We have had three intensive days of training here in Fairbanks, Alaska. The days have been filled with information on how to utilize the PolarTREC website in order to share our Polar experiences with a broad audience. We have practiced using a variety of equipment, such as cameras and audio recorders, to assist in telling our stories. It has been a bit daunting learning how to manage the massive amounts of data – in a multitude of forms – that we will be gathering, tracking, and sharing during our expeditions.
This training happens to coincide with the International Ice Carving Competition being held here in Fairbanks. Last night, we were quite fortunate to be able to take a break from our training and watch the sculptors hard at work.
The ice-carving park was a flurry of activity; ice chips flying, chain saws buzzing, bulldozers moving massive blocks of ice (each weighing between 6 and 8 THOUSAND pounds!), and spectators meandering amongst the impressive works of art.
Chilly Chiseling!
Chilly Chiseling!
The ice carver in the picture above seemed to be deep in thought about his sculpture. I found it quite peaceful to watch the gentle sweeps across the ice he was making with his chisel. With each sweep, a sliver of ice was removed from the ice block he was sculpting. This was contrasted, quite sharply, by nearby carvers who were using large chainsaws to sculpt their ice.
Let the chips fly!
Let the chips fly!
The variety of tools the sculptors use was quite impressive; ranging from large chainsaws to delicate etching tools like the one being used to put finishing touches on the "ice face” seen below. Vance Huber worked feverishly on the dragon’s mouth for his teams ice sculpture. The teams in the multi-block competition are each given 10 blocks of ice; they have until 10 pm on Friday to finish their sculptures!
Ice carver perfects the face
Ice carver perfects the face
The dragon gets his teeth cleaned!
The dragon gets his teeth cleaned!
The ice blocks are collected from a nearby rock quarry which is filled with natural ice. Chainsaws with 48-inch blades are used to "score” the ice against the quarry walls. Then the blades are strategically pushed into various parts of the ice wall and a forklift is used to "pluck” the ice off the wall. Bulldozers are then used to lift the blocks out of the quarry and transport them to the carving park.
Perhaps the "Ice Thinker” seen below is contemplating his past existence on the quarry wall!
The
**The "Frozen" Thinker **