Freda was determined to spend the night in her snow den, despite a forecast of gales and sub-zero temperatures (-6 degrees C). Equiped with down and fleece clothing, a four seasons sleeping back, goretex bivvy bag and camping stove, there was no holding her back. She reported feeling, "a bit lonely" at about 9:30 pm so Ali crept in alongside her - not quite as cosy given that Freda had all his gear! Her bladder woke her at 7:30 but otherwise she slept through the night. Asked whether she had any interesting dreams she replied: "Not really, but I did dream that there was a wolf outside the den. That's probably because I read some of Soul Eater before bed", one of a series of adventure novels set in Arctic Canada. It was in fact these books that inspired her to make a snow den to sleep in. In the morning she said, "This is one of the best things I've ever done in my life."
Freda boiling up a brew on the gas stove, before snuggling up in her winter gear for the night. As you can see the snow den has been built around a wooden picnic table, so there was no fear of it caving in during the night. We tried building an unsupported structure but the snow has been too light and fluffy to make sturdy bricks. Notice the special ice window at the far end. These icicles have been growing down from the gutters of the house, some of them reaching around 80cm in length.