Igloo at Algonquin's Wolf Den

This past week, with a little help from some guests and friends, we added a new building to the Wolf Den. Unlike the rest of our buildings this new one is not built to last. Infact it probably won't last past the end of March. As you have probably guessed, due to the title, pictures and our previous post. We built an igloo!

The great people over at Algonquin Outfitters lent us their demo model of the Ice Box, made by Grand Shelters. The Ice Box is available for purchase from Algonquin Outfitters

At first the Ice Box seemed to be quite complicated. But as we built, it became simpler as we understood the whole process a bit better. We made a few flaws along the way which we would surely not do the second time.

Here is the beginning of the third course of the igloo. We weren't supposed to leave a gap for the door but it made it a lot easier to move around. We fixed the problem later by bridging the gap with a board.

The concept is simple, a series of connecting rods with one end pegged down in the middle of the igloo and the other connected to a plastic box. The diameter of the igloo is determined by the selection and placement of the rods. As the igloo goes up, the length of the rod is shortened and lengthened. During the building of each block, finely mixed snow is dumped in and packed. After each block 2 mechanisms were released and the box slid over.

Building was slow at first, until we got a feel for it. Gentle was the key. Packing too hard fractured the block causing it fall apart after the next move.

It was great to have the help of some of our friends and some of the guests who were here. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.

As the Igloo got bigger and bigger. Everyone became more excited and were spurred on by the progress.

With a tiki torch we were able to work into the dark.

In the daylight we noticed the rod had been some how moved from the centre peg, causing some funky angles. We decided to correct the bad angles by losing the rod and taking turns supporting the box at the desired angle.

As we got higher, a ledge along the bottom was important to allow the shoveller to get the snow to the box.

As we neared the finish, the outside pannel of the box was removed to allow easier shoveling.

When completed, a person over 6 feet tall could stand straight up inside the igloo. The base was 11 feet in diameter.

Even our dog Miko was happy with the final outcome.

We plan to add a breezeway and a Balsam Fir needle floor. Other than this is the finished product.

All that is left is for you to check it out next time you visit Algonquin Park!!

Cheers!