igloo

Large igloo (Kinngait on the south coast of Baffin Island )

Inuit winter settlement near Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island , book illustration around 1865

Under igloo is customarily a dome-shaped snow house.

history

The Inuktitut word " ᐃᒡᓗ ", pronunciation: / iɣˈlu / , originally meant generally " apartment " or " house " and thus includes all dwellings of the Eskimos , which used to be in peat , stone , earth or wooden houses and in summer also lived in tents (see also Qarmaq ). The igloo as a house made of snow was often a simple and quick to set up accommodation, but was also used as an apartment for longer periods of time. There were winter settlements of igloos in the central Arctic. These igloos, up to seven meters in diameter, were then inhabited for months. Most of the time, igloos were built as quick-build accommodation for hunting trips or hikes. Two experienced people only need one hour of construction time.

With a few exceptions, all traditional Eskimo houses have had their day as apartments since the 1950s. Most of them live in settlement houses today and in winter in the country in wooden huts (so-called "cabins").

Even today Eskimos use the igloo as a refuge, for example when they are caught by sudden weather changes on a hunting trip. This purpose, which is still important in the Arctic, is also the reason why igloo building is also taught in schools to a certain extent. In some settlements, e.g. B. Pond Inlet , staying in an igloo is now also offered as a tourist attraction.

The inside of an igloo

Heat conditions

Sleeping level and lower entrance

Inside there are acceptable heat conditions, as the snow acts as a good thermal insulator . Temperatures around freezing point are considered normal ; On the sleeping area, which is higher than the entrance area, even plus degrees are achieved due to the warm air rising upwards. Compared to the outside temperature there can be a difference of up to 50 degrees; For example, with an outside temperature of −46 ° C, −6 ° C at floor level (sleeping plinth) and even +4 ° C at shoulder height are possible. Sources of heat such as human body heat and, in the past, the Qulliq (a flat stone oil lamp bowl), now a petrol stove , allow temperatures to reach +5 ° C. Higher temperatures cause the snow to melt and the residents to become soaked.

If the igloo is to serve as a bedroom, the lying surface must be higher than the upper edge of the entrance so that the warm air cannot escape. This can be achieved by digging a foot trench next to the lying surface or between two lying surfaces so that the lying surface is about 70 cm higher than the floor, or by lowering the entrance and sloping upwards when viewed from the outside. An insulation layer is required between the snow and the sleeping bag so that the lying surface does not melt from body heat .

Construction of an igloo

Igloo building with snow knife in Cape Dorset (on the southwest coast of Baffin Island)

Demonstration of an igloo building in front of students in Cape Dorset (on the southwest coast of Baffin Island)

Before building an igloo, assessing the terrain is crucial for its subsequent success or failure. If possible, an igloo should not be built in a hollow (cold lake), but on a slightly inclined slope for two reasons:

Sufficient snow above the planned igloo facilitates the transport of the snow blocks from the "quarry".
The slope makes it easier to lay the upper edge of the entrance below the lying surface (cold drainage).

Depending on the weather conditions, acute needs or local habits, different techniques are used to build an igloo:

Solid construction

For a stable igloo, blocks of snow are required, which are cut out of the snow cover with a snow knife or snow saw in the immediate vicinity of the planned construction site. After the snow has been cut, the parts must be about 40 cm high, 60 cm wide, 50 cm deep (weight about 40 kg) and also beveled so that the rings of the snow blocks become narrower towards the top and form a dome . Only a certain type of snow is suitable for this, which is why such igloos cannot be built at any time. The blocks are stacked one after the other in a tapered spiral and cut to size with the snow knife. The diameter is steadily reduced until the dome is closed. Finally, one or two windows made of bare ice sheets (e.g. pieces of ice from a nearby lake) are used to light up the interior a little. After completion, the entrance area is dug as a wind and cold trap and covered with snow blocks.

Spiral construction

The spiral construction is used when a protective structure is to be erected quickly and without much effort. In contrast to solid construction, a snow wall thickness of approx. 20 cm must then be sufficient, for which purpose snow bricks are leaned against one another in an ascending spiral. It is important that the two lower corners lie well on the row below and the upper corner on the previous snow tile. The blocks should be layered in a spherical shape for good stability. To do this, it is necessary to bevel the edges appropriately when fitting with the snow knife and to regularly check the inner radius of the igloo with a string. As a conclusion, a brick is placed over the hole and cut to fit. The blocks are about 60 cm wide and 25 cm deep (weight about 15 to 20 kg). With larger igloos, two spirals are started at opposite points, then you can work twice as fast.

Cut blocks

The ideal “quarry” is close to the construction site, as around 50 blocks are required for a small igloo two meters in diameter. The snow material is good if the snow is so firm that a 60 cm block held horizontally does not break. In order to find such layers, the loose snow above usually first has to be shoveled away. A slight slope is also favorable, because then the blocks sawn out with the snow saw can be separated more easily with the last lower cut. The blade of the snow saw must be at least as long as the middle edge length of the block (approx. 40 to 50 cm).

Pile of snow igloo

First, a pile of snow is piled up and especially compacted on the outer edge. Then an entrance is dug and the inside of the pile is hollowed out. Sticks inserted around 50 cm from the outside help not to fall below the required thickness. This type of construction is very popular with children.

Large igloos with a diameter of three to five meters, such as those built for tourist igloo villages, are built from piles of snow pushed together with snow groomers or piled up by snow blowers. The cavity is created by a large inflated balloon around which the pile of snow is built and compacted. The balloon is then removed again and the interior expanded.

Formwork igloo

This type of igloo was developed in 1987 by Heeresbergführer Herman Glatz, then a platoon leader of a high mountain hunter train in Mittenwald and a trained carpenter, as a formwork igloo and has since been used by German mountain hunters as accommodation when bivouacking in snow-covered terrain. The group first piles up a hill from all sides. Several people stand on skis on this hill and compact the pile of snow. Then two holes are dug a little over waist-high, as well as a connecting tunnel that will later serve as an entrance. In one of the two holes, three to five people usually stand with a waterproof tarpaulin, which they hold over their head and press their buttocks against the inner wall of the hole. Now snow is piled up from the sides on the igloo and over the tarpaulin and again compacted until the snow cover holds itself. The tarpaulin is then removed and the people inside the igloo crawl outside through the tunnel. The igloo is now peeled from the inside. With this type of construction, the walls reach a thickness of 0.8 m to 1.50 m. The Quinzhee is built similarly.

Interior work

It is important that the inner surfaces do not have any drip edges so that occasional melt water does not drip from the ceiling, but rather runs down the walls. Therefore, the inner walls are smoothed cleanly and further compressed by pressure. Niches, platforms, sculptures etc. decorate the interior in large igloos. In igloo villages, several igloos are connected by corridors and serve as bedrooms, lounges and dining rooms.

Largest snow igloo in the world

The world's largest snow igloo was created in Zermatt (Switzerland) in winter 2016 as part of the Zermatt Igloo Village. In around 2000 hours, a 14-person team built the igloo on the Gornergrat at the Rotenboden station above Zermatt with 1400 snow blocks and thus secured entry in the Guinness Book of Records on January 20, 2016. The igloo, which was built for the 20th anniversary of the Igloo Villages in Switzerland, had a diameter of 12.9 meters and an interior height of 9.92 meters. In addition to sleeping igloos, the complex also has a bar, a restaurant and a wellness area.