Winter Carnival's magnificent frozen work of art

SARANAC LAKE | Ice on Pontiac Bay grew as palace builders here proceeded to cut, float and pull dripping 24-by-48 inch blocks from the frigid water. They've worked for over a week in raw air that some days dipped to near 20 degrees below zero. By Jan. 30, they had drawn 3,500 blocks from the bay. At an average of about 500 pounds each, that's something like 875 tons of ice. Each piece of the palace is cut and moved and placed by volunteer hands in a stunning process that captivates the entire community. Slowly, this icon of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival comes into 3D focus, the shared effort of engineers and artisans, teachers, chefs, knitters and plumbers. Weather in Saranac Lake is always a marvel. But this year, the long cold stretch made for really good ice. The lake's frozen cover was 15 to 16 inches thick when work began and has grown to some 18 inches deep. Once pulled from the bay with age-old ice-cutting tools, blocks are laid in rows on the shore near the dark grey channel they came from. They shine in the sun like giant rough-cut jewels. A flurry of small bobcat bucket loaders come and go. They lift and ferry the ice to two big truck-mounted cranes that soar over the palace build; one is a giant Luck Brother's cable crane fitted with a special "Ice Vice" clamp designed especially for this job. The other is a log loader with the Paul Smith's College and leaning tree emblazoned the arm above the grapple. It is run with such precision that the steel pincer can gently lift a five-gallon bucket of slush without squeezing the container at all. The machines reach and dip and slowly swing 500 to 600 pound or even bigger blocks onto palace courses rising above the lake. They roar over the low hum of chainsaws and ice workers, who grin and say they've come for the camaraderie. They say the cold is no bother. Under ice-crusted hats and white frosted eyelashes, eyes twinkle. "It was minus 17 today when we started," says Jen Mott, a builder wearing the famed IPW 101 jacket. IPW signifies the union: International Palace Workers, the cadre of talented and dedicated volunteers who build this monument to winter celebration every year. With some six days to go before the official start of Winter Carnival, the team of about 40 had the palace going up on all fronts on Sunday. Sometimes the volunteer contingent tops 60. Walls in the back are rising. Two palace turrets are built with spiral stairways inside that lead to an ice bridge. Head ice palace builder Dean Baker said the bridge that connects them was cut in eight-foot blocks. "We've had a very, very good crew. Everyone dresses for the cold. Cold weather is better than hot weather," he adds. "We've had some warm weather in the past. "We're trying something we've never done, incorporating something we did two years ago," Baker said of the spiral stairwells. They are hoping for time to build a chute, an ice slide, in the back. The back walls will surround a stage area. Like all palace work, the 2022 design was a collaboration. "Three or four young guys got together and figured out the design on a computer," he said. "And I laid it out on graph paper." The 2022 "Totally 80's" Winter Carnival theme is interpreted in sculpture. An MTV logo and dance floor with a Thriller insignia in back. The final elements will be a delight and surprise to palace visitors once it opens on Feb. 4. "It's a lot of fun," Mott says. "This is the biggest palace we've done in a long time." BALANCE ON ICE Standing or kneeling firmly atop the palace walls, builders reach to release each block of ice from the crane's grapple. They affix slush mortar, walking slowly on crampons that hold them to the icy surface. It is a balancing act. "You have to be on your game up there," Mott allows. "It's an adrenaline rush." On the ground, Mott works to craft the MTV logo in ice with Dan King, a craftsman who is by profession a blacksmith. "Sometimes I work with fire, sometimes I work with ice," King says with a lilt and a grin. Which is the most fun? "With ice, there are a lot of great people to work with," he says. The warm connection between volunteers is evident if unspoken. There's a hidden choreography, ice and the sun's fire, human hands and machines. In the palace courtyard, villagers stand at the cordon line watching sculptors craft a DeLorean car from a giant block of ice. The cutters pause at times to consult. "We're having so much fun out here. It's a bustling place," says John "Doc" Ward, an artist and retired art instructor at Saranac Lake High School. "What you have here, these are all people who live in Saranac Lake, from all careers, all walks of life. We come together for these two weeks every year. We pull together for this, and then just scatter back into the community. Poof." He waves his arms open. The process is its own achievement. It's a thread that carries the past into each palace, weaving a vibrant sense of place in Saranac Lake. 2022 marks the 125th Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, give or take a few quieter years of pause for wars and pandemics. For Doc Ward, though, familiar faces reach across an esteemed 30-year career of working with youth. "Some of these are my students. They're 50 years old now," his laugh blares from under a sun-browned brow. "And they're just as bratty." Sculptor Shawn Rohe beamed in agreement. He walked toward one turret and ducked into the ice-aqua tunnel. The piercing blue sky is framed by the spun chamber. Ascending, he stopped on the bridge to watch the hubbub of cranes and skid steers, of people and ice and slush buckets moving in careful coordination. Over the bridge, Rohe climbs down the spiral stair to emerge on the other end of the palace amid a spray of ice. Sculptors are trimming windows of an inner hall. "It's just so much fun," Rohe says. Corey Pandolph frets over lines in the DeLorean. An ice sculptor, he is looking for symmetry of steel in frozen water. "Can ice do that?" "Yeah ... no," he laughs. "Like any blank, white canvas, it can be a little intimidating at first," Ward says of the ice field. "We put the blocks together never entirely sure how it will come out." Sara Mazdzer, whose brother Chris Mazdzer is a USA Luge silver medal Olympian and currently in China for the 2022 Winter Games, wields a chainsaw. She comes walking toward the group of ice artists: "It's out of gas," she grins above a silver-sequined bandana. "We're hands-down the prettiest group," Ward says of the sculptors, complimenting a colleague for the solid growth of icicles affixed to his mustache. There are many hands who help make this frozen work light. A BOWL AND A ROLL The IPW 101 day starts about 8 a.m. and can continue to dusk. Volunteers with the Saranac Lake Women's Civic Chamber bring hot coffee and warm breakfast snacks to workers every morning. "And Lakeview Deli across the street provides a Bowl and A Roll," Rohe says of their daily routine. "That really keeps you alive," he adds. That and the steady buzz and groan of machines driven by human imagination in a steady build of ice. Before the palace opens, Joe Plumb will install layers of colored lights inside the ice walls, preparing for the first of Winter Carnival fireworks. An impending snowstorm might mean some shoveling required Friday before the interior lights are officially lit. But there will surely be lots of hands to help, it's a given here. CARNIVAL STARTS FRIDAY Saranac Lake Winter Carnival 2022 opens Friday with music and art events. Saranac Lake's Adirondack Artist's Guild kicks off their gallery show on Feb. 4 with a "Totally Eighties" exhibit of artworks made in or about the 1980's. Winter events and outdoor fun are open to all, and carnival runs from Saturday, Feb. 4 through Feb. 13. The new headquarters at Winter Carnival History Hut and Gift Shop will be open at the Ice Palace near the Lake Flower boat launch from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day. It's a good spot to visit to learn about Winter Carnival's storied history. Find out more: saranaclakewintercarnival.com Some of the events set for Saturday, Feb. 4: 10 a.m., the NBT Bank Ice Palace Fun Run starts at the Ice Palce. 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., people can participate in the Edward Jones Arctic Golf Build-an-Obstacle Contest at Prescott Park next to the State Boat Launch on Lake Flower. 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the Paul Smith's Booster Club hosts its Annual Chocolate Festival at Romano's Saranac Lake Bowling Lanes, 11 Bloomingdale Ave. At 11 a.m., the Long Run Wealth Advisors Curling Exhibition takes place at Lake Flower near the Ice Palace. And at 11 a.m., Paul Smith's College hosts its Woodsmen Exhibition at Riverside Park. At 12 p.m., Heat Keepers Icicle Contest will present prizes for longest natural icicle; icicle check-in is at 11:30 a.m. at Riverside Park. At 12 p.m., the Lake Placid Curling Club hosts the "Hit the Button" Curling Competition , open to all on Lake Flower near the Ice Palace. The afternoon continues with the Saranac Teachers Association Little Ladies Fry Pan Toss at 12 noon, and the Fry Pan Toss for Girls ages 6 to 17 at Riverside Park, Registration is from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. At 1 p.m., Taylor Rental presents the Ladies Fry Pan Toss -- For Ladies 18 and Up at Riverside Park, Registration starts at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m., the Women's Civic "Corn-A-Ment" Cornhole Tournament, takes place on the ice in front of Saranac Waterfront Lodge. There is a $40 registration fee per 2-Player team. Lighting of the Ice Palace takes place at 7 p.m., with roads closing at 6:15 p.m., opening fireworks are sponsored by the Hotel Saranac. And at 8:30 p.m., The Waterhole presents High & Mighty Brass with special guests The Reflexions. Events continue through next week with the Gala Parade set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12. The complete schedule and event sign-up forms are available on the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival website. See the daily schedule: saranaclakewintercarnival.com/schedule

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Winter Carnival's magnificent frozen work of art

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