Winter 2001 - 2002
683 Blocks, 15' 6" High
2 Doors & 2 Windows
The idea for this fort had actually been conceived years earlier, but never attempted due to the staggering logistics involved. But on Christmas Day 2001, we decided to go for it. It would prove to be a difficult project indeed, but once completed, the results spoke for themselves. The main feature is obvious - a huge S-shaped slide that wrapped around the two towers, which were also joined at the top by a walkway. The slide itself was made of solid snow, packed and shaped in a slope. It required many steps of watering and smoothing, to obtain the hard yet smooth surface.
The slide itself was accessed by going inside, then climbing a ladder which was built into the wall of the shorter tower. From there, you went across the walkway up to a high platform, where the slide began. Many people, including myself, had tons of fun sliding down this fort - click here to see a video clip (2.2 Mb).
137 Blocks, 7' 6" High
Having completed Fort #19 fairly early in the season (Jan. 14th) there was still quite a bit of time left to build a second fort. So a smaller group of us set to work and built this small "igloo" fort. It was much smaller than the fort that stood beside it, but it made for a nice contrast. It also the first time in five years, that there were two forts standing at the same time (and these were much larger).
The igloo was fairly roomy - several people could be comfortably seated inside at the same time. It was also very sheltered - the temperature always stayed at just below the freezing point.
Both forts were torn down on February 10th, as a warm rain was now in the forecast. Fort #19 had lasted a record of 27 days - a record which still stands.
