Snort: Difference between revisions
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[[File:The Snort.jpg|thumb|The main entrance of the Snort, which faced the path between the Deece and Noyes House.]] | [[File:The Snort.jpg|thumb|The main entrance of the Snort, which faced the path between the Deece and Noyes House.]] | ||
[[File:3D Scan of the Snort.png|thumb|A 3D scan taken of the Snort Feb 6, 2026]]The '''Snow Fort''' ('''Snort''') was a large quinzhee (snow cave) lovingly built by [[User:FaffingFia|Fia Marrison]], Cormac, Etta, Quin, and other friends | [[File:3D Scan of the Snort.png|thumb|A 3D scan taken of the Snort Feb 6, 2026]]The '''Snow Fort''' ('''Snort''') was a large quinzhee (snow cave) on the [[Noyes Circle]] (Nircle) in the winter of 2025–2026. It was lovingly built by [[User:FaffingFia|Fia Marrison]], Cormac, Etta, Quin, and other friends. In its later stages, it contained four chambers and an outdoor courtyard, with various connecting tunnels.<ref>[https://miscellanynews.org/2026/02/05/features/building-a-snow-fort-with-a-pan-a-cup-and-a-dream/ Allisonlowe. “Building a Snow Fort with a Pan, a Cup and a Dream.” ''The Miscellany News'', 4 Feb. 2026, miscellanynews.org/2026/02/05/features/building-a-snow-fort-with-a-pan-a-cup-and-a-dream/.]</ref> | ||
It snowed. We built. It melted. | |||
== Building == | == Building == | ||
=== Tools === | === Tools === | ||
Many tools were used to construct the Snort over time. The following is a list of all of the tools and their uses in the order of when they were acquired: | Many tools were used to construct the Snort over time. The following is a list of all of the tools and their uses in the order of when they were acquired: | ||
* '''One large plastic shovel''' (Fia and Asher went on the bus to buy one at Adams on the first day that it snowed) | * '''One large plastic shovel''' (Fia and Asher went on the bus to buy one at Adams on the first day that it snowed): to pile snow | ||
* '''Snow- | * '''Snow-appropriate clothing''' (thermal layers/long johns, thick shirts and trousers, sweaters, scarves, snow boots, snow jacket and snow pants): to stay warm and dry | ||
* '''Gloves''' (some waterproof skiing gloves, some leather gloves, some wool gloves, and some socks)- to handle shovels, pick up snow, sculpt and pack areas carefully | * '''Gloves''' (some waterproof skiing gloves, some leather gloves, some wool gloves, and some socks)- to handle shovels, pick up snow, sculpt and pack areas carefully | ||
* '''Multiple large plastic shovels borrowed from Facilities''' | * '''Multiple large plastic shovels borrowed from Facilities''': to pile snow | ||
* '''Flashlights''' (initially used iPhone flashlight, and after Fia's (fairly old) phone stopped working from cold damage regular flashlights and headlamps were used) | * '''Flashlights''' (initially used iPhone flashlight, and after Fia's (fairly old) phone stopped working from cold damage regular flashlights and headlamps were used): to cave and tunnel at night. This was important because most of the work was done between 5 and 10 pm. | ||
* '''[[The Deece|Deece]] | * '''[[The Deece|Deece]] hot chocolate''': to keep energy and spirits high | ||
* '''Plastic Deece cup''' | * '''Plastic Deece cup''': to scoop snow and to rest flashlights in | ||
* '''[[Noyes House|Noyes]] metal frying pan''' | * '''[[Noyes House|Noyes]] metal frying pan''': to scoop, tunnel, and move snow while tunneling, before small shovels were acquired | ||
* '''Large plastic bags''' | * '''Large plastic bags''': to stay dry, occasionally to carry snow | ||
* '''[[Outing Club]] small metal shovel''' | * '''[[Outing Club]] small metal shovel''': to more effectively tunnel and move snow | ||
* '''Outing Club ice pick''' | * '''Outing Club ice pick''': to break into compacted snow and ice, immensely useful when tunneling out of the already solidified bench room | ||
* '''Wagon''' | * '''Wagon''': to carry snow from further away once the immediate area (20 ft radius) had been used | ||
* '''Two small but sturdy metal shovels''' | * '''Two small but sturdy metal shovels''': for multiple people to tunnel at the same time, and to be able to dig through more dense snow | ||
* '''Knee pads''' (from roller blading) | * '''Knee pads''' (from roller blading): to prevent bruising and pain while kneeling and tunneling for multiple hours | ||
* '''Snow plow''' | * '''Snow plow''': on two days (one December and one in March), members of Vassar's Grounds team used snow plows to powerfully give extra life to the Snort | ||
=== Time === | === Time === | ||
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===== Stage 1 ===== | ===== Stage 1 ===== | ||
On December | On December 2, it snowed about 5 inches, the first two chambers were built. The entrance chamber was tunneled with the Deece cup and Noyes frying pan, and the bench room was tunneled with the Outing Club's metal shovel and ice pick. | ||
===== Stage 2 ===== | ===== Stage 2 ===== | ||
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===== Stage 3 ===== | ===== Stage 3 ===== | ||
On January | On January 25, it snowed over 12 inches, and the group gathered a lot of people and spent time piling snow into a courtyard on the Deece-side of the Snort. Throughout February, they made the council chamber larger, and made tunnels from various chambers to the courtyard and through the courtyard walls. Throughout February they piled more snow and rearranged entrances and exits, up until it melted. | ||
== Community Engagement == | == Community Engagement == | ||
Many people collaborated on building the Snort. Fia, Cormac, Quin, Etta, Sophia, and Reave | Many people collaborated on building the Snort. The main consistent builders were Fia, Cormac, Quin, Etta, Sophia, and Reave. Other collaborators include Xander, Melody, Asher, Valentin, Parker (as secretary), Rachel, Este, Mari, Ziva and others who just came for an hour or so. | ||
Fia also collaborated with two members of the grounds team, Bernardo and Jaime, to plow snow to give the Snort some more life, and to make a small snow structure by the preschool [[Winpfheimer|Wimpfheimer]]. | Fia also collaborated with two members of the grounds team, Bernardo and Jaime, to plow snow to give the Snort some more life, and to make a small snow structure by the preschool [[Winpfheimer|Wimpfheimer]]. | ||
Starting in March | Starting in March, the Snort had a guestbook for visitors to write notes in. It is included in this folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1j7c9dL2GSkMwLjVxsq7oWwgfXyc6uA2j | ||
== Documentation == | == Documentation == | ||
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== Why the Snort? == | == Why the Snort? == | ||
Why did we make the Snort? Why did we continue to put so much effort into it, beyond just one little | Why did we make the Snort? Why did we continue to put so much effort into it, beyond just one little chamber on the first few snowy days? | ||
Fia, Cormac, and other Snort builders had many fond memories of building snow forts and caves as kids, and wanted to bring this tradition back to life. Fia has built a snow fort at home consistently each year since 2020, and in the winter of 2024/2025 wanted to make one at Vassar when it snowed there, but had a fever. For them, building the Snort outside Noyes at Vassar was a very different experience from building at home, because there were no time limits of needing to be at school all day and because there are so many friends and people at Vassar who want to build too! Once we start digging together, it is hard to stop, and we have spent evenings saying "just one more shovelful" from 9pm to 2 am. The ephemeral nature of snow and ice roots you in the moment, because everyone knows that each session building could be the last, and with climate change looming before us, we never know if this is the last snow fort we will make. | |||
The Snort has been a joyful, satisfying and restorative experience. Engaging so directly with the winter has helped with seasonal depression, and we have all become more bonded through labor. The Snort also became Fia's creative center for most of the year, inspiring drawings and writings and poems, even this page, months after it melted. | |||
There is little documentation as to if some small quinzhees have been built at Vassar before, but in 2024-2025 | There is little documentation as to if some small quinzhees have been built at Vassar before, but in the winter of 2024-2025 the Rugby team built an igloo out of packed snow blocks at the THs.<ref>https://www.tiktok.com/@vassar_college/video/7325450645664763166</ref> We hope that making a Nircle Snort can become a yearly tradition passed on to new Noyes residents and Outing Club members, and that people can experience and enjoy snow forts in the future! | ||
== Current state == | == Current state == | ||
Fia and Xander collapsed the Snort over | Fia and Xander collapsed the Snort over Spring Break 2026, and the very final remnants melted on March 25. Fia did an independent study on Snow Architecture, and wrote the majority of this page. Though this season had a remarkable amount of snow, they will build another one next year, even if it only one chamber. | ||
== References == | |||
[[Category:Independent Study]] | [[Category:Independent Study]] | ||
[[Category:Grounds]] | [[Category:Grounds]] | ||
__INDEX__ | __INDEX__ | ||
__NEWSECTIONLINK__ | __NEWSECTIONLINK__ | ||