Blizzards with temperatures down to -50° have howled
across the steppes and plains of east Asia for untold
centuries . . . and, for many of those centuries, nomadic
herdsmen have survived such storms — snug and warm
— inside the traditional ger or yurt . Has this
modern age changed all that? No and yes: eighty-five
percent of all Mongolians still live in gers . . . but the
collapsible shelters are now prefabbed in factories.
RELATED CONTENT
The above sequence shows a factory-made yurt being
assembled in less than one hour without nails or bolts.
Tribesmen (UPPER LEFT) erect the expanded trellis wall and
(UPPER RIGHT) attach roof ribs to a ring held up by two
poles. The completed frame (CENTER LEFT) is ready for
(CENTER RIGHT) sheets of insulating felt. Felt was invented
in central Asia and is widely used the world over in boots
and other cold weather gear. The ger's walls (LOWER LEFT)
are covered with more sheets of felt and (LOWER RIGHT) a
final layer of canvas protects the insulation from rain and
snow. Part of the crew then secures the outer covering with
ropes while two men use a long pole to spread a separate
cover over the yurt's roof ring. Later, the ger's stovepipe
will be raised through this top covering and the fabric
itself may be turned back to admit air and light on nice
days.
