Is it an Igloo or a Snow Yurt?

The Mid-Atlantic was seriously deluged by a snow storm, ahem, blizzard of magnificent proportions. So what does one who is employed by a school district and thus has the day off do with her time and 15 inches of snow?

I decided to build a snow shelter. I have been fascinated by survivalism for the past half-decade and thought I would have no better chance to test my skills than to try to build an inuit paradise of my own. Having no experience with building a snow shelter other than the snow forts I built as a kid, I did what any self-respecting survivalist would do. I looked it up on youtube and e-how.

The guides tell me that you need to cut blocks out of packed snow. Since the snow wasn't deep enough or packed by that point, I found a rectangular container that I decided to make snow bricks out of. I noticed the kids playing across the way. I imagined how impressed they'd be when they saw my igloo coalesce over the course of the next few hours. I marked out a reasonably-sized circle and proceded to start packing snow into my brick mold. Then I noticed, the kids had already started what appeared to be the beginnings of a snow fort by piling big round snow balls in a circle. Being a good sport, I walked over to their encampment and gently inquired to the young ones as to their intent with their creation. Was it an igloo or a fort? The youngest boy, who must have been no more than 5 or 6 yelled at me, and told me that teenagers weren't allowed. Thank goodness, because I'm 31. When I revealed that underneith the scarf and hat that I was really a creepy adult interested in a kid's snow fort, they immediatly got the "don't talk to strangers" face on and clammed up. I told them that I was going to build an igloo, wished them luck and walked back to base camp. The rivalry was on.

I began laying the bricks in a circular pattern.


The work was really tough. It took a few hours just to get up to the third level. The kids across the way were really working hard too. They even had ranks. The older kids piled up the snow balls and younger kids were "runners" who filled a plastic bowl with snow to mold the snow balls. As my progress continued, the kids had now recruited their parents. As I plugged away at my igloo by myself, 3 adults and 4 kids had turned into a military operation to build this snow ball igloo. Hours and hours went by and neither camp acknowledged the other. It was a race to see who could build the best snow shelter.



With all of that grueling physical activity in a blizzard, it would have been wise for me to take a break, eat lunch, stretch. Nope. I was running on adrenaline. In a survival situation, I wouldn't have the luxury of hot chocolate and a warm apartment. I decided to press on until I was finished. After a while though, I felt like I should be a big person, and I go over and check out the competition. With all of the adults helping, their igloo was nearly finished. Only, it was more like a snow tee-pee. The geometry of stacked snowballs does not lend itself to a conical shape. Regardless, it was a success and I congratulated the kids and adults heartily and sincerely. I walked back to my base camp and continued. After a few minutes, the kids all came over to check out my work and returned the compliments. Having apparently decided that I wasn't as creepy as they thought, they graciously offed to help. Together, they helped me patch up all the holes. By this point, the igloo was around 5 feet tall. By myself, I couldn't get the roof on. My boyfriend came by and I enlisted him to my cause. By this point, I was obsessed with finishing the igloo. The kids had all gone home for dinner except for one 5th grader who stayed behind to see it through. After plying him with hot chocolate, the three of us set to work filling in the roof. As darkness fell, we closed up the top of the 7 foot tall structure. With candles in hand, we sat inside the surprisingly spacious igloo and admired our work. It was comfy and sturdy. I was elated.



After I walked the kid home, I went back outside dragging pillows, blankets and my laptop and surfed the web from inside the igloo for a while. I wasn't actually going to sleep in the igloo, but I realized that *I could have*. It was snowing and windy outside, but inside the igloo, it was peaceful, quiet and while I wouldn't say it was particularly warm, it was warmer than it was outside.



It's not a perfect post-card igloo, it's more like a snow yurt or a snow bee-hive, but if I were stuck in the middle of nowhere, it would be a snow kingdom. I am very proud to have spent the day constructing it. I am even more proud that when I woke up this morning, the kids were playing in it. What a great use of a snow day.