Swampy Lakes Sno-Park
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2002 Snow Shelter Workshop Swampy Lakes Sno-Park |
Every winter, the troop spends the month of January in preparation for the Freezeree. This weekend was spent in a hands-on workshop for the boys in building snow shelters of various types. Igloos, snow caves, snow mounds, and trench shelters were all built. Thankfully, about eight feet of snow at Swampy Lakes helped the effort. (Click on a thumbnail below for a larger image in a new window).
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Joe, Derek, and Brandon arrive ready to begin the building project. |
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The first step is to find a nice large snowfield to serve as a quarry. Then, using a ski, the boys scribed a circle twelve feet in diameter. |
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The boys then pack down the snow base inside the circle. |
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Now comes the job of cutting snow blocks. Each block is about two feet long, by one foot wide, by about one foot high. Flat blade shovels, sheets of lexan, and snow saws are used to aid the cutting. |
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The guys lay down the base ring. Once the first ring is set, the guys use the ski (with someone holding the tip in the center of the ring) to bevel the tops of the blocks, and then to start a spiral rise on the blocks. Subsequent blocks are then added to the spiral, and the ski is used on each ring to bevel the tops of the blocks. The ski helps ensure that the right angle is made so the blocks will curve inward. This keeps your igloo from becoming unmanageably high. |
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Henry finds the best snow for blocks about five feet down. This hole will later serve as the sunken entry way for the igloo, acting as a cold sink so that heat stays in the igloo. |
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Ray H. and Eric dug a long trench, then used angled blocks over the top. They then dug down deeper and wider below the snow line to make a great trench shelter. |
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Bob and Adam used the snow mound technique, where snow was piled up and settled, and then a cave was dug inward and downwards, and the snow dome hollowed out. |
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Greg and Alex inside the igloo. The igloo ended up just over six feet high by about ten feet in diameter. Five boys or three adults could easily sleep in this. |
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The igloo showing the sunken entryway below the snowline. |
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Ray H emerges from his trench. |
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And voila, another quality snow shelter from Ronco. |
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