We spent this weekend camping up at Silent Lake and brought a tent with us but in the end did not have to use it. With the help of a friend of mine and his daughter (Thanks Peter and Katie) plus my girlfriend (Siobhan) we built an igloo. No one really knew what they were getting into. I figured if I started building it they would eventually help. With the four of us it took less than 3 hours to complete a 12 foot diameter igloo with just less than 6 feet of headroom (I am 5'8" and my hair just brushed the ceiling while standing).
Here are the photos at the different stages of production:

Our blank canvas


Breaking Ground


First Course


Third Course


Forming the keystone


Setting up


All cozy


Dawn breaks


Siobhan standing on the roof the next morning


We used a plastic form to make the blocks in assembly line fashion. In the end only Siobhan and I slept inside. Peter and Katie either wanted to leave us to our privacy or most likely did not trust the igloo to not collapse and crush us all. It was pretty cool to say the least...

more photos: http://photobucket.com/albums/f324/spechtd/Silent%20Lake/

VERY KOOL!
Looks just like the one in those storybooks.
I think you'll have Les Stroud phoning you up next Dogbyte!



Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

Holy crap man !!!!! That is so kool! Didn't you wonder if it would cave in during the night with the ice vibrating/expanding and contracting? I know someone that did it in Frontenac park on the ice and he said it was the ice shifting and echoing that kept him awake at night! Apparently they are quite warm.
What was the outdoor temperature compared to inside?
Great pics!
AM

how the heck did u do that? is that some sort of contrpation you used to fashion those snow blocks?

Hey dogbyte

you are just a regular eskimo (I hope that is P.C. these days)...bring any whale blubber along? ...lol..

looks like a hoot!

71

Good stuff, dogbyte. I still haven't gotten the courage to do the winter-camping thing.

Did you use the Icebox Igloo Maker?
http://www.grandshelters.com/

Igloo Ed is a member of CCR
http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?t=15060&highlight=igloo

And here's Johanna's experience with the Icebox from February, 2003.
http://johanna.wandel.ca/igloo/index.htm

Barbara
Simcoe County, ON

That is freaking cool (pun intended).

One of these days, I'll build up the nerve to camp in winter.

Hi Dogbyte,
Holy cow, great job. You and siobhan are getting me so jealous.
I see that you have a peg in the center and you just use the form making the raduis, changing the length every coarse. I was wondering if you make the block off the igloo and then put it in place with the form to fine tune it. How cold was the night also?
One day, one day.................
Thanks for the pics.

Cheers
Mike

So is the igloo machine easy to work? How long did it take to build?

Very cool. I've got to try that sometime. Did you guys just "wing it" or did you know what you were doing?

BW

As usual, thanks for the useful links, Barbara....here's a couple from MYCCR which look interesting:

http://www.eskimold.com/

http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?t=15046&highlight=igloo

No matter which one you choose, looks like some backyard experimentation would be beneficial.

Hey Dobbyte, Sheila and I would like a nice little cabin of sticks and old logs built on the island on Little Dickson for our stay there. It shoud be wind and rain proof, windows don't matter!


Bo

I am just going to ramble and hope to answer some of the questions. We did build it on the ice with no difficulty or problems. Never heard one crack or shift. We had origionally tried to build it in the woods but it was much colder there and the snow would not pack/lockup. The snow out in the open was kinda soft/moist. Perfect conditions for what I wanted. We had tried a few times before (I bought the igloo making thingy years ago at a sporting goods store in Kitchener). Previously each time we went out it was too cold for the snow to lockup. The highest we got in the past was 2 courses high. I stated previously that it was 12 foot in diameter. I was guessing at that. I last read the manual 2 years ago and I also lost one of the parts - I lost the thing that attached the pole to the centre spike so we manually lined it up - but ofton forgot to do this. I also forgot to shorten the pole until the third course. By the 5 course we removed the pole as it kept getting in the way (you can see the pole stuck in the snow beside the igloo in some shots. So in the end we kinda did 'wing' it and put it together as best I could for size and figured it out as we went. From all the pictures I have seen online I think mine was a bit more rounded and a bit larger at the base. When we got to the last few rows prior to the key stone we did not think we would finish. We were building the blocks almost horizontally. Surprized that it did not break when we removed the form especially when I had to climb up on top to do the keystone block. It was surprisingly huge inside.

As for sleeping inside it was ok. I felt that it was way too humid. It dropped to -12 C Saturday night but was much warmer inside the igloo, the snow was still soft and packable - even on the floor. At one point when we were getting ready to go to bed our breath stopped evaporating. There was a thin layer of fog like stuff inside. Siobhan is a dry sleeper but I am a wet sleeper and ended up quite chilled in my bag, Siobhan complained that she was too warm at times, to each his/her own. The last time we went camping (posted here previously) it was -30 at night and we were in a tent. I was warmer that time in my tent than this time with the igloo. I need some sort of full body anti-perspirant (sp?). I could have used a bunch of sealskins to line the inside like the Inuit do. But in the absense of that I guess we could trap x-country skiiers for their gore-tex clothing and line the igloo with jackets. Hmmm, that'd work.....

Oh yeah, we started at 2:00 in the afternoon and walked back to camp to make supper at 4:50. So less than 3 hours but we did have 4 people. Two people were always transporting snow right to the shoveler. Made for quick work. Luckily so as we were finishing up the temperature began to drop and the snow quality was dropping. We were very pleased, third attempt but first time successful.

By the way, if anyone knows where to find spare parts let me know. I need the little red end thingy (technical term) that attaches the pole to the ground spike.

What a great job. Nice pics.

Hello!

I just thought you may like to know- I was your neighbour at Silent Lake this weekend, and imagine my surprise when I post a report on myccr and mention spending the night in an igloo some friendly campers had built, and being given a link to this forum. I would just like to thank you for letting me use it, it was quite an experience. The first time I've ever winter camped and I got to sleep in an igloo is very special.

Thanks very much!

Dale

Hey Dale, I am glad it worked out for you. We wondered if you were going to use it. What did you use for a door? We filled a bag with snow and jammed it into the doorway.

Incidentally, there is a small loose knit group of us doing a 2 nighter later this month in Algonquin (nights of March 17th and 18th). We have tenatively selected the Fork lake area just below the Algonquin visitors centre. You are welcome to join us.

Derek, nice igloo man.

Silent lake eh? We might just scoot over there some time and check out your work. Hopefully it'll stay there a while and maybe we could try sleeping in your igloo.

What kind of temps did you have inside? I heard from people that have slept in igloos that it's normal to hover around 0-5Cs.

Also, was the 12fter big enough for 4 or just you and Siobhan? I saw you had 2 bedding platforms made.

I used the groundsheet from my tent to start, then stacked two big blue foam pads on top. It worked out pretty well, though the foam pads weren't quite long enough and I had to overlap them... My toes got a little wet but it wasn't too bad. I didn't find it humid- maybe Sunday night was colder? It was deffinately warmer than my tent, however:)

I would love to get in one more trip this winter- unfortunately March 17th is St. Patricks day, and I was in Ireland for a month this summer, and made some friends from Toronto... So needless to say we have set that day as our big reunion. May be able to make it for the night of the 18th, though (and maybe stay an extra day again). Thanks for the invite.

Dale

Oops- what did I use for a door, not floor. I just cut a peice of ice out of the snow a little ways off. It wasn't perfect, but enough to keep the wind out.

Derek;

Thanks for the great weekend. Katie had a blast. She is already planning our next outing. I have some other pictures from my PDA I will get to you. Dale. hope the huge stack of firewood (all 4 pieces) got you through.

DogByte,
Email or call and I'll make it painless for you to get your part. We've had people pack old snow in Finland at -26f. Keep lookiing for what works.

Igloo Ed
http://www.grandshelters.com

Now I am really PO'd that I couldn't go! I should have come camping rather than study all weekend. I am sure that when I get the test results back it will appear that I spent the weekend camping and drinking. I still have the rental car while they fix the jeep. It would have been nice to rack up some miles on the rental. Did you take up the telescope? I was temped to show up sat. night with a tent and the small scope.

Exceptionally cool construction! Not a chance of collapse once that keystone is in place. Those romans were a pretty smart bunch with their arches but the inuit perform quite a feat with the limited materials at hand.