January 6th, 2008
Mysterious igloos appear on Mount Royal
By Christopher DeWolf // 11 Comments
The Journal de Montréal reported yesterday that two igloos have appeared on Mount Royal, one near Park Avenue and the other further west, near Beaver Lake. They're both about six feet high, made from large blocks of snow, cut and assembled quite solidly, and big enough to hold two or three people. Nobody seems to know who built them, though, or for that matter, why. The Journal offers some ideas:
«C'est tout à fait plausible qu'un sans-abri d'origine inuite ait construit cet igloo pour y passer la nuit», affirme Craig Ross, coordonnateur du centre des jeunes du Centre d'amitié autochtone de Montréal.
«Je crois même savoir de qui il s'agit», ajoute-t-il, bien qu'il ne puisse nous dire où se trouve cette personne sans domicile fixe.
Selon les chiffres du Centre d'amitié autochtone de Montréal, il y aurait près de 300 sans-logis d'origine inuite dans la métropole.
«Les igloos sont des constructions ancestrales. Bien peu d'Inuits savent en construire un de nos jours», observe une travailleuse sociale du Module du Nord Québécois, qui préfère demeurer anonyme.
L'intervenante émet l'hypothèse que la construction aurait pu avoir une vocation éducative.
One elderly Inuit man encountered by the Journal suggested that it would be entirely possible to create an inhabitable igloo on Mount Royal, but that it probably wouldn't last very long, since a more durable igloo would require drier, firmer and colder snow.
The Journal also contacted Les Amis de la montagne, whose spokesperson said, "This construction was not authorized. A dwelling of this type is illegal." I'm not sure to what degree this quote was taken out of context, but it strikes me as a bit absurd to dwell on the legality of building an igloo in a snow-covered park.
Photo by Donald Courchesne, Journal de Montréal. Thanks to Kate McDonnell for pointing the way to this story on her Montreal City blog.
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Comments
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Great idea! It would be nice to see more of this kind of thing happening in the city in winter - spontaneous and anonymous.
thanks for the compliment michel!
but i'd like to mention here that i'm _not_ responsible for the one near parc with the beer bottles inside :-)
actually the near beaver lake i made with blocks but cheated by glueing with wet snow. i started another right beside with blocks later-on when it was really cold, that went also well, but passing curious children wanting to climb unfinished walls are a real danger to igloos!
next time, i'll try somewhere further off the paths ...
As an Inuk myself, that cannot be an igloo. It looks too messy to be an igloo. Plus the snow would have to be compact and not as soft as the illustration above.
Geez... I didn't know building an igloo is illegal, like seriously, omg!
I'm an Inuk myself, that can not be an Igloo. It looks too messy to be an Igloo. Plus the snow would have to be compact and not as soft as the illustration above.
lmao, some dumb nerds.
The snow looks too soft and it has to be hard.
Gees...
Really lmao, as an Inuk myself too, and also as an experienced Igloo maker, myself the way I saw that weird snow igloo-wanna be, that's not an Igloo, it's a snow bank just being digged in.
Should come to North and watch me making the right Igloo!
Igloo was our life time shelter and we still make igloo for a shelter while the bad storm blizzard arises, and poor southerners does not understand our real life reality up north. This is no joke!
Don't disguise yourselves, that fake igloo is a illegal! Who ever created it should be charged.
hey jimmy & other inuk,
i take the full responsibility for the weak attempt - but take into account that it was my first (i'm an immigrant into this country), it hasn't been cold enough yet down here, and it's really not in my tradition (so i could not learn from my ancestors)!
i'd love to come up north and learn proper igloo making from the people who know how to do it ... :-)
btw i like the pictures on your homepage
Ilai! People can survive in there although it does not look similar to a real Igloo.I think it's quite intresting to try new things in life , so who ever made that Igloo and caught attntion by others , your awesome.Me myself im an inuk lady and can't even make an Igloo , so if the builder is Qalunak(White man) , keep it up!:) I agree there should be more Inuits building these cubes around the world where the snow may fall.
The park one is mine, started on the 25 of december, had a shovel and I made some blocks. Finished on the 26. Tried to keep it low profile (was not). This was my first half decent igloo, I could stand up in it at the time! Had a hot meal on the 29 in it, building a fire thing on the side. Beer bottles are from new year, when I showed it to some friends. I was plotting to do an overnighter, but lacked preparation.
And fuck the "Les Amis de la montagne", you guys don't even seem friendly. I would like to do a good scale igloo network, with cazy carpet escape tunnels and more cool features.
Is anyone up for this?
Regards,
Max D
Yes I am a geek.
Check out Geek Montreal dot com!
I think the "illegal" statement was harsh, but I suspect they didn't specifically mean making igloos was against the rules, but more that it's not permitted to camp over in the park. People do sometimes camp out in summer, but they've probably not often dealt with anyone making a winter shelter...
The reason it looks like a snow bank dug up is that I started a second wall (to then escavate the insde to make it bigger) and that the weather was not kind to my igloo. The condition for cutting blocks was perfect on the 25.
Not to sound like an outdoorsie nerd, but that isn't an igloo, it's a quinzhee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinzhee). Much easier to build, but it does take a few hours.
Whoever built them on the mountain knew what they were doing. However, if they really were made with blocks of snow, then I'm talking outta my ass.
Comment by Michel
January 6, 2008 | 8:47 am