Pater Familias

Theories, observations, and articles, by Philip Schaefer · All posts · Categories

COMPETITVE SNOW CARVING TECHNIQUES.

February 22, 2013 at 2:26 PM · art, Sports

COMPETITIVE SNOW CARVING TECHNIQUES. I posted here about sand-castle techniques used in competitions, including the Gas-Powered Jumping-Jack Tamper. This article on wired.com by Nathan Hurst describes some of the techniques used in an ice carving competition at a ski resort in California. There is an international snow carving circuit, and team members have decades of experience. The sun plays a role, as it does not in competitions in the Yukon. Teams try to find ways to protect the south sides of the sculptures during the day and use snow melted during the day to form ice at night to glue segments of a sculpture together. Architectural skills are important. The German team in this competition won by suspending in the air massive structures made completely of snow.