Meanwhile... in Canada.

One of my winter projects has been the creation of a (epic) snow cave.  I remember when I was young I would build snow caves with my Dad and brother.  And it has been years since we have made one.  Once again my Dad had the initial idea.  He figured it would be fun to start a snow cave, as something that my nephew (nephew-in-law, nephew-in-common-law, brother's girlfriend's kid???) could build and play in.

So it began with a snow-blower and an open patch of ground.  I cleared the snow from a roughly 50 ft by 50 ft area into a big ol' mound, and let it freeze.  Then a day or two later, once it was nice and solid we began to hollow it out.  It quickly became apparent that the nephew was very excited about this snow cave.  Specifically he was happy to have it, but less happy to have to actually dig it.  I think his imagination ran wild on him and he was having more fun thinking of the possibilities than making them come true.  Which I can't fault him for; I remember being a kid with big ideas.  I think that I still am; but, now I have more tools and skills to make them a reality.

I was enjoying the work of building the cave, as much as the dreams about the possibilities.  As such, I rapidly took over development of this snow cave.  All in all, most of the work was done over three days, scattered across weekends when I had time.  I had help from my brother and the nephew a few times, and input from others along the way.  We used lots of blocks carved from the inside to build a small wall (in case of spontaneous snowball fights).  Once the inside was hollowed out, I decided to fancy it up a little, with some niches for candles, and some minor sculpting for character.

All told it is about 4 ft high inside, with room for probably 10 people (snugly).  It keeps out the wind and is surprisingly warm.  I would love to have a little gathering to show it off, before it gets too warm, and begins to melt.  This is one Canadian stereotype that I think we should all take advantage of more often!

Here are a few shots of the interior.  I wasn't able to get outside pictures in the dark.