If I want to build an igloo to keep me warm in a snowy climate, how can I go about this?
- What size blocks should I cut?
- How big should the entrance be?
- How can I mitigate the risk of the igloo collapsing?
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1 Answer
Building an igloo requires:
- the right snow
- training to know what the right snow is
- a snow knife
- some practice building the walls so that they taper in yet are supported as you go
In the absence of training and practice, which I would posit is very rare, go with a quinzy instead.
You dig snow and throw it into a big pile. You let that sit for a bit to establish structure, and then you hollow it out. (Instructions on that wiki page and also at http://http-server.carleton.ca/~dmcfet/quinzy.html.)
While a properly built igloo (by someone who knows what they're doing, using the right snow) is solid like a house, a quinzy is safer when an untrained person without equipment wants to build a structure out of whatever snow happens to be on the ground.
answered Nov 1, 2012 at 17:57
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Could you possibly cite somewhere to show it's safer? My understanding was that this type of structure was in fact more prone to collapsing than an igloo (though I could be wrong.)– berry120Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 17:39
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I've edited a little to make my point clearer. A well made igloo will be best. But a random camper is unlikely to build a well made igloo Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 18:04
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Ah, good point - I see what you're getting at now, thanks for that.– berry120Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 18:55
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Btw, the picture shown is not very a good igloo/shelter... The entrance should form a kind of 'siphon', i.e. bend down such that it is lower than the floor of the shelter an will thus trap warm air inside.– fgysinCommented Sep 16, 2019 at 7:54