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They fought the thaw, thaw won
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer
Snow sculpting competition held
LAKE GENEVA - Snow sculptors added the finishing touches to their creations before the great meltdown began Saturday afternoon.
"I estimate the point of death to be 1 p.m.," Bjorn Skupien, Rockford's Viking in Black said as he watched his sculpture entitled "Perseverance" turn to mush.
The Vikings along with 14 other teams competed in the United States National Snow Sculpting Championship in Lake Geneva Saturday.
Artists from Idaho to Vermont began chipping away at 3-ton, 10-foot high blocks of snow in Riviera Park Friday afternoon in hopes of winning the competition and advancing to the Olympics.
Thousands of visitors poured into the weekend event featuring entertainment in the Riviera Ballroom as well as rides in helicopters, balloons and carriages near the lakefront.
Bjorn along with his brothers Thorfinn and Svenhard Skupien began building a snow caveman starting a fire Wednesday morning.
With fluctuating temperatures, however, the team had to carve during spurts of cold weather, including an 18-hour shift from 6 p.m. Friday until noon on Saturday.
"We worked a little Wednesday and, when the wind came through Thursday night," Svenhard said.
As the caveman finally took shape under the great snowy arch, the sun situated itself above the mass.
"We had been working in the shade," Bjorn said. "This is the first time it was exposed to direct sunlight."
As the rays shone down, the snowy flames crumbled beneath the girth of the cave brute.
"It was the little point of fire that did it," Thorfinn said. "It was too much weight."
As they waited for the results of the judging, the team kept an eye out for potential crashes among neighboring sculptures. The Vikings predicted icy spikes atop a snow dragon sculpture to fall fast.
"It's exciting when something crashes down," Thorfinn admitted.
Despite the fierce competition the Vikings tipped their horned-hats to the efforts of team Idaho, later judged the first place winner, for their sculpture entitled, "Marine Life."
Lying in a coral reef with its tongue out, the fat flounder was impervious to the sun's rays. The massive fish featured freestanding fins and scales suspended outward from its belly.
"Stuff like that is pretty daring when the weather is volatile," Svenhard said.
Second place went to Vermont's team for "The Carver," and third place was awarded to team Minnesota's "Octopus Garden."
Despite other's victories, the Skupiens plan to keep making their magic.
"I invented snow sculpting," Svenhard said.
The Skupiens are always fun to have at competitions, said George Hennerle, Lake Geneva's Chamber of Commerce executive vice president.
Hennerle said the event attracted 12,000 to 15,000 people on Saturday.
"It's a great way to make winter fun," Hennerle said.
Sculptors enjoy working at the Lake Geneva event, with snow being manufactured by Grand Geneva Resort.
"We aren't scraping it where there is sand and cigarette butts," he said.
Working with the event for a decade, Hennerle said selecting the weekend for the event is always tricky.
"Out of ten years, two were above freezing," Hennerle said.
Event planners picked the first week of February, for its reputation of being the coldest weekend of the year.
"In Wisconsin you never know," Hennerle said. "You think you know the weather and it changes the next minute."
Daily News staff writer
Snow sculpting competition held
LAKE GENEVA - Snow sculptors added the finishing touches to their creations before the great meltdown began Saturday afternoon.
"I estimate the point of death to be 1 p.m.," Bjorn Skupien, Rockford's Viking in Black said as he watched his sculpture entitled "Perseverance" turn to mush.
The Vikings along with 14 other teams competed in the United States National Snow Sculpting Championship in Lake Geneva Saturday.
Artists from Idaho to Vermont began chipping away at 3-ton, 10-foot high blocks of snow in Riviera Park Friday afternoon in hopes of winning the competition and advancing to the Olympics.
Thousands of visitors poured into the weekend event featuring entertainment in the Riviera Ballroom as well as rides in helicopters, balloons and carriages near the lakefront.
Bjorn along with his brothers Thorfinn and Svenhard Skupien began building a snow caveman starting a fire Wednesday morning.
With fluctuating temperatures, however, the team had to carve during spurts of cold weather, including an 18-hour shift from 6 p.m. Friday until noon on Saturday.
"We worked a little Wednesday and, when the wind came through Thursday night," Svenhard said.
As the caveman finally took shape under the great snowy arch, the sun situated itself above the mass.
"We had been working in the shade," Bjorn said. "This is the first time it was exposed to direct sunlight."
As the rays shone down, the snowy flames crumbled beneath the girth of the cave brute.
"It was the little point of fire that did it," Thorfinn said. "It was too much weight."
As they waited for the results of the judging, the team kept an eye out for potential crashes among neighboring sculptures. The Vikings predicted icy spikes atop a snow dragon sculpture to fall fast.
"It's exciting when something crashes down," Thorfinn admitted.
Despite the fierce competition the Vikings tipped their horned-hats to the efforts of team Idaho, later judged the first place winner, for their sculpture entitled, "Marine Life."
Lying in a coral reef with its tongue out, the fat flounder was impervious to the sun's rays. The massive fish featured freestanding fins and scales suspended outward from its belly.
"Stuff like that is pretty daring when the weather is volatile," Svenhard said.
Second place went to Vermont's team for "The Carver," and third place was awarded to team Minnesota's "Octopus Garden."
Despite other's victories, the Skupiens plan to keep making their magic.
"I invented snow sculpting," Svenhard said.
The Skupiens are always fun to have at competitions, said George Hennerle, Lake Geneva's Chamber of Commerce executive vice president.
Hennerle said the event attracted 12,000 to 15,000 people on Saturday.
"It's a great way to make winter fun," Hennerle said.
Sculptors enjoy working at the Lake Geneva event, with snow being manufactured by Grand Geneva Resort.
"We aren't scraping it where there is sand and cigarette butts," he said.
Working with the event for a decade, Hennerle said selecting the weekend for the event is always tricky.
"Out of ten years, two were above freezing," Hennerle said.
Event planners picked the first week of February, for its reputation of being the coldest weekend of the year.
"In Wisconsin you never know," Hennerle said. "You think you know the weather and it changes the next minute."
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