SARANAC LAKE — Work on the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace started earlier than expected this year. On Friday, the all-volunteer Ice Palace Workers 101 set to work cutting ice blocks, making slush and laying the foundation of Carnival’s centerpiece.
“Mother Nature was good to us,” IPW 101 Director Joe Plumb said on a break from ice cutting Friday morning.
‘IT’S GREAT TO BE EARLY’
Pontiac Bay in Lake Flower has had ice since Christmastime, with no major thaws since them. The deadline to start working on the Ice Palace was Jan. 22, but the ice was thick enough to start on Jan. 17.
“It’s great to be early,” Plumb said. “We always have a plan, but being early, it allows carvers to embellish more. It allows little structures to pop up instead of just always trying to beat the clock.”
He said it’s been five years since they’ve had this long of a time to build the Palace. In the past few years, they’ve only had one week instead of two, and have battled warm temperatures several times. This year, the ice was getting encouragement from the IPW 101.
‘LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO’
For weeks, volunteers have been clearing the ice of snow to help the ice grow faster. Although it’s been cold, the depth has plateaued. On Friday, an “official block” was measured at a depth of 10.5 inches — pretty good, Plumb said.
With sub-zero temperatures in the forecast on nights coming out of the weekend, the weather looks primed to grow the ice more. Currently, the four-foot-by-two-foot blocks are estimated at weighing 500 pounds each. Plumb said they plan to cut close to 4,000 blocks this year.
The more time they have, the more fun and creativity they get to have. With the theme of “Music Legends” this year, Plumb said carvers are planning to create ice instruments, and, if they have time, a stage.
“Let’s see what we can do,” he said, grinning widely.
MORE VOLUNTEERS
Though there was a sizeable crew at the site on Friday, Plumb said there’s always a need for more volunteers, and encouraged people to come down and get involved.
“This tradition has been going on forever. The only way it’s been happening for so long is that new people come down and help and the older generation passes it on,” he said.
At the end of last year’s Carnival, long-time IPW 101 Director Dean Baker passed the role off to Plumb. Friday was Plumb’s first day leading the build in his new position. It doesn’t feel much different yet, he said, adding that he is honored to have the responsibility.
The energy at the start of the annual winter tradition was palpable.
“It’s like Christmas morning if you’re involved in this,” Plumb said. “We’ve got people with their own tools with their names on them.”
Greg Washburn and Pat Bourcy from the Watertown area traveled up to Saranac Lake for the build this year with ice handsaws they purchased from thrift stores. On the blades, they had painted in big block letters “MOONTABS” and “JGO” (Just Go Outside), the names of their blogs.
CHAINSAW SLED
Tom Hyde had a new toy, a chainsaw sled, which carries a chainsaw at ground-level in its metal structure, allowing it to be maneuvered to cut ice while standing.
“It came from Pennsylvania,” Hyde said. “The Amish use these for cutting ice for their ice houses.
“It’s a lot easier than bending over,” he added.
Traditionally, people are hunched over the chainsaws to cut the initial water channel in the ice, where the ice blocks are floated to the shoreline.
The sled worked pretty good for its first time in use, Hyde said.
Elle Finocan had a pole with a new plaque bearing her name and the words “For Our IPW 101 Friend / From Anne and Greg.”
‘STARTER’ BLOCK
Stacy Annis brought an unusual gift to the worksite — a block from last year’s Ice Palace she saved in her freezer all year long. Annis said this will be a sort of “sourdough starter” for the next Palace.
For years, people have tried saving blocks in their freezers unsuccessfully. Annis tried before, but it evaporated in the freezer before Carnival came around again. This time, she kept the block in a Ziploc bag and only lost around 20% of its size.
Of course, she spent the entire year organizing her frozen goods around the hunk of ice atop her fridge.
“Right next to the bacon,” Annis said.
Plumb placed the block as a cornerstone in the foundation.
“This starts a tradition,” he said.
The two are looking forward to telling people they’ve been building the Ice Palace with the same block year after year. The only question Annis had was: Who’s going to be the curator from now on? Because she needs room in her freezer again.