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Happy New Year
No flying to report
I built an igloo today. It was a pretty good effort, even if I do say so
myself. This is about the fourth I have ever attempted to build and by far the
best one yet.
I saw some guy on the telly trying to build one and making a right pigs ear
of it so I thought I would have a go.
The secret to success is a saw and an organised approach. The blocks should
not have right angles. You are aiming for a dome not a tower.
This is my guide to building one on your own. First you need the right kind
of snow. Soft powder will work just fine if you roll some massive snowballs with
it. Around 5 waist height snowballs are needed. Your saw needs to be thin and
you need to be just as careful removing the saw as you were cutting the blocks.
Cut the sides of your snowballs so that they resemble cubes. Pile the odd
fragments to one side, these will be used later to fill in any gaps and even out
any irregularities once the main structire is built. You will also need a great
big pile of soft snow. This will act as the 'mortar' between your 'bricks'. Cut
all of your low level blocks first, making sure they are slightly wedge shaped
but NOT too severe. Each snowball should be cut into slightly shorter blocks
than the preceding one. The last snow ball will be used to make the special
shaped roof pieces that will be a little more wedge shaped.
Mark out a clear circular area to build your igloo. Start arranging your
blocks in a circular pattern. You should try to shape the ends of the blocks so
that they fit together nicely. Dust the first row with a light sprinkling of
soft snow. Now build the second layer. It should be offset from the first row
and with slightly shorter bricks. Repeat the process until you are almost unable
to step out of the igloo. At this point the igloo should be high enough that you
can cut a very small hole at the base of the igloo. It should be big enough to
slide through. Now you will have to slide in the bricks and build from inside
the igloo. It might be a bit tight for space. Carry on building up the structure
row by row until you have an open dome.
The last pieces are a bit tricky and should be carefully shaped first and put
into place from inside the igloo. If everything has gone to plan the opening
will be covered. This is the hardest bit and takes experience to perfect. Now
collect up all the little odd shape bits and poke them into any gaps breaking
them into smaller pieces if necessary. All you have to do now is cover the
inside and the outside with soft snow to make it wind tight. Smooth it all off
to ensure that any drips run along the wall not off it.
There you have it...your first igloo. If you do all of this in less than 3
hours you are doing very well. I will post pictures of my handywork when I get
them developed (no digital shots). |
