A night in a snow igloo in South Tyrol
Welcome to Igloo Number 5
It's a sunny and icy cold day when I arrive at Speikboden in South Tyrol's Ahrntal valley. At an altitude of 2000 meters, there's a small igloo village, which I reach on foot from the mountain station. With a backpack full of winter clothes, a headlamp, and swimwear (yes, really!), I arrive at the top. Maria and Florian, aka Flocki, greet me immediately. They check me in, give me a hot welcome drink, and show me my igloo for the night. I'm staying in number 5, right next to the igloo restaurant. There's not much to unpack; I simply leave my backpack in the small snow house. My igloo is equipped with a large bed, furs, and a really warm sleeping bag. Lanterns will later illuminate the interior of my sleeping quarters.
What I notice immediately upon entering through the small wooden door is the silence inside the igloo. Snow is known to absorb noise. And so it's really quiet in here. And: a few degrees warmer than outside. This is because the snow contains many trapped air pockets, which provide excellent insulation and keep the heat inside. The entrance of the igloo is also built lower than the sleeping area. This, among other things, keeps the cold air out and traps warm air at the top. Building the igloos here takes a full three weeks, as Maria explains to me. They start at the beginning of December. You can then stay overnight from the Christmas holidays until April.
Snowshoeing by full moon
The group spending the night in the igloos is slowly gathering outside in the square. We're all about to go on a sunset snowshoe tour together here at Speikboden. I already have some snowshoeing experience. last year in Switzerland I've gathered the information, so I know the basics. A group of nineteen of us hike together with Flocki along forest tracks and small forest paths. We haven't been walking for half an hour when the first mountain peaks begin to glow in the most beautiful shades of pink and orange. The snow covering the mountains shines in the warm light, and my camera snaps this postcard-perfect scene every second. Always present after sunset: the full moon, whose brightness almost makes our headlamps redundant. We also get quite warm from the brisk walking; our pores are sweating, and our eyes are sparkling. Just under two hours later, we arrive back at the igloo village, and everyone is already very hungry.
Soup and sauna visit
We're allowed to take a seat right in the igloo restaurant. Furs, fairy lights, and subtle decorations make the snow-covered dining room incredibly cozy. We're served a three-course meal – hot soup, traditional dishes, and dessert. Everything tastes fantastic, and the portions are huge. After the first course, however, I realize I'm freezing. "How cold is normal?" I ask Maria, almost embarrassed. She doesn't hesitate and says, "Come on, let's go in the sauna for a bit, then you'll be fine." And she's right. After sitting in the sauna for a good ten minutes in ski pants and a sweater, I'm nice and warm again. And that's how it stays all night, but more on that later.
In search of the stars
It's a starry night, almost too perfect. We've reached -12 degrees Celsius, temperatures that practically scream for a dip in the hot tub. So I throw on my swimsuit and blissfully climb into the warm tub – the first of its kind that I think is at the perfect temperature (very hot, not lukewarm). A few people from the group and I sit in the warm water, gazing at the stars and philosophizing about what the night will bring. The children who are with us are looking for constellations. This is one of those moments when you suddenly feel very small and completely forget the world and everything that's going on in it for a short time. The beauty of nature always has this effect, and I wonder how I keep forgetting it?
Completely without freezing all night long.
Having finished my soak in the hot tub and put all my layers back on, I now head to my igloo. A bit of a breeze has picked up outside, and I'm glad to retreat to my insulated sleeping space. With a hot water bottle and cozy socks, I climb into my thick sleeping bag at 10 p.m. and try to sleep. I'm more than warm, so I even put the hot water bottle down for a short time (only to grab it again a few hours later). I wake up once at 5 a.m. to use the bathroom. On the way to the nearby lift station, where the restrooms are located, I enjoy the peace and quiet one last time. I'm surrounded by moonlight, a few stars, and the freezing cold night – wonderful. The next morning, I sleep until my alarm wakes me at 7:30 a.m. The first, and rather amusing, sight of the morning: my completely stiff swimsuit, which had frozen overnight and was now standing upright on its own.
Stepping outside your comfort zone always pays off.
As I open the igloo door, the sun is already illuminating the first mountain peaks, suggesting that another beautiful day lies ahead. I pack my things and hike the few hundred meters down to the mountain restaurant, where breakfast awaits the group. Over hot tea and rolls with chocolate spread, I reflect on the previous night and conclude that the activities that push us out of our comfort zone are often the ones that we remember most vividly.
Another exciting article by Nadine:
THE GLACIERS OF THE SWISS VALLEY: A TEMPORARY FAREWELL?
© Photos: Nadine Pinezits
Nadine Pinezits
Nadine is a freelance editor and copywriter. She lives in Austria and commutes between Salzburg and Vienna. This means she is either in the mountains or in the urban jungle, but at the same time tries to spend as much time as possible in her beloved country, Portugal.
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