A home in the snow

MOSES LAKE — The wind blew across the backyard of 9626 Superior Court, south of Moses Lake, hard enough to drop the temperature.

But for people inside the igloo, the wind didn’t matter.

Four children and two adults spent four hours on Monday putting together the almost 7-foot high structure, 25-year-old Jordon Despain said.

They made blocks of snow in a cooler and Despain transported them to the structure. The lines are invisible now.

“We packed snow around (the blocks),” said Brandon Hansen, 14.

The group built an igloo last year, said Brianna Hansen, 9, but it was smaller. Although this year’s igloo started after they tried to build a snowman.

“The snowman was too hard,” she said. “We started to build one, but it wouldn’t pick up enough snow.”

The inside of the igloo is large enough for Brandon and Brianna Hansen, Despain and Max Heinzmann, 12, to fit inside sitting down. Brandon Hansen pointed at the baseball-sized windows they cut into the side of the structure.

“There’s two ventholes in case of collapse,” he said. “We should write messages on the wall … Caribou low, people starve.”

The group planned the opening so the wind wouldn’t blow in, Despain said.

“We knew the wind comes crossways (across the backyard,)” Brandon Hansen said. “And the house is right there (in front of the opening), so it blocks the wind.”

“I’m the only one who can stand up in here,” Brianna Hansen said.

The outside is sturdy enough Brianna Hansen can climb to the top and she said she uses it as a slide. The group plans on trying for an ice castle next or an igloo hotel. The two other people who helped build the igloo were Drew Miller, 13, and Andrea Despain, 23.

Elizabeth Hansen, Despain’s sister-in-law, said the igloo was beautiful.

“It was a fun outside activity for three or four hours,” she said. “When they were done they came in and had hot chocolate and cookies.”