Ever Thought Of Building an Igloo

The average temperature for the whole of February 1961 was minus 31 degrees Celsius. The place was Hudson Bay.

Some of us were not very busy and after some days of inaction decided to build an igloo. Settling on a spot a few hundred yards from the huts and hangars, on flat snow about a foot deep, we had first to decide on how big is an igloo. There were few visual references to assist in deciding the scale and we thought that eighteen feet diameter would be about right – wrong – that is a very big igloo. Luckily our Canadian had some small experience of igloo building and was the obvious person for the tricky bit when the roof curves over at the top. This was especially difficult for the “ceiling” was ten feet high and he worked standing on snow blocks. The construction took several days, but the end result was excellent – a traditional, albeit on the large side, igloo with a small tunnel to crawl through to enter, snow benches around the walls, ample head room and to make it suitable for modern living, fluorescent lighting and a hot air heater.

Now came the dilemma, what do you do with a very large igloo? Obvious solution, give a cocktail party!

We managed a total of fifty one guests, all dressed in parkas, thick trousers and mukluks, and all drinking in the way that the frozen North encourages. It was quite cosy, brightly lit and warm. In fact it was sometimes too warm, and when the walls began to drip the heater hose was manoeuvred out of the tunnel in some haste. After an hour or so what had initially seemed to be a more than adequate supply of strange Northern alcoholic concoctions began to reach a dangerously low level, so I set off back to base to bring another gallon. On return the surreal nature of the enterprise became evident. Ahead of me there was nothing to see other than the dead flat snow plain, overhead the Northern lights were flashing in bright green curtains, and standing all alone an igloo, glowing brightly, and reverberating to the sounds of what was obviously a large cocktail party.

Should you ever decide to use your own igloo in this fashion: it is very claustrophobic to have over fifty people in a small space with only a small tunnel as your exit cum escape route, Health and Safety would not approve and it is probable that the Public Liability cover on your household insurance would not pay up if anything untoward occurred.