It’s back ! – the Skigloo rises from the snow again
March 15th, 2009 by mat
The severely bowed Skigloo ceiling – image © ineedsnow.com
The Skigloo, appreciated locally for its salubrious properties is back in action high above Innsbruck. With the recent huge snow falls the roof had suffered considerable bowing under the massive weight. The result was a ceiling height that went from 2m to 30cm and the strangest inverted domed ceiling you could imagine. After repair work lasting an entire day the roof has been fully restored and whilst it might not be the work of Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel it is a whole lot better than at 0900 CET today. The next Skigloo party is scheduled for later this week.
Testing the roof depth with an avalanche probe – image © ineedsnow.com
It looks amazingly like the Pantheon in Rome, but inverted?
Well after a few rolls of the dice it may seem the right way up. If you check out the video you will see that the Skigloo has been returned to its former glory and is ready for guests again
Mat – you are a star! i haven’t been able to make it up there for a while and have been worried about the condition of the skigloo in the past weeks. when i last went up there with a friend from california who is an architect the roof had already started to bend down, but nothing compared to what you showed in the video. my architect friend actually didn’t really dare to go in and was mumbling something about statical problems. what a joke
anyways i can’t wait to get up there and also i can’t wait to meet the famous john murray and his dice.
the skigloo!!!!!!!! it rocks again ! mat, u rule
Very impressive. Really looking forward to the skigloo party! You might need a couple of days to recover after all that hard work.
Hey Terri, it was a whole lot of work yesterday but being up in the mountains with a shovel and an ice saw is pretty enjoyable. The back has held up this time as well – so basically all systems go – the skigloo is back and ready to rumble
Please tell Mr Murray to pack his dice and his AA+ game!
I find Meduas comments slightly worrying “Skig-loo Rocks” ?? is there some instability problems?
Medua spoke from experience, not regarding the structural integrity of the skigloo, more likely her experience on exiting the skigloo during her last visit. She showed all the co-ordination and balance of a new born foal – little wonder the ground seemed to rock / move. One other small detail John, the correct name for our alpine paradise is skigloo; skig-loo implies a less savoury use for this pristine dwelling.
Another thing is that we should have some great powder skiing during your stay, particularly Saturday – what could be better than powder skiing followed by a quick schnapps?
I’m sure we will be on the piste on Saturday! , you know we are a couple of beginners , but the shcnapps is a must.
Hey John, fear not I am a qualified Tirolean instructor, you will be in safe hands. The piste skiing in Axamer Lizum the last few months has been really outstanding, we can have a few short jaunts into the powder on the edge of the slopes. We also have an excellent route out of the Skigloo, it is the equivalent of those life boats that shoot off the back of supertankers, basically you point down the track and are delivered safely back to Axamer Lizum. Hopefully we should have a good crowd assembled for your visit, I have still to contact them all but things are looking good for some new victims of the dice.
I enjoyed the video of the igloo been dug out( didn’t look like a 5 minute job ) I think the blog may have built this dice game a bit out of proportion. Please stop working the locals into a frenzy!!! They’ll only be disappointed.
Hey John, fear not (again), the locals are as excited about seeing the Skigloo and the prospect of a drink after skiing as seeing the much famed dice. Where though they will be awe-struck is when they are in the presence of such an après ski legend as John M. I have one final surprise that will hopefully be built in the time for your arrival and that will truly recognise your contribution to après ski in this fine nation. The Skigloo was certainly not a 5 minute job but I am very much of the ‘finish something that you started’ mind-set. I am not sure the Skigloo will propel our company to recognition and riches but it is a very cool place to hang out. And the great thing is that it is a broad church, there are some very good skiers and snowboarders who visit but as soon as they take themselves too seriously in the Skigloo they will be on their way – the Skigloo is not tolerant of ego, it wants genuine people no matter their ability and they have to have had a great day on the mountain – simple rules. Regarding the dice then many saw the pics of me in Kitzbuhel, post-dice and they pretty much know what to expect – eyes wide open and all that.
….and a quick reminder for the better half of the Dice Man, I hope to do some great skiing with you guys but give you the time as well to enjoy all the possibilities for romance that a break in these wonderful mountains affords.
I want to come to the Skigloo party aswell!! But I can’t get up there
( I think Matt should find a way of getting me up there! Maybe he will be nice enough to pull me up in a wheel-barrow??
Now that his back is all better, it should not be a problem.
Don’t listen to him Michelle, John has some very odd ways at looking at life – this is very much a case in point. We will though find a way of getting you involved in the Skigloo party.
All hail the Skigloo for it is a wonderful thing… like an icy pheonix, though not the temple of monastic disciplines that Matt and his chums may require at the end of the next event.
Perhaps it is better that Michelle and her unborn ski racer stay safe and warm at home…the roof looked like a tent I once stayed in that broke the fall of bald farmer type called Ape.
The tent lived to camp another day.
You could be right, it might not be the best place for Michelle. I guess it is not the best place for me either with my current workload. It was great to fix it up though although the bowing of the roof really was quite bizarre – no collapse, just a gentle descent over the weeks to leave an upturned dome of several tons of ice that almost reached the floor of the skigloo. Hopefully we are going to be able to put on a skigloo party over the weekend, I will be sure to post images and video of the mayhem.
you are crazy!!! the lucky ones who are fortunate enough to enter the mighty skigloo better thank you for all your hard work! it looks like you took a dangerous, life-threatening risk when you dared to restore the skigloo to its former glory. well done, mat! ben says “truly the spirits of the pyramid builders live on”.
Hey Cherie, the last après ski gathering produced rave reviews, people really loved the location and the Skigloo – the aftermath was less positive with ill-health reported the length of the Innsbruck valley. It was a great deal of work to restore the Skigloo but more even to make it in the first place, that process had me in hospital on a drip with a back injury – nicht gut! But the Skigloo was a dream and I am determined to follow dreams – so the Skigloo arrived. To be honest, going into the Skigloo for the repair work really was pretty intimidating – I was up there on my own, with a heavily pregnant wife down in Innsbruck and just an avalung breathing device for security. The roof of the Skigloo was a truly bizarre sight, I think you can make it out from the video but several tons of ice bowing in like that was not a comforting sight to be working around. I hope the forthcoming party up there makes it all worthwhile – there should be some great people there.
hi mat – forgot to ask you. is the skigloo romance corner in good shape?
Well the romance corner has officially been re-categorised – as part of the repair work on the Skigloo I was unable to recreate the seating spaces as I did not want to create another ceiling collapse. In any case you were the only one to occupy the romance section and I have to say that your female guest that day looked about as comfortable as a vegan in an abattoir.