And if we’re going to have all this snow around, we might as well have some fun with it, whether you’re a kid or an adult. Previously we explained cross-country skiing technique. This time around, we’re talking about snow forts. (Adults, we promise this is more fun and less tiring than shovelling the driveway.)
If you’re going to be victorious in any snowball fights or simply want a place of your own to hang out in the snow, you should consider building a fort of some kind. The walls give you defence from incoming projectiles, basically absorbing anything that comes your way. That gives you more time to make snowballs and then retaliate. And snow is pretty good at blocking out those intense gusts of wintry wind, too.
Placement: For a snowball fight-worthy fort, think about where your enemies are likely to approach from. Are you in a field that connects to a neighbourhood? Set up with the front wall facing the main access point of the field so that you can delay enemy entry into the field.
You don’t want to be exposed. You don’t want to be short of snowballs either, so make a bunch of those in advance and keep them inside your fort.
If there’s an exposed area behind your fort, build some protection there, too. Hopefully there’s someone else on your team to cover any advances on that side as well. You don’t want to be exposed. You don’t want to be short of snowballs either, so make a bunch of those in advance and keep them inside your fort.
For extra fun, enlist all of your friends to build snow forts around the place where you’ll be having a snowball fight. That way everyone has a chance at defending themselves and, at the same time, facing the challenge of attacking another fort.
Size: While a fort that’s so tall it protects you even when standing up is a cool idea, it’s unlikely anyone has that much snow available. It’s also less likely to be structurally sound. Aim for something that’s at shoulder height while you’re kneeling in the snow. Tall enough that you can duck if a snowball is flying your way, but also not so tall that you can’t properly throw your own snowball over it or observe who’s coming.
Shape: There are a number of different structures that can be built with snow. This includes igloos that have traditionally been constructed by Inuit families and hunters in the Arctic. One can also carve out a snow cave from a massive mound of snow. But let’s try something less elaborate for now. A U-shaped wall.
Construction: In an area with a plenty of dense packing snow, use your hands or a shovel to remove snow and make a semi-circular, U-shaped trench. This is the area just in front of your fort/wall. Pile the removed snow into the inside of the U shape, which will be the inside of your fort.
Start to carve out the front wall of the fort. You can make the edge of the wall especially crisp and uniform if you’re using a shovel, scraping and patting down the snow with the curved part of the shovel. The idea is to have a wide, sturdy bottom for the fort.
Clear out a trench at the back of the U-shaped wall so you can start to access the middle of the fort. From here, scoop up the snow that was dumped into the middle of the fort and pile it onto the top of the wall. Pack it down with your hands or shovel and add more snow until it’s the right height. You should also have enough space to get into the fort yourself, a flat area to sit down, a place to store snowballs and supplies, like a thermos of hot chocolate.
Side note: if you live in a hilly area, these same ideas can be used to build ramps and moguls for your very own sled, ski, or snowboard stunt course. How much air you catch just depends on what kind of curve and upward angle you build into snow ramps.
With this large, snowy fortification built, you’ll be chilling (literally) out in the snow and probably dominating your next snowball fight.
