2023 Greylock Quad Snow Fort

Over Winter Study 2023, a group of WARP members, Geoscience majors, and other assorted people who like to build things, led by notable snow builder Syl Foisey and Ashlyn Oh, came together around the Greylock Quad grill to build a very large snow fort. The fort consisted of an approximately circular bailey with a central throne and an igloo keep carved around the firepit. Construction of the fort took approximately 9 hours from 2PM to 11PM on January 24th, 2023, with auxiliary construction happening on the following day.

Construction

Construction began with the initial accumulation of snow in the shape of the fortress wall and site of the keep. The focus at this stage was on increasing the height of the wall. This phase lasted until around 6 PM, at which point the walls were at height (approximately 1 smoot tall), and carving of the interior of the keep began. The carving was done with a combination of shovels and rock hammers (from the GEOS majors). By about 9:30PM, the fortress was structurally complete. In addition to the main features of the fortress, the walls had crenelations, and were built around a tree, which had string lights draped on it. There was a archway cut out as a door. On either side of the door were benches carved from the ice.

Aftermath

After completion of the fort, there was a small fire constructed in the fire pit at the core of the keep, though it was soon decided by the participants that it should be extinguished due to safety concerns. Due to its large size, the fortress lasted several weeks before melting, with the solid central throne lasting the longest. On the night of January 28th, the fort was attacked, with damage concentrated on the east facing portion of the wall.

Photos

The Fort under construction.

The completed interior of the keep.

The completed fort, exterior.