STRONGEST IGLOO - a Snow Eskimo Igloo has born a weight of 18 men - 1524 kg, placed on the top of the Igloo.
A snow Eskimo Igloo of internal diameter 3.5 m has been built using the only one traditional instrument - a saw. For building we used a classical Eskimos snow skill of spiral construction of the igloo. No supporting constructions were used during building. The Igloo has been built by the team of participants of the 2nd International School "From Andreev Reflection to the International Space Station" led by Leonid Kuzmin. Leonid Kuzmin is a Russian scientist (physicist) working at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, and having 15 years experience of building snow igloos. The Igloo was built during 3 hours (without a gothic portal).
For Guinness World Record:
18 men of total weight 1524 kg have been placed on the top of the Snow Eskimo Igloo and the Igloo has born this weight!
The Igloo had an internal diameter of 3.5 meters.
Category: the Snow Eskimo Igloo built by the primitive traditional instrument - a saw (or snow knife), without any supporting constructions during building.
Photo of record setting are placed on the Web: http://fy.chalmers.se/~kuzmin/HOBBY/IGLOO/igloo-list.html
Local press and broadcast station showed great interest to the Igloo building and the Record Setting: two articles appeared in "Norrländska Socialdemokraten" on March 21 and 24, 2001. The broadcast time was given to Ulf Lindberg for information about these events. Materials about the Igloo building and record setting were included in the Proceedings of the School.
This Snow Igloo is absolutely different in comparison with the IceHotel in Jukkasjärvi registred by the Guinness Record Book as the "Largest Igloo". The IceHotel is of a category of Ice Palaces. It was built by industry methods using steel supporting constructions and snow machine during building. After finishing the building, the steel constructions were removed from internal parts. No doubt that IceHotel is an excellent ice art. However, it has nothing with real Eskimo skill to build a classical snow Igloo using only primitive instrument for cutting snow blocks. (We give definition of the term "Igloo" from Encyclopedia Britannica in the end of this application).
Our Snow Igloo has been built only by a traditional Eskimo instrument - a saw, used for cutting snow blocks. A spiral building of Igloo using snow blocks represents a real snow art and returns us back to the famous Eskimo skill. No supporting constructions were used during building.
Application on registration of the Guinness Record was sent to the Swedish Department of the Guinness Record Book in April 2001. They answered that due to the new rules we should contact your main office directly.
AUTHENTIFICATION:
Resort Manager
98193 Björkliden, Sweden
tel +46 980 64 161
Michael Wallberg
Head of buildings and maintenance
98193 Björkliden, Sweden
tel +46 980 64 177
2. Two articles in "Norrländska Socialdemokraten" on March 21 (in two parts: first part on title page and second ó inside the newspaper; copy applied) and March 24, 2001 (short information about record attempt; Internet copy applied).
Broadcast station: the broadcast time was given to Ulf Lindberg for information about these events incuding 5 min at 11:45 on March 23 just after record setting (photo 6 shows "hurah" for broadcast just after record setting).
3. Photos 1, 2, 3 and 4. Process of building the Igloo of an internal diameter 3.5 m using old Eskimo skill of spiral development (without any supporting constructions).
Photo 6. 11:45 on March 23."Hurah" for broadcast station just after record setting
Photo 7. Igloo with the main instrument of building ó saw. Transparences with an emblem of the School were melted in specially prepared ice and used for decoration of the portal and also inserted in a window of the ceiling (see photo 5)
Photo 8. The 18 physicists from 7 countries inside the Igloo: traditional round-table discussion is moved from stuffy room to fresh air of the igloo.
Photos of record setting and more photos about Igloo building are placed on the Web: http://fy.chalmers.se/~kuzmin/HOBBY/IGLOO/igloo-list.html
4. Video clip of the record attempt. (Detailed video about process of Igloo building exists and can be sent on the request.)
5. Materials about the record Igloo were included in the Proceedings of the School (a title page is applied, the Proceedings can be sent on the request. The Web site of the School: http://fy.chalmers.se/~kuzmin/School2.html) .
Registration of Guinness record on the Strongest Igloo would attract attention to this snow art and play important role in development of old Eskimo traditions. We are sure that it will be only the first step in series of exiting achievements in reviving a human potential in real contacts with the North Nature.
p.s. Our ideology behind this Igloo activity:
We believe that we should be closer to the Nature. We get energy including personal energy only from the Nature. Restoring the old Eskimo snow skill is one of the steps in that direction. People should not afraid the Nature, they should be in good contact with it. We imagine that the real situation should be as the following:
snow, a saw in your rucksack, and Ö nothing more beside your skill to build the Igloo and survive.
And if you can do it you donít afraid the Nature,
you know that you can survive at any circumstances in good contacts with
the Nature.
ENCYCLOP®DIA BRITANNICA
The term igloo, or iglu, from Eskimo igdlu ("house").
The igloo, usually made from blocks of snow and dome-shaped, is used in the area between the Mackenzie River delta and Labrador where Inuit live in sealskin or, more recently, cloth tents.
To build the igloo, the builder takes a deep snowdrift of fine-grained, compact
snow and cuts it into blocks with a snow knife, a swordlike instrument originally
made of bone but now usually of metal. After a first row of
these blocks has been laid out in a circle on a flat stretch of snow, the top
surfaces of the blocks are shaved off in a sloping angle to form the first rung of
a spiral. Additional blocks are added to the spiral to draw it inward until the
dome is completed except for a hole left at the top for ventilation. Joints and
crevices are filled with loose snow.