Snow and ice artists Danny Spangler and Jason Waldron have a cold job, but they're warming up the winter ambiance at Sun Valley Resort.
The two men worked this week with chain saws, hand saws and chisels to create snow sculptures near the entrance to Sun Valley Lodge. Thursday afternoon, they worked atop a 15-foot-tall scaffold surrounding a cube of snow that was gradually becoming a bear.
And that's how the process works, said Spangler, who owns Starr, Idaho-based Ice Is Nice. Plywood forms are used as containers in which to pack snow and water. The forms are taken away, and that's when the work begins.
"It's having an artistic eye, being able to visualize it," Spangler said.
The artists are completing seven snow sculptures in all, and on Saturday will work outside the Konditorei restaurant, only they'll switch their medium to ice.
"Jason's going to do a 9-foot eagle, and I'm going to do a 10-foot Christmas tree," Spangler said.
Ninety percent of the work is done using chainsaws, but intricate details are carved using handsaws and chisels. Because it's harder, detail is easier to achieve with ice.
"We work hard," Spangler said. "Holding the chain saw all day long, standing on the scaffolding. We just stay bundled up, but the work actually keeps you warmed up."
And there is artistic appeal to the process.
"It's always new," Spangler said. "Everything you're creating, even if you've made it before, it's a new piece."
Sun Valley Co. Marketing and Public Relations Director Jack Sibbach said the snow and ice sculptures are simply one of the ways the resort is trying to enhance the resort.
"It's the Christmas spirit," he said. "It's getting people excited about the winter. It's everything Sun Valley."
He pointed out it's something the resort did historically and something that would be nice to see around town as well.
"I would love to see the whole community do snow sculptures," he said. "In the old days we used to do stuff like that."
Danny Spangler, owner of Ice Is Nice, adds detail to a 15-foot-tall snow bear outside Sun Valley Lodge. Photo by David N. Seelig
