Snort: Difference between revisions

[[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 on the [[Noyes Circle]] (Nircle) in the winter of 2025-2026. 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>  

* '''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- appropriate clothing''' (thermal layers/long johns, thick shirts and trousers, sweaters, scarves, snow boots, snow jacket and snow pants)- to stay warm and dry

* '''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)- to cave and tunnel at night. This was important because most of the work was done between 5 and 10 pm.

* '''[[The Deece|Deece]] hot chocolate'''- to keep energy and spirits high

* '''Plastic Deece cup'''- to scoop snow and to rest flashlights in

* '''[[Noyes House|Noyes]] metal frying pan'''- to scoop, tunnel, and move snow while tunneling, before small shovels were acquired

* '''Large plastic bags'''- to stay dry, occasionally to carry snow

* '''[[Outing Club]] small metal shovel'''- to more effectively tunnel and move snow

* '''Outing Club ice pick'''- to break into compacted snow and ice, immensely useful when tunneling out of the already solidified bench room

* '''Wagon'''- to carry snow from further away once the immediate area (20 ft radius) had been used

* '''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 bladeing)- to prevent bruising and pain while kneeling and tunneling for multiple hours

* '''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

On December 2nd 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.   

On January 25th, 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.   

Many people collaborated on building the Snort. Fia, Cormac, Quin, Etta, Sophia, and Reave were the main consistent builders. Other collaborators included: Xander, Melody, Asher, Valentin, Parker (as secretary), Rachel, Este, Mari, Ziva and others who just came for an hour or so.  

Starting in March there was a guestbook in the Snort that people could write notes in. It is included in this folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1j7c9dL2GSkMwLjVxsq7oWwgfXyc6uA2j

Fia and Xander collapsed the Snort over spring break, and the very final remnants melted on March 25th. 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.