How to Build an Igloo
The best-known snow shelter is the igloo. A brilliant use of engineering and resources, this simple dome made out of snow blocks is both strong and versatile.
Arctic cultures such as the Eskimo and the Inuit developed it, and over time they came up with a hundred tricks to make the shelter more comfortable and sturdy, including making the entrance small (to help keep heat in) and melting the inside of the dome and letting it refreeze (for increased strength).
BUILDING AN IGLOO
Diameter: Not to exceed 10 feet. Anything bigger would require a perfect dome, which is next to impossible to construct in the field.
Materials: Top layers of dry powder won’t work. Pack mounds of snow until they harden, or cut blocks of snow from the depth where your feet stop sinking.
Entrance: Build a door in the ground, about 18 inches lower than the ground inside the igloo, and tunnel below the wall into the igloo. For proper ventilation, never seal or close the entrance.
Walls: Cut the blocks into a spiral layer, leaning one block against the next. Keep the interior wall smooth so moisture can run down the side of the wall, instead of dripping from the ceiling. Include a vent hole to allow for better circulation.
Hamburger
Sad, we do not get a lot of snow in Texas. About less than one inch per year!!
I am going to make a book about this! It is a good information source.
I’m going to try this sometime soon, I’ve always wanted an igloo!
i dare you to….
Hey terminator,Florida will shutdown with 1 inch of snow . I live in Pennsylvania, we get great snow ⛄️❄️.
I enjoyed a lot learning how to make a igloo but it should be more specific about the steps to make an igloo. But it was nice and the 2nd best site to learn to make an igloo and thanks a lot.
My sister and I made it. It was amazing.
This is awesome 👏
Can you build an igloo with 16 inches of snow?
i agree with snowbird also but this does look fun glad i live in utah
Cool, when you have snow.
wish we had more than 2 inches of snow 🙁
COOL! But no snow in GEORGIA:(
That is a amazing igloo. It shows how well it is made.
Boo
I agree with snowbird to. I really want to make a snow cave! It’s almost Chrismas! What do you guys think?
IGLOOS ARE NICE TO MAKE WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME, BUT FOR CAMPING, TRY MAKING A SNOW CAVE!
i agree with snowbird
Yes! Snow caves are much better in deep snow because you can just cut into the snow and basically dig a giant hole.
it snowed 6 inches in my city
Girls can do it too
Really nice to know! Good effort.
Tried this with my brother it works nice and warm inside
cool it works me and my sis did it and it looks so cool
thats cool another way is make a pile of snow and just hollow it out
That would probably work if it snowed more than 2 inches here!
That’s so cool
I kinda need 22” of snow for that.
looks hard to make if you only get up 2 2ft of snow
🙂
well, we don’t get any snow!
awsome works great i love i do it every winter
Awesommee! Dude best igloo making guide ever!! Whhoo hoo
Cool, it seems to keep your body heat in it
My boys used 1 gal ice cream buckets packed full of snow to build their igloo and it was so great the local paper published a picture of it.
I hope OH gets a little more snow this year so that I can try this.
That would be awesome(:
it’s AWESOME!
i cannot wait to try this!
it is awesom that we get snow in Mi
I would like to try it if we ever get enough snow Here in RI.
I wish there was more snow here in Minnesota so I could try this
I just left Minnesota. looks like you got your wish!
Awsome, I used it and it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish it snowed in TX more. I would like to try it.
if it does not get to cold in tx then i would like to move there!
never tryed it before:]
It snows alot here in MA
Doesnt everyone wish there was snow in FL then on some days we wont have any school and only a whole day of playing in the snow and just having some fun
I WISH IT SNOWED IN FLORIDA.
We don;t have enough snow here in central Oregon yet. 😉
Wish it snowed in california 🙁
Cool :l
WOW!!!!!!!!! IT’S SNOWING HERE IN THE MITTEN!!!! Won’t be long before this masterpiece is possible 😀 😀 😀 !!!! 🙂 😉
live in pa, didn’t get snow yet:(
come to Michigan!,!,!,!
utah gets the BEST SNOW EVER!!!!
Yeah, where I live it dumped 3+ feet!
can not wait for snow!!!!!!!
Is there any way to build one without making bricks out of snow?
make a pile of snow then build an entrance then hollow out the inside. make a hole in the roof.
replying to powerking you buy snow block molds at target or walmart
Love it !!!
i realy want to try this! i live in pennsylvania so i hope we get snow this year
cool! i’m going to try it when we get snow. we get a lot of snow here in Michigan!
it sounds so cool but how do you make the cubes.
It does not snow where I live so that’s a buumer
Can’t wait until it snows in Minnesota
This looks awesome but i live in suburban L.A. SO IT NEVER SNOWS AND I’LL NEVER GET TO TRY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-
hey einstein just take a trip up to wyoming during december and you can build one by the way I live in wyoming
or come to Michigan! we get a lot of snow here!
awesome
i dont get it at all
this sounds cool
me to
Two years ago I was building a snowfort when my friend stuck her arm through the roof to “Make an air hole” and the whole roof collapesed.
I live in Kansas it hasn’t snowed yet but I can’t wait for Christmas!!!
Looks awesome I will try it once we get more snow.
that looks awesome!!!
Dude it is AWESOME until it falls on you. LOL
cool looks fun !!!!!!!!
I am soo going to use this for my school project!!!
Good luck!!!
hey i’m also making this for my school project
i want winter to come now!
WINTER IS HERE!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
It barely snows in Houston.I live in Houston!!!!:(
question is can you make it bigger
get around more, peeps! just look in the archive!
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have also always wonderred this. Thanks 😀
i have a yard of snow in MA
we just had 8 inches of snow here in missouri…and we built a big ice fort probably 5 feet tall with a diameter of 5 feet…never could get the roof tho. so you can do it with less than 5 feet people.
I wish I knew this before it snowed!
look’s good I’ll trie it
It hasn’t snowed here yet so I cant build it,but it looks really cool! I can’t wait to build one!
I wonder how it looks?
i wish i was able to at least build an igloo where i am at lol
it is hard, takes lots of snow, but i think you will like the outcome.
Absolutely fantastic!
cool
I wish I knew about this in the Febuary snow storm 2010.
even though I’m not claustrophobic, thats how I would feel crawling through that little opening going underground! wouldn’t you?!?!
Um…kinda!
It seems epic to do for a winter campout
one time me and my friend made a little igloo and when we got in it it fell apart on us 😮 so we couldn’t breath in the snow and we climbed out and gasping for air. shocking isn’t it. 🙂
i wanna make one and start a fire in it and roast mashmallows
It would melt!
Dude! It wouldn’t melt! You just have to have some vents! (holes in to walls/roof)
like,awsome!!!!!!!!!!
people have died from building entrances like that
How?
iv always wanted to know how to build an igloo
wow this is awesome
looks awesome, but real hard. (plus, when will you get that much snow?!)
really cool but i dont get how are you supposed to keep it from falling on you ?
drifts
ive heard of making one out of plastic milk bottles
NEED GAME!!!!!!!
YES
my dad and i built a huge igloo last week we put a blanket in side and my two dogs used it like a dog house
its confusing
it is cool
I thinks it’s really nice to have 5 feet of snow on your lawn to practice building these snow shelters!
That’s right: 5 feet!
BE JEALOUS!!!
Has any one done it in 6 feet of snow?
HA HA!
Sorry GEAR MAN, but I had a great 11 FEET OF SNOW in the winter of ’09.
in the Febuary snow storm 2010 my town had 24 FEET can you believe that!
I got 5,000,000 feet in my city. Jk!!! Two years ago we got like 3 ft. I live in North Idaho.
A really helpful thing to have is a snow saw. They really help when you build an igloo, or any other winter camping shelters. Igloos are kind of harder to build, but are pretty cool.
I started mine yesterday
i`v never made an igloo but i made a snow cave out of really large snow balls
in ohio my back and front yard is like 2 feet deep!!!!!!!
sweet
you should see what it is like in iowa, its about 3 to 7 feet tall:] !!
mine is too
its winter in il but its to dry
works like an angel
i am gonna try that but without the underground tunnel
lol lol
thanks
i am trin 2 make one but i cant
me and my mum have started our igloo
I’m building one right now. And they are hard. But funnnnn. 🙂
it was snowing lots in scotland and i had about 1 meter of snow in my back garden and i cleared a big space in my back yard and i managed very easily and im only 14 when ever you have snow do it it didnt take me long about 30-60 mins.
i found it very fun but cold lol
i done it
i watn to try one of these
so do i. i just make a big pile of snow and dig a hole then ho-lo it out
Thats what I do.
who doesnt do tht? lol tht how simple ppl like us feel like weve actually acomplished sumthin
My friends and I did that but, when we came back from winter break the entrance had colapced just enogh so we couldn’t get back in! And we still have some stuff in there! We tried to break the wall down but, it had turned to ice! Gotta wait till spring!
you need a lot of snow to do that
um sounds cool but hard so i started one and these tips will help me later i guess (:
how much does it need to snow before i can make a proper igloo? (feet)
I really want to try it!
i’m with you
If only I was able to get that much snow at home!!!!
It sounds impossible!
my brother thinks its boring.
its sounds cool!
I WANT SNOW
confusing, but cool;)
so awsome
kool
awsome
cool
were it slants put an even block even to the one to the left of it
Can’t wait for it to snow.
I really want snow
sounds confusing
I’ll make one as soon as possible and use it in a snowball fight!
Awsome & lil chily
It will make a great fort.
Yes, but somebody could jump on the wall, and there goes your fort
and about how long does this take
im gonna biuld this in camp
i cant wait to try this the next time there is snow
I prefer quinzees
I would probably get claustrophobic if I had to sleep in an igloo.
i wish it was winter already
fun!!!!!!!!!!
cooi but not cool a nuff
cool
This is awsome it works
it works
awsome
I can’t wait to make one….
why is the first layer start out with a slant i know it makes the other layers spiral. why does the spiral help with the moisture
awesome, just plain awesome!!!!
i love it
This Igloo Rocks!
no snow here! but cool…
We no have no more snow in NC.
lots of snow in colorado today! I’ll give it a shot cause it’s that wet heavy snow
me and my friend are going to try these in canada
I think it is Relly cool!
it makes a good clubhouse to hide ur stuf in
the snow already melted here in alpine NY
This Really doesn’t work I tried it the sides were not next to eachother it looked terrible.
sweet info
i’m going to use this for a school project. thanks Boy’s Life!
wear some warm gloves and be safe
to bild a igloo you need to have thick snow to bild a igloo. have good luck
I want to try but my sister has to make a snow man SO I’ll get up eary.
we never get snow in hawaii!!!
if only texas got snow…
i want snow
First i need a lot of snow that is only if there is a snow storm in Ohio.
It worked great, the under ground door was so cool, i even made some
shelfs because i made my snow wall, brick things a foot thick
It just snowed again and we already have tons of snow. We’re going to try this in a week or two.
im just need to finnish the top
wish i lived were there was snow
I am making a igloo right now outside because in minnesota we are getting a snowstorm right now.
I live in MN we get tons of snow tough night we are supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow 4 days ago we got 6 inches this will work great
cool
I made one of ice last year.
i wish that my troup could do that
if you get 2-4″ of snow.. snow blow all the snow to a 15′ x 15′ area.. you should have about 3′ of snow then.. pack this down and lightly mist with water.. let this freeze a few hours… Then cut the blocks to build using the snow from the inside of the igloo
COOL
I do not get much snow where i live but i’ll try it!
this looks so cool. we don’t have any snow in pennsylvania rite now though
bummer, this will never work in houston! last time we had snow was 2 years ago and it only stayed on cars!
That looks cool! I’ll have to try it later.
I don’t have anymore snow outside.
my snow JUST meted!!!!!!
Cool!!!
i’ll try this someday but too bad i live in a part of Pennsylvania where i almost get no perfect snowstorms
thats wikid
i tried this too and cant make one because there is not a very deep depth of snow
also are there instructions 4 building a igloo with a above ground door
hi this is so cool
it works!