Cold Temperatures Have Arrived and Assist the Process
The ice castle project has begun to take shape now that the weather has taken a turn for the frigid. If you look closely you can see a spray wand adding water to the beginning of the structure so that it can slowly but surely build up new layers of ice.
Check out this brief video that shows how Roger Hanson has constructed a series of cables and spray arms used to gradually build up wings and towers to his creation. He began setting up the materials needed to build the castle on November 5th. His equipment includes weight and seismic sensors, with one of his biggest challenges being the wind coming in off of the lake. He didn’t start making ice until December 16th due to the unseasonably warm weather, but is making up for lost time now thanks to our recent cold snap.
He is currently working on what he calls “Tier 3” and has been beefing up the base of the entire structure to help prevent a collapse brought on by high winds (as high as 40 mph at times in the past few days).
Apparently the sculpture was leaning forward a bit, so Hanson worked at building “buttresses” to support it. By yesterday (Saturday, Jan. 10th) he had the project at a height of 52′, and he was confident that he had stopped the leaning.
We will keep you posted on an ongoing basis on Hanson’s progress on building his monumental ice sculpture. Watch for new videos and pictures here on www.ExploreSuperior.com and on the ES Facebook page.
