forty below you know

Jan 15 2007

Snowking and Snowprentice lifting a big block!

Snowking and Snowprentice shifting a big block!

Snowking and Snowprentice placing a big block!

Well, another week has passed and the crew is hitting their stride.

We had some pretty cold weather last week with the temp hovering around -48 below on Friday night with the windchill factored in. Snowbank Frank, Shiverin' Sam and I tossed about twenty cubic yards of snow and with the wind blowing it just about everywhere. It felt like "Ice Station Zebra" or whatever it's called.

We recieved more visitors again this weekend, most notably a couple who were interested in getting married not in this year's castle but NEXT year's castle. Talk about advance planning eh! we're still trying to figure the plan for this year, for goodness sakes!

The Snow Flunkie clearing a path

The temperatures were so severe we froze and slightly broke our snowblower but luckily our favourite sponsors (of the last six or seven years) at Polar Tech sent down the rescue wagon right away and hauled ol "R2" to the shop for a thaw and repair. hopefully it's only a small repair needed. But just to let you know those guys at Polar Tech are GREAT GUYS and I strongly urge you to support a business who is definitely behind the community and our festival.

Trusty tools

We saw a lot of poorly dressed visitors who should have had at least hats on out at the site and once again if you visit...Dress Warm! The Snowking doesn't want to be the reason your ears went black and practically fell off.

We're hard at it again this week and hopefully your week is just as cool .

Eight weeks till opening...

January 8 2007

Well, this was a very busy week which saw a lot of workers around the site.


Back again this year is the Snow Flunkie, who has been happily chipping snow when he has the time. We also saw a lot of new volunteer "Snobody Uno" who has been shadowing the Snowprentice and learning some snow skills from her. The two of these girls are Snowking approved!


Mr Freeze was also down and he's made an honest start on the stage while Snowbank Frank earned himself a pat on the back from Snowking for his innovative techniques and persevering, despite the Snowking's ever meddlesome hand.

This past week saw us take delivery of a tractor on loan from our good friends and sponsors at Matrix Aviation Solutions. Shiverin' Sam was pleased as punch to go round and round untill he got to shiverin'. His toes and nose froze same as his thumb but he can certainly throw the snow.
We also saw the ever lovely Snowbelle down at the site and she was takin' lots of photos of this week's action.
We got lots of visits from the Paparazzi this week.

Watch for a great piece from Adam "West" in the up coming Yellowknifer, he brought down Missy (his Gal) and she needs new boots. She almost froze her toes too!


Brent Reaney, that acclaimed photographer whose work can be seen on the Snowking website, was shooting some black and white for a dramatic upcoming photo exhibit. Look forward to that!

Lots of visitors coming down already even taking the taxi out to see us. Visitors should remember that temperatures are usually a bit colder on the lake due to the wind so please remember to dress warmly and stay cool.

Talk to you next week, friends.

snowy times already

January 4th 2007
well the new year is apon us and people just keep coming out to see the castle, but they're all new to town and expect to see it completed already! Can you imagine?! But as you know it takes over two months to build the castle and we've only just begun.
Shivering Sam has started his stairway to the stars and eventually it'll be the launch pad for DEAD MAN'S SLIDE and already the insurance company that covers us is starting to bight their nails.The slide promises to be truly, wickedly, spectacular!
Over on the other side of the courtyard Snowbank Frank has begun to lay out the Royal Cafe. He's been quick to keep the king out of his hair but you know how it is when you're the proud overseer of a project, you just want to get in there and meddle but Snowking has every faith in his crew to do the best job! And Snowbank Frank is no amature as he's come back for his third year on the building crew.
Our newest crew member Snowprentice has been busy in the quarry cutting blocks, I think she'll work out fine just as soon as she catches her wind. ( she said the quarry burnt her out yesterday) She's keen to learn all about the magic that goes into the castle.
So far we've had visitors from Japan, Italy,Germany and tons from southern Canada all catching word of this snow-tacular creation. We welcome all visitors to come down to the lake to check out our progress or feel free to take a peek into the submissions section as Mr Freeze has been dropping lots of recent photos into the web site.
Don't forget if you or your organization want to become corporate sponsors in this event you can make a tax free donation. Check out how on the main page of the Snowking website.
Finally the crew was saddened by the untimely passing of one of the royal hounds (see photo on homepage) Poor Kirby the youngest of the canine crew has gone to the great snowpile in the sky and we'll miss him.
Hope everyone's new year is happy!