry, individual cutting of snow bricks, the already mentioned shaking of snow from clothes.Perspectives.
We must try to dismantle this hut and build a new one from the same blocks. At the same time, I find out how much the plates grow together (freeze) overnight. But the weather forecast is not comforting – warming and rains are expected.