OE exercise in very cold comfort

Paige Saunders building an igloo in Yellowknife, Canada. Photo / Supplied

A 23-year-old Southlander is taking roughing it on his OE to the extreme by living in an igloo in Canada.

Paige Saunders has challenged himself to survive 30 days in the ice house near the town of Yellowknife. He has reached day 25 and has no intention of giving up, despite temperatures as low as minus 40C.

"I got told igloos were self-insulating, but I was lied to. They're just as cold as outside... the Inuit people are the experts and they live more on the coast."

Saunders said the motive behind his goal was "a personal challenge".

To stave off hypothermia, Saunders wears layers of thermals, a thick jacket and two beanies to bed. One night his ears slipped out and he woke up with frostbite.

But the biggest hiccup came when vandals destroyed his original igloo.

"It was heartbreaking," he says. "It was 2.7m tall and almost finished. "

The new igloo was built over a weekend and is about the size of a pup tent.