people – one working from inside the igloo, and one to
pass over the blocks.
You want deep, compacted snow to create blocks. If
you struggle to find suitably dense snow, you can pile
the snow into a huge mound and leave it overnight to
bind together – a process called ‘sintering’ – or trample
the snow underfoot.
Create a circle. An igloo that’s 2.5 metres or less
across is safest if you’re a beginner – use a string and
peg to mark out an exact circle of the right diameter.
Use a bread knife or handsaw to cut out rectangular
blocks. Traditional Inuit igloos are made from huge
blocks about 90cm long x 40cm high x 20cm thick –
but local snowfall in the UK will probably only allow
for smaller ones. Lay one complete circle of blocks.
Cut a gentle slope around a third of the circle. This
allows you to start building the rest of the blocks in an
upwards spiral. Work from the inside of the igloo; get
the other person to pass you the blocks over the wall.
Using your saw or a knife, shave off the bottom
of each block so it tips slightly forwards when it’s
positioned on the block below. This is how you create
the dome shape. Make the blocks slightly smaller as
you get nearer the top. At this point, break off and cut
an entrance hole. Close the final gap in the roof with a
block cut to shape. Pack snow into any gaps between
the blocks, inside and out, to create a smooth finish.
Then squeeze inside and admire your handiwork.
The Little Book of Snow by Sally Coulthard
is published by Head of Zeus.
Snow has so many different forms- it changes and mutates as it falls,
lands and melts – that it’s no
surprise different regions have come
up with their own words to describe
what they experience. From the
subtle differences between types of
snowfall to trying to describe the
worst a snowstorm can throw at you,
here are just some of the more
unusual or long-forgotten terms:
Blenky An old West Country word
to describe very light snowfall,
from blenks, an old word for ashes.
The Scots called a light snow shower
flindrikin, which also means flimsy
or frivolous.
Blind smuir A fantastic historic Scottish
word for a snow drift. Smuir meant to
‘smother’ or ‘suffocate’, so a ‘blind
smuir’ was a snow storm that not only
blinded you, but also choked.
Onding An 18th-century word,
originally from the Middle
English dingen, which means to
hit repeatedly; ‘onding’ is heavy,
unrelenting snow or rain.
Snow-broth A medieval phrase
meaning melted snow or slush; it even
turns up in Shakespeare’s Measure for
Measure, “... Lord Angelo; a man whose
blood Is very snow-broth”.
Poudre The French Canadians used
poudre to describe powdery snow
(from the Old French, poudre, meaning
‘powder’ or ‘dust’) until the early 1900s.
The Scots used a similar word,
snaw-pouther.
Ice-shoggles Old Yorkshire dialect for
‘icicles’. Other regional gems from
across the UK include clinker-bells,
daglers, ice-lick, izles, snipes and
tanklets. Interestingly, many words in
Yorkshire dialect have Viking origins –
the word glocken, which describes
the point at which snow begins to thaw,
comes from the Icelandic glöggur,
which means ‘to make clear’.Snow dialect
“Snow brings out in us the
mischievous child, itching to
chuck a snowball at a passerby”LIVING (^) | OUTDOORS