The easiest place to build your igloo is a flat open area with a snow depth around 2½ to 3ft. That snow depth will help prevent damage to underlying vegetation and provide plenty of snow to build the igloo.

If the snow is less than 2 ft. deep, you may want to pile some of the surrounding snow onto the platform in order to have a platform that is 12 to 18 inches deep so that you can later cut out a trench. This way you can sit without being cross-legged and stand fully upright if desired.

The igloo likes shade from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. A spot with trees is better than in the shade of a mountain for being able to enjoy the sun. If you are above the trees, it doesn’t matter so much as it is colder up there but the sun will still have some influence on the igloo. Building in the trees does stop some of the sublimation of the igloo from being out of the wind. Drifting snow can bury the igloo quickly in the wrong spot and it doesn’t drift in the trees. The trees will take away the chance for a room with a view though so higher is what Igloo Ed prefers.

It is easiest to pack down a platform with skis or snowshoes, but your igloo will last longer if you pack with your boots and bust down through the snow as deep as possible and then pack your way up and out of the snow.

Pack a level area three feet in diameter bigger than the igloo size you are building. This is large enough to leave a 10 inch ledge around the outside of the igloo that you will need for standing on when working on the higher levels of the igloo. This ledge is critical and is easily taken away by the shoveler when picking up snow while building the igloo.

While packing the platform, keep in mind that it’s important that you make the center of the platform solid so that the stake will not shift once you’ve planted it. It is best if you pack the center of the platform as early as possible giving the snow more time to sinter and become solid. Pack the stake area by stomping as deep as you can in the center of the platform and start packing your way up and out of the hole you have stomped. It is also best if you avoid walking on this area as you are leveling and packing the platform and assembling the ICEBOX® so you don’t fracture the area.

Although a flat area is easiest for building the igloo, you may choose to build someplace with a slope so the door can come out below the igloo and not be down in a hole. It is energy saving to have the door below the igloo and not have a hole to climb out of when exiting the igloo. If you go this route, build on a flat area that has a drop off along it. If there is no flat area with an accompanying slope along it, build on a slant. Keep in mind that it takes considerably more energy to build the platform and the igloo when on a slope but a lot of the energy is gained back because of the ease of exiting the igloo and the ease of shoveling off the walk.

When building where the site is sloped, pack the downhill side of the platform first. One person should keep walking along the downhill edge while a shoveler moves snow from the high side and down into the packer’s footsteps. It also saves a lot of energy if you push the snow whenever possible instead of lifting and throwing the snow.

If you do build on a flat area and you have steps going down into a trench, keep in mind that if you are in the wind, your trench will fill with snow and be difficult to dig out. A short level trench that comes out the side of a slope is much easier to remove snow from.

If you are going to run a stove or lantern in the igloo, you will want to have a vent so you get an exchange of air to lessen the chance of carbon monoxide poisoning. If there is a chance of your door drifting shut through the night, a vent should also be used to lessen the chance of suffocation.

The vent will melt bigger with time and will need to be plugged and opened again so it is not too large. If the vent gets as big as a baseball, your heat will escape and you will feel a cold draft coming in the door. 

Igloo Ed ran some tests using a carbon monoxide meter and found the following: with an ISO-butane lantern and stove burning on simmer, the CO level was below 5 ppm and with the stove on a high heat setting, they saw a CO level of 15 ppm. When running a stove on simmer and using Coleman fuel, they had readings of 22 ppm but didn’t test for CO with the stove on a high heat setting. They had readings of 125 ppm when they primed the Coleman fuel stove inside the igloo and advise anyone using any stove that requires priming to prime it outside the igloo. This text is copied from an OSHA document pointing out these levels labeled as hazardous: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for exposure to carbon monoxide prohibits workers’ exposure to more than 35 parts of the gas per million parts of air (ppm), averaged over an 8-hour workday. There is also a ceiling limit of 200 ppm (as measured over a 15-minute period).

Vent location

Generally speaking, it is best to poke the vent above the door or trench. The main concern is getting snow on your gear when working on the vent. Poking the hole at top dead center puts it above the trench in all but the 7 foot igloo. In the 7 foot igloo, create the vent down the wall a little above eye level but still over the short door pit.

The air in the vent travels about 5 mph which is fast enough to blow falling snow away from the vent and keep it open. Snow actually collects on the windward side of the hole and blows away/melts on the leeward side of the igloo creating an angled vent hole. 

A concern with vents on the side(s) of the igloo is the vent getting plugged with fresh falling snow.  If the vent was on the side of the igloo, there is a chance that it would be where a drift collects on the igloo and it might overwhelm the air flow and plug the vent. That might be a reason to use two vents (one on each side) if you prefer the side vs the top, as snow would only form a drift on the leeward side of the igloo leaving the other vent open.

Snow could potentially blow into the igloo if the vent was on the windward side of the igloo and the wind was stronger than the air pressure inside the igloo due to heat rising.

The size of the vent controls the amount of air exchange one gets, not the number of vents.

When starting to build a solo igloo with the ICEBOX Igloo Tool, set the form in position and get it to set at the proper square to floor angle. Then put enough snow into the form to build the entire 1/3 block of the first block of the ramp.

After placing enough snow into the form, position the form correctly and pack the snow. Pack the snow by putting your hand down through the snow and pack it to the floor below. Continue packing while packing your way up and out of the loose snow.

Position the form for the second block of the ramp, you will notice that the form stays put a bit better when positioned on the previous block.

Put enough snow into the form to build the second block of the ramp and again put your hand down through the snow and pack your way up and out of the snow. Depending on snow conditions, you may need to add a little bit of snow to complete the block.

Position the form for the third block of the ramp and fill the form full with loose snow and again go down into the loose snow and pack up and out. You will need to add more snow to finish the third block.

The reason for putting as much snow as possible into the form before packing is for speed but more importantly to keep your hands drier. If you pack just a little bit and handle the shovel again, the snow on your glove melts when holding onto the shovel handle eventually leading to the shovel handle icing up and your glove getting wet.

For the first couple blocks of the ramp, the form moves around pretty easily and it is best to pack them from the inside of the igloo. The third block of the ramp is a bit more steady because it is positioned on the 2/3 end of the second block and it can be packed from the outside. The rest of the blocks of the first and second layer can be packed from the outside and the form can be released and positioned from the outside as well.

On the third layer it depends how tall you are as to whether or not you can pack and position from the outside.

If need be, you step over the wall to pack and move the form.

On the fourth layer, the Outer Panel is removed and the packing can be done again from the outside.
In order to place and pack snow with the Outer Panel removed, put your right hand on the top of the Inner Panel close to the End Panel and push slightly in and down on that corner of the Inner Panel.

While holding this pressure, use your left hand to pick up one shovel of snow and place it in the form. Spread this snow out so it packs into the corner or crack all along the Inner Panel on the lower layer and the last block.

After this is packed the pressure on the right hand can be released and the form will stay put.

Pick up another shovel of snow and again place the pressure on the form again before dumping the snow into the form. Pack the snow into the rear corner of the form and build out from there. Once the block is built far enough out that it has crossed the center of the pole, the form will stay put without the pressure on the corner of the form.

To move the form, jiggle the form a bit until it comes loose and then move and position it again. There is no need to release the Toggle Handle if the form is slanted a bit so it comes loose when moved ahead.

The door will need to be opened up in order to change the length of the pole for each layer but that should be the only reason to go into the igloo until building the last block of the igloo.

For the last block, go into the igloo and position the form so it is held in place with a little pressure.

Go outside and pack the last block and your igloo is finished.

The door is dug to full depth into the igloo but the door pit is stopped short of the center of the igloo so a person can sleep broadside to the door. Once the door pit is dug, a small trench can be dug off to the side to give the chair sitting position.