Script for a night in the Ice Hotel

When checking into the Ice Hotel for a night in a cold room the hotel provides a warm Dressing Room area which includes a lounge, lockers, bathrooms, showers and sauna and private changing rooms for guests staying in the Art Rooms.

Dressing Room for cold hotel guests

lounge for cold hotel guests

lockers

private changing rooms for art room guests

5:30pm - attend the 'How to survive the night in -5C' instruction

• basically, do not wear cotton, it does not breath and you will sweat = get cold
• wear one layer of synthetic long underwear or fleece, hat, socks, gloves
• guests are given a liner sheet (think really long pillowcase) and a heavy duty sleeping bag
• when you are ready for bed get your sleeping bag from the dressing room desk, wrap it around your shoulders and go to your cold room
• leave all other clothing, coats, etc. inside
• get into the sheet, zip up in the sleeping bag and pull the drawstring so that only a small part of your face sticks out... mostly your nose
• if your feet do not reach the end of the sleeping bag then turn that portion under so the cold air at the end of the sleeping bag (because your body doesn't reach it to heat it) doesn't make your feet cold
• make sure you use the bathroom before going to bed

Next, let the girls stay up late so they hopefully fall asleep fast and sleep well through the night....

hanging in the lounge before bedtime

10pm - girls get ready for bed and pick up their sleeping bags

collecting sleeping bags

three peas in a pod

10:30pm -
lots of giggling and photos... 
Gabby:  'it looks like the snow is going to collapse on us'
Nancy:  'Gabby, BE QUIET'
Audra:  'I'm scared, I can't do this, I need to go to the bathroom'
Gordon and Nancy:  'you're fine'
Nancy:  'I'll lay down with you until you fall asleep'

Midnight - Nancy meets Gordon in the Ice Bar, walk out to the Torne River to check for Northern Lights, get ready for bed and pick up sleeping bags

Two 'Before the Big Bang' drinks - named after the art room we 'slept' in

Ice Hotel selfie

1am - just get settled and comfy warm in sleeping bags...  the Ice Hotel is completely silent.  The snow insulates and absorbs any sound, except...
'crunch, crunch, crunch' (footsteps)
Audra:  'I have to use the bathroom'
Nancy: (groan, takes Audra to bathroom in the warm dressing room building, goes back to bed)

3:45am -
'crunch, crunch, crunch'
Audra:  'Sofia is scared'
Nancy:  (groan, takes sleeping bag, goes to the girls room, pulls a freezing Sofia into her bag and throws Sofia's bag on top.  Audra moves in with Gordon)
Gabby:  'Sofia stop talking, you woke me up!'

6am -
Audra:  'I have to go to the bathroom again'
Gordon: 'wake me in an hour and a half'

7:30am -
'crunch, crunch, crunch'
Ice Hotel staff:  'Good morning, would you like some warm lingonberry juice?'

yep, walking around the Ice Hotel in the morning in long underwear

8am -
sauna, shower, breakfast

10am -
collect diploma

temperature inside: -5C, temperature outside:  -1C

10:30am -
return to the scene and take photos in our rooms

luckily there is a thick pad laying on top of the ice bed frame, topped with reindeer fur (it's really thick and soft)... although I hate the thought of the reindeer, I know they provide a livelihood for the Sami people and they use every part of the animal.