| cutline: vertical: Alec van Herwijnen and Peggy Klein Klouwenberg peek out the dual entrances of the snow cave they built in their backyard
horizontal: Alec van Herwijnen and Peggy Klein Klouwenberg relax inside the snow cave they built in their backyard
The snowflakes that fall from the sky on a crisp winter day offer possibilities that go beyond schoolyard snowball fights and steeply sloped ski hills. Water in this form is not only beautiful to look at and fun to play with, but it can also be used as a functional resource.
Snow is one of the strongest naturally occurring materials and a great insulator, according to Cam Campbell, a snow engineering student at the University of Calgary.
Snow engineering is a science course that falls under the civil engineering department.
Campbell says the purpose of the course is to study the attributes of snow in order to gain knowledge that will aid in avalanche detection.
However, the hands-on approach has allowed the students to gain expertise in skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding and winter survival as well. Spending a mere four classes inside a classroom, the bulk of learning took place outdoors in remote areas of Kananaskis Country and Roger’s Pass. Campbell says the only available shelter was what students made for themselves with the material available – snow.
The Inuit were the first to pioneer the use of snow to provide protection from harsh winds and dropping temperatures – igloos, snow caves and quinzhee huts are the three types of shelters that can be made entirely of snow.
According to Campbell, igloos, or snow houses, are the most common and most difficult shelters that the Inuit build in the arctic. They use saws to cut out compacted snow into square- or rectangular-shaped blocks and then pile them up to form a dome shape. To allow the light inside, they also use some transparent ice blocks as windows.
"Watching a skilled igloo maker in action is very impressive," says Campbell.
Snow caves and quinzhee huts require less expertise. A snow cave is the easiest shelter to build because it uses a snow bank, generally located on a hillside, so half of the work is already done. The remaining half involves building up the other side with compacted snow to form a sheltered area to sleep in. For a quinzhee hut, you have to pile a large amount of snow on a flat surface, then pack it down and tunnel into it.
The temperatures inside a quinzhee hut will differ depending on the size and shape of the hut, although Campbell maintains that "it can get above freezing easily." He adds that if a shelter is built well, the insides will have smooth rounded edges, so if any melting occurs, the water will slide down the sides instead of dripping on the occupants.
Campbell shares his interest in snow engineering with his roommates. In fact, one of them, fellow snow engineering student Alec van Herwijnen, recently built a quinzhee hut in the backyard of their northwest home with the help of a friend.
Kyle Stewart, another roommate and graduate of the snow engineering course, helps explain what they find so appealing about it.
"When you were little, everyone liked playing in the snow, digging and building snow forts," says Stewart. "It (a quinzhee hut) is just a snow fort that you can spend the night in."
For step-by-step instructions on how to build a quinzhee hut, visit http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/1066/543quinzhee.html. To learn more about the snow engineering program at U of C, visit www.eng.ucalgary.ca/civil/avalanche.
How to make the perfect snowball
For kids of all ages
1. Ingredients
· Good wet snow
· A warm winter day
· Friends who have it coming
2. Mixing instructions:
· The key is to find the perfect kind of snow, generally when the temperatures are between 0 C and —20 C, the snow will be more bondable because it is wetter, stickier snow.
· Grab a handful of snow and squeeze it together to form a ball that fits inside your hand. · Add more snow as needed, then wind up and let ’er rip.
For kids 18 and up
1. Ingredients:
· 1/3 oz. anisette or Pernod
· 1/3 oz. crème de violette
· 1/3 oz. heavy cream
· 1/3 oz. white crème de menthe
· 1 oz. gin
2. Mixing instructions:
· Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker or blender.
· Strain into a chilled champagne glass and serve. |
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