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Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:38 pm
by Pyroman9
Its that time of year again!!! To busy with work to get to the mountains this week? Or want to get ready for next week? Or just bored..... be a kid and get the shovel out.

How many people here have had neighbors give them strange looks when making a snow cave in the front yard? I decided to make one for the hell of it the other day... while making the giant pile and shoveling my yard for enough snow... a guy walked up and was like that is cool your making a snow fort for your kids. .. (mind i do not have kids)... I quickly and excitedly told him it was for me not the kids!

Last night me and my mountaineering friend crashed in the cave, held up really well. Its been built for three days now and has not sunk in at all. Great way to practice your snow cave making skills.

So has anyone else had some fun at home? Lets see pics.
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It is bigger as of today, no pics yet. We decided we would like to have another six inches on each side to allow for loft in the sleeping bags and keep them from touching the walls.

The best part of it all??? We ordered a pizza and told them to deliver to the snow cave in my front yard.. and sure enough... he did! The pizza guy was shocked to look in and see us drinking beer and awaiting our pizza. lol He got a good tip.

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:22 pm
by Snowslogger
Excellent, way to turn lemons into lemonade!

So you having your super bowl party in there? Big enough for a big screen? :P

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 10:53 pm
by Pyroman9
hmmmm whats suprising is i could fit it in there... but i think i will keep that one inside! lol

However the girlfrield is looking forward to staying the night in there with me though! It is big for a camping igloo but a great spot to camp out here since i do not have to hike in all the gear! Its a quick trail to get there....

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:07 am
by Peak Freak
So jealous you have all that snow in your yard!!!!! I love snow caves!!!

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:27 pm
by TimB
Very cool.
We don't see that kind of snow nowadays in(Southern) Idaho-your pictures make me wish we did!

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:41 pm
by Pyroman9
hahaha Just shovel your front yard... and then borrow your neighbors snow... :) lol all about dedication! lol

I am off to sleep in it again tonight! It will be a long and dangerous journey. The trip includes... packing up my gear... walking out my front door... stepping off the deck.. and crawling through a small hole into the snow cave... and doing that for ALL the gear! With that many trips i risk getting caught in a terrible white out with incredible winds. I also run risk of HACE and HAPE due to the 520ft of rochester, NY.

Wish me luck guys.

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:33 pm
by Grampahawk
I did the same thing and everyone in the family thought I was nuts. I knew the theory but wanted to actually build and sleep in a snow cave to get the experience. First, it took longer than I thought and I got real sweaty making it. So now I know that in a real situation to start early and slow down to minimize the sweat. The outside temp was 15 degrees at midnight. It was 38 degrees in the cave. It was solid for two weeks until we had a warm rain. I need to find out more about using my stove inside the cave. Haven't done it yet. I'm aware of the danger but feel that I had pretty good ventilation with the small hole though the ceiling.

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:13 pm
by RCerber
I want to sleep into an iglo from to long time, never had the chance

I hope next winter I will buy an ICEBOX Igloo Maker, see the video too and you will see how easy is to use :D and fun

Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:02 pm
by ridgeguy
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Re: Bringing mountaineering to your front yard...

PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:14 pm
by Pyroman9
Great pic there! My cave finally collapsed a few days ago. Stood strong for two or three weeks at least! Slept in it a total of three times. Its great practice to learn how to make snow caves quickly but efficiently.