I’ve only been there one time, but way back in 1996 (not ’95, thanks to Michael Mackasey for the correction), I was able to compete on a three person team at the Ice Magic event in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. This is one of ice carving’s premiere competitions and it has regularly attracted top-notch talent. I’m not certain exactly when it started, but it’s been going at least since 1995, which means that this year should have been at least the 15th year for the event. Junichi Nakamura, Steve and Heather Brice, and Buddy Rasmussen (former NICA national champ) have all been there at least a couple of times and many other talented carvers have taken part over the years as well.

    When I went, our team was made up of myself and Scott Nagel and his wife, Kerry. Our team name was “Two Dudes and a Babe.” From fifteen can-type blocks, we carved a sculpture titled “The Legend of Louie” (see below) which depicted a lake monster in the mold of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Louie was breaking up through the ice of a frozen-over Lake Louise to attack an ice fisherman. We even wrote a story to go along with it and posted it in front of the carving site. It was a completely fabricated story (or was it?) but it was a fun, lighthearted piece.

Even though Junichi and his teammate Yasuo carved a daring, dynamic, and really pretty amazing angel sculpture titled “Soldier” (see below), we somehow got the People’s Choice award for our piece. Maybe it was our silly team name or maybe it was because our site was the easiest to see from a warm vantage point in the hotel; who knows? During the three days of competition, it was brutally cold (about 20 degrees below zero) and regular hot chocolate breaks were required to make it bearable. Ironically, for winning the People’s Choice award, we were given nice, warm Grand Marnier jackets. I only wish that we’d somehow gotten the jackets BEFORE the competition; an extra layer would have been very helpful...

    Over the years, I’ve discovered that competing as part of a team is not always the easiest thing to do. Team dynamics and the considerable stress of the situation come into play and sometimes, even though you may get along great in everyday situations, as part of the same team, you and your teammate(s) don’t get along at all. Scott and I didn’t exactly have a great team experience over those three days. In retrospect, I think I probably deserve most of the blame because I probably acted like a bit of a know-it-all even though Scott had more carving experience. I’m not really sure what I was thinking; the only time that Scott and I ever carved against each other in competition, he beat me. At any rate, nobody died and we sort of finished the piece. Our only chance to beat Junichi would have been if his sculpture had crashed (I was sure it was going to; shows how much I knew), but it was a great experience all the same. I’m pretty sure I learned something, which is always a plus.

    One of the best parts of the Ice Magic event is the setting. It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful place for an ice carving competition. The sculptures for the multi-block event (there’s also a smaller single block event at a nearby venue) are carved near the lake and a gorgeous mountain with a glacier at the top towers over everything. And by the way, Lake Louise is right in the middle of Banff National Park.

    Almost as fantastic as the setting are the accommodations. The event host is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It’s a beautiful hotel and according to the website has earned the AAA Four Diamond Award. (Here’s a short review of the hotel) The hotel dates back to 1911 so it’s not without a few eccentricities; my room for example, was kind of oddly shaped and a bit cozier than those in a newer hotel. But I think that’s why it’s called “Chateau” Lake Louise; I suppose the rooms are supposed to be a little cozy. As for food, the carvers were treated VERY well and we never went hungry. They scheduled meals for the carvers in the hotel restaurant; the food was great!

part of “Prey for me,”  by Buddy Rasmussen and Roland De La Garza, 1st place, Ice Magic 2009

   

    I started this entry after I had a hard time finding a photo of a specific sculpture at a past Ice Magic event. After I looked for a while, I happened on this site that has photos from the events in 2000-2006: Unofficial Home page and Gallery. Here’s the Ice Magic Official site which has a page with pics from 2008. No luck finding anything from way back in 1995 or therabouts, but that’s not a surprise. I think I was still using a phone modem and a member of Prodigy back then; the internet’s a little different now. I’m sure that I took some more photos myself, but I’ll have to look around for them; that’s from back when I still used film...