A Grand Shelter in Mayflower Gulch

Matt, Glenn, and I headed out to Mayflower Gulch with plans to contruct the largest igloo possible with the Icebox tool--11 feet in diameter. After our successful igloo at 7 feet in diameter, we were feeling pretty good about our chances for success. We have ironed out all of the mistakes we have made so far, so this igloo was set to be the best.

We hiked up the well-used trail into the basin. We located a nice flat area with snow well over four feet deep. This is the area we chose. Orginally, we had hoped to climb up near the west ridge of Atlantic Peak, but in looking back we are glad we did not. The igloo took us over 6 hours to build from stomping out the platform to digging out the door and kitchen area.


The weather turned snowy and visibility dropped significantly, so Matt and I passed on our bid for a climb of Atlantic until another day. Mayflower Gulch is quite popular; consequently, many snowshoers and skiers stopped to chat with us about our palatial igloo. Check it out if you plan to visit the area. It should last several months.

Check out more photos and info at The Summit Ridge.