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.
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