How to build an awesome igloo

sian    General Outdoor     girl outdoors, how to, how to build an igloo, igloo, igloo making, Snow, the girl outdoors, uk snow

photo by the Banff Lake Louise tourism board

There are blizzards and flight cancellations and it’s all a bit terrible, we know. But it was a White Christmas! Snow ain’t all bad! And if you are experiencing a bit of post-festive depression, you can work off all that turkey with our amazing guide to building an igloo in your back garden.

How to build an igloo

1. Find a large, rectangular plastic box – you’ll use to make your snow bricks.
2. Clear a flat space on the ground and mark out a circle shape, trying to keep it as perfectly round as possible.
3. Make snow blocks by tightly packing snow into your box. Sprinkle a little water on the snow to make it easier to pack it together tightly. Hold the mould and tap the top or sides of it sharply to release the snow block.
4. Form a row of the large blocks around your circle. Make the joints smooth and even.
5. Form a second layer of the large blocks on top of the first, laying each block above of the joint of the ones underneath.
6. Stack additional layers on top, each time moving the bricks in slightly so that the walls will dome inward.
7. Cut a cap brick that is larger than the hole on top of your igloo and set on the roof.
8. One person should get inside the igloo and trim the cap until it fits snugly into the hole.
9. Fill in the cracks and holes with snow and pack it in as tightly as possible. Smooth out the inner dome walls as much as possible.
10. Dig down to make an entrance to the igloo.
11. Strengthen the structure. Drip water over the top of the igloo at night before going to sleep. This will allow the water to freeze and will make the walls stronger. Poke a small hole near the top, and then light a candle inside the igloo and let it burn. The heat from the candle will partially melt the inside of the igloo, and then it will refreeze into ice.

Now the obligatory safety bit!

-It’s best to attempt this with two people, as snow can be heavy.
-Never build a fire inside your igloo, as it is very dangerous due to smoke inhalation and rapidly melting snow.
-Be careful about the air’s oxygen level, as most igloos provide poor ventilation.

Here’s one we made earlier (notice that we forgot to gradually dome our igloo and so made more of a wall. Woops).

The Girl Outdoors

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