Airmen experience Inuit tradition

  • Published
  • By Kiley Swopes
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  With talk of igloos floating around 5th Medical Group's mental health clinic, rules were established and Airmen took advantage of Minot's winter as they competed in an igloo challenge.

What started off as a family activity for 1st Lt. Vidalia Owens and her husband Tech. Sgt. Shawn Owens, both members of the 5th MDG Mental Health Flight, soon became an office competition to see who could build a better igloo.

Competitors had approximately a month and a half to strategize and complete their igloos before the judging on Feb. 19.

The igloos were judged on three categories, each of which was graded from one to ten points: structural integrity, artistic merit and unusual features. The three scores were added together to determine the winner.

Three teams participated in the challenge, fighting for the title of 'Supreme Igloo Architect and Friend of the Inuit People,' for a period of one year.

All three igloos are freestanding and are constructed of natural materials. In addition, each igloo was able to inhabit an Inuit completely within the confines of the igloo.

"The hardest part was getting bricks to stick," Lt. Col. David Dickey 5th MDG, Mental Health Flight commander said. "The snow isn't very good. It's almost like powder."

After rebuilding his igloo half way through, Dickey was given a helpful tip on how to utilize milk cartons to build a solid foundation.

"I used milk cartons filled with food coloring and water. Then you freeze them and remove the ice block from the carton," Dickey said.

The Owens put in approximately 40 hours worth of work to complete their 4,000 pound igloo earning them first place in the igloo challenge.

"We could only do one ring a night in order for it to hold," Owens said. "The igloo became taller than I was and I had to use a ladder, while my wife handed me stuff so we could finish it."

After her countless hours of hard work, Owens awaits non-windy nights here in Minot to sleep in her igloo.

"It is rather warm in there," Owens stated. "And who gets to say they slept in an igloo?"

The Mental Health Clinic plans on making the igloo challenge an annual event and looks forward to having more participants next year.