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Top Billing goes igloo building in Canada
Top Billing goes igloo building in Canada
Jeannie misses the Sasquatch sighting but she does meet a tall, dark Canadian named Geordie who teaches her to build an igloo made for two.
No country in the world is better at insulation from the icy winds and sub zero temperatures of Winter than Canada. So good that they even know how to use snow to keep themselves warm and cosy as Jeannie found out, first hand. Head up Cypress Mountain in the Pacific South West and you reach a plateau which gets ten metres of snow each winter. An element which can be your enemy or your friend.
The country is sparsely populated and because you can’t always be sure of running into the famously warm Canadian hospitality, it’s best to learn how the original Innuit citizens stay toasty at night. Geordie Goodman gave us a demonstration of just how they did it!
When building an igloo the best snow for the job has needs to be compacted, as its interlocking ice crystals lend structural strength. The rows are laid, each in a progressive, inward curve, to reinforce themselves. The blocks have such insulating properties because the snow traps air within its structure. Powder snow makes for great cement. It is an all purpose building material but you need to know your snow as it can ice up very easily.
Once the self-reinforcing dome is complete and has a chance to freeze, it can take the weight of a grown man. While Innuit hunters out on the Arctic sea ice can put up an igloo in an hour, with just a knife, it took us a little longer!
Tune into Top Billing on Saturday 28 April 2018 at 6PM to see how the rest of Jeannie’s igloo building adventure unfolds!
