Igloo vs Igloo vs Quinzee

Almost every winter since I was 12 I have been winter camping. Strangely, I have never slept the night in a snow shelter, although I've come pretty close. As a young Scout I slept in a refrigerator box, half-buried in the snow (I'm too big to do that now). As a Venture, I was buried while digging out a quinzee (snow cave) and dragged out by my heels. Every other time I have slept in a tent -- except for one night when the whole troop sought refuge from -35C temperatures in the heated bathrooms. One other night started out with me in a tent alone and finished with me in the driver's seat of a car (I blame my leaky air mattress for soaking my sleeping bag. Since that unfortunate night behind the wheel I have been interested in finding a better way.

I think igloos are the answer. In my opinion, igloos are better than quinzees.

If you did not come up through the Scout program in a four-season zone like Canada, you may not know much about igloos or quinzees. This is from Wikipedia:

A quinzhee or quinzee (pronounced /ˈkwɪnzi/) is a shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. This is in contrast to an igloo, which is made from blocks of snow.
Differences between a quinzhee and an igloo
Quinzhees are not usually meant as a form of permanent shelter, while igloos can be used for seasonal and year round habitation. The construction of a quinzhee is slightly easier than the construction of an igloo, although the overall result is somewhat less sturdy and more prone to collapsing in harsh weather conditions. Quinzhees are normally constructed in times of necessity, usually as an instrument of survival, so aesthetic and long-term dwelling considerations are normally exchanged for economy of time and materials.

I did some research and procured two different types of igloo-building kits in the fall, which we tested last night on the church lawn -- along with some quinzees dug out of the snowbank. Here are the results:

1. Classic Quinzee (dugout cave)



The boys were pretty enthusiastic about digging out these caves, and pretty soon they had bored 4 sizable holes into the snow bank. In fact, some of them kept digging for a good 40 minutes after the activity was over -- foregoing their hot chocolate and donuts to keep at it. They were completely covered in snow by the end.
Verdict: Quinzees are pretty quick and simple to build, but you pretty much get soaked doing it.



2. Eskimold Igloo Kit (interlocking blocks)



We used these 2 plastic bucket-like forms to make interlocking blocks for the igloo wall. Unfortunately, the snow was dry and not very sticky, so it was pretty tough going. The boys had to stand on the snow in the molds to pack them tightly enough that they would stay. I think if we had better snow or if we had more molds, this method would have been more successful.
Verdict: Not a bad way to build an igloo if the conditions are good.


3. Ice Box Igloo Kit (continuous form)



This next one had me really excited. There are some igloo enthusiasts out in Colorado (including one guy with a big shaggy beard) that have been building these things for years and they developed their own equipment to make an igloo, combining elements of true Inuit technique with modern technology. The result is that you can build a decent igloo with nearly any quality of snow in a matter of a few hours. Of course, we only had about 75 minutes to work with, so our first crack at it only got into the second row. You make continuous blocks with this 3-side cube, which rotates around the center of the igloo at the end of a rod that is staked into the ground.
Verdict: Awesome.


From what I've read, the interior of a tent will be about 10 degree warmer than the outside air on a winter camp -- so if you've got to cope with -25C inside if it's -35C outside (ouch). On the other hand, the interior of an igloo can be at about the freezing mark, regardless what the outside temperature is.


And although you work longer building an igloo compared to a quinzee, building the quinzee is a whole lot wetter.


Igloo wins.


[Note: We camped in an Ice Box igloo in Kananaskis in February: Link]

What Boys Do In Winter - 2009

Two years ago I posted an entry entitled "What Boys Do In Winter":


A few years have passed, and the faces are different, but boys are still boys:



This video was from a recent overnight trip to the Kananaskis Lower Lake campground about an hour west of Calgary. The daytime temperatures were decent, but it dropped to -26C during the night. As is typical with winter camps, discomfort and the call of nature rouses you out of bed before you would really prefer. To shake the boys out of their groggy haze and to give them something positive to remember about the camp, we went out in a clearing created by a frozen pond and played British Bulldog and Capture the Flag in the deep, deep snow.

The games gave way to random sequences of violence for the benefit of the camera.

Rafting the Kickinghorse River

We took the scouts whitewater rafting down the Kickinghorse River (near Golden, BC) last month, and we ended up with some sweet pics. It was the last day of the season on that river and it was little bit chilly, even with our neoprene outfits on. I was sitting up front in our raft and it seemed like I got more than my share of waves that splashed over my head, sending streams of icy water down the inside of my wetsuit. It was tons of fun and we're planning on going back again next year.

My Raft

The Other Raft

A week or two later, we did a video log segment of the trip, since the boys like to complain whenever we ask them to pick up a pen and write something. One of them says it's "too much like school". Clearly, he has not found the true joy in education that I have found these last year. In the video, look for Scouter Troy to dish out pushups to one of the boys for chatting with girls while he was talking. Some of the girls from church had wandered into our classroom by then, and one of them did the pushups just for fun. She also made up several details about the trip that were better than the info provided by the boys who actually went on the trip.

. "Three-and-a-half-and-a-half"

Games in the Park

Canmore to Banff: First of a Tradition

Scout Banquet 2008

Dustin was hiding in most of the pictures, but I finally caught him at the end:

Secret Santa's 12 Days Of Christmas

For the last 5 or 6 years I have been a volunteer leader for the youth group at church. Every Christmas, we pick a family in our congregation to be the recipients of 12 days of gifts, delivered to the doorstep by a group of "Secret Santas". In late November, the youth wrapped most of the presents at a weeknight activity, with one gift for each of the 12 days:

#	DAY	DEC.	GIFT
1	Wed	12	turkey
2	Thurs	13	turtles
3	Fri	14	stuffing
4	Sat	15	CD
5	Sun	16	lifesavers
6	Mon	17	eggnog
7	Tues	18	ornaments
8	Wed	19	rolls & margarine
9	Thurs	20	potatoes
10	Fri	21	socks
11	Sat	22	pie
12	Sun	23	gifts (ie: boardgames)

A tag was affixed to each of the 12 packages, with a message based on the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". A few years back, I wrote a new set of verses to better match the gifts for each day, which were mainly the components of a Christmas dinner. I think I wrote the whole thing out in about 20 minutes one night, but we've been using it with very few changes for years:

On the 1st day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
A partridge in a pear tree.
The partridge flew away,
But we found you this replacement.


On the 2nd day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Two turtle doves
All wrapped up in chocolate…
…Ooooh, sweet chocolate.


On the 3rd day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Three French hens.
But what good are hens
Without some stuffing?


On the 4th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Four calling birds.
But the birds were so good,
They went on a European concert tour.
So here are their latest albums.


On the 5th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Five golden rings.
Santa’s not much for jewelry—
He gives candy rings instead!


On the 6th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Six geese a-laying.
So we gathered the eggs,
And made you this drink.


On the 7th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Seven swans a-swimming.
But we exchanged the swans
For these classy ornaments.
(What good are a bunch of swans?)


On the 8th days of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Eight maids a-milking.
The maids had to go home,
But they churned this fresh butter.
(Well, it sure tastes like butter!)


On the 9th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Nine ladies dancing.
(We’re not sure
What this has to do with potatoes.)


On the 10th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Ten lords a-leaping.
Unfortunately, the lords leapt right out
Of their socks and disappeared.


On the 11th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Eleven pipers piping.
--And here’s a piping-hot pie.
(Well, it’s probably not so hot now, though
but you could heat up if you wanted—
and maybe serve it with ice cream, etc)


On the 12th day of Christmas,
Santa gave to you:
Twelve drummers drumming.
The drummers all chipped in
For a swell Christmas gift.
-
Merry Christmas from the drummers,
from Santa, all nine ladies-dancing.
May your Christmas this year
Be filled up with turkey
And with loads of good cheer.

Today was the last delivery for this year's project, and I think the kids all really enjoyed being a part of it. They particularly like the part where they get to ring the doorbell and run away into the night. It's a great tradition and one that we did when I was a teenager, so the tradition continues...