Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: ice sculpture

Thanks to the grim weather on this day, this photo looks like a black-and-white shot, not colour. Just looking at this image makes me shiver, though in reality, it was not a bitterly cold day. On 22 January 2016, I was fortunate enough to get a place on a bus trip to Lake Louise and the annual Ice Sculpture display, Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountains. It is a two-hour drive west of Calgary. Of course, any time a bus trip is organized way ahead of the day, you have no idea what the weather is going to be like. The weather was grim all day, with snow all day long, turning to really heavy, wet snow when we stood in the parking lot at the end of the day. No sign of the sun, which made photography a real challenge. There were so many people visiting the area that it was almost impossible to get photos without at least a few people included. As you can see, even the mountains had mostly disappeared. Our bus driver, Tim, did a wonderful job of getting us to the lake and all the way back to Calgary. I was just so thankful that I wasn't driving! Some of the group chose to snowshoe, others to walk/hike, and others to join Anne Belton's group for birding. I was expecting a stroll along the lake shore and around the Chateau grounds, lol, but instead we did a hike along the creek all the way to Lake Louise Village, roughly 4.2 km! The trail though the forest was very narrow - wide enough for heavy winter boots and icers plus maybe a couple of inches on either side. If you were unlucky enough to walk an inch further, you would have one leg plunge into snow up to your knee or higher. I was so thankful that this didn't happen to me, but it did mean that my eyes were looking downwards all the time instead of soaking up the glorious, snow-covered forest. The snow was so thick on the trees and when it became just too heavy for a branch to support, you stood the risk of being snow-bombed from high above. A lot of the trail was downhill - never fun in such conditions, but we all took it very slowly, though there were several tumbles or someone would end up travelling on their rear end. Not the easiset hike, but the surroundings couldn't have been more beautiful. Thankfully, the bus driver had arranged to drive down to the Village ready to pick us up and take us back uphill to the Lake. As for the birds, well, they obviously didn't particularly like the grey, snowy day and stayed in hiding, other than several Common Ravens, a couple of Magpies, one or two Clark's Nutcrackers and two House Sparrows. Back at the Chateau, two of the birders did see a very distant Stellar's Jay - always a lovely bird to see, but it was too far for them to get photos. We had time to wander round the Ice Scuptures area, in front of the Chateau. Some amazing work created by sculptors from various parts of the world. The one in this photo was titled "Canoe with three warriors", by Team Sakha from Russia. It won "Third Place" and "People's Choice Award". I think it was my favourite sculpture. "Winter comes alive in iconic Lake Louise, Alberta. Ice Magic Festival, January 15 - 24, 2016 is a world class event with over 20 years under its belt. Talented ice artists from around the world delicately balance grueling physical labour with precision artistry in a 34 hour International Ice Carving Competition. Jaw-dropping scenery sets the stage as ice carving teams of 2 create sculptures illustrating their interpretations of our chosen theme for 2016: Earth, Wind, Fire & Water - Elements of Life." Taken from link below. I love that the prize money for this competition is only a comparativey small amount, which I think shows that the carvers do what they do for love of the art, not for the money : ) Team Ice Carving Competition 1st Place: $2,500 2nd Place: $1,500 3rd Place: $750 Carver's Choice: $750 People's Choice: $500 One Carver, One Hour, One Block 1st Place: $1,000 2nd Place: $300 3rd Place: $200 People's Choice: $250 www.banfflakelouise.com/Area-Events/Festivals/Winter/Snow... So, a wonderful day trip for us all in breathtaking surroundings. I am especially appreciative, as I don't drive to the mountains, so rarely get to see them. Many thanks to FLC for doing such a great job of organizing this most enjoyable day for us. Thanks to Anne Belton for taking some of us on a beautiful, though not easy, hike through the forest. Definitely a day to remember.

It was so disappointing that the weather on the day of a bus trip to Lake Louise and the Ice Sculptures was so grim. Atrocious light and falling snow were just too much for my camera and most of my photos are beyond rescue. This shot required a lot of brightening and sharpening and, though still far from being any good, it gives an idea of how beautiful the various ice sculptures were. This particular carving titled 'Canoe with three warriors', by Team Sakha from Russia, won "People's Choice Award" as well as winning third place. This photo was taken on 22 January 2016, when I was fortunate enough to get a place on a bus trip to Lake Louise and the annual Ice Sculpture display, in Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountains. It is a two-hour drive west of Calgary. Of course, any time a bus trip is organized way ahead of the day, you have no idea what the weather is going to be like. Unfortunately, the weather was grim all day, with snow all day long, turning to really heavy, wet snow when we stood in the parking lot at the end of the day. No sign of the sun, which made photography a real challenge. There were so many people visiting the area that it was more or less impossible to get photos without at least a few people included. Even the mountains had mostly disappeared. Our bus driver, Tim, did a wonderful job of getting us to the lake and all the way back to Calgary. I was just so thankful that I wasn't driving! Some of the group chose to snowshoe, others to walk, and others to join Anne Belton's group for birding. I was expecting a stroll with Anne along the lake shore and around the Chateau grounds, lol, but instead we did a hike along the creek all the way to Lake Louise Village, roughly 4.2 km! The trail was very narrow - wide enough for heavy winter boots and icers plus maybe a couple of inches on either side. If you were unlucky enough to walk an inch further, you would have one leg plunge into snow up to your knee or hips and you would go flying into the snow. This happened two or three times and I was so thankful that it didn't happen to me, but it did mean that my eyes were looking downwards all the time instead of soaking up most of the glorious, snow-covered forest. The snow was so thick on the trees and when it became just too heavy for a branch to support, you stood the risk of being snow-bombed by a great ball of heavy snow from high above. A lot of the trail was downhill - never fun in such conditions, but we took it very slowly. There were several tumbles or someone would end up travelling downhill on their rear end. Not the easiset hike, but the surroundings couldn't have been more beautiful. Thankfully, the bus driver had arranged to drive down to the Village ready to pick us up and take us back uphill to the Lake. As for the birds that day, well, they obviously didn't particularly like the grey, snowy day and stayed in hiding, other than several Common Ravens, a couple of Magpies, one or two Clark's Nutcrackers and two House Sparrows. Back at the Chateau, two of the birders did see a very distant Stellar's Jay - always a lovely bird to see, but it was too far away for them to get photos. After this hike, we had time to wander round the Ice Scuptures area, in front of the Chateau. Some amazing work created by sculptors from various parts of the world. "Winter comes alive in iconic Lake Louise, Alberta. Ice Magic Festival, January 15 - 24, 2016 is a world class event with over 20 years under its belt. Talented ice artists from around the world delicately balance grueling physical labour with precision artistry in a 34 hour International Ice Carving Competition. Jaw-dropping scenery sets the stage as ice carving teams of 2 create sculptures illustrating their interpretations of our chosen theme for 2016: Earth, Wind, Fire & Water - Elements of Life." Taken from link below. I love that the prize money for this competition is only a comparativey small amount, which I think shows that the carvers do what they do for love of the art, not for the money : ) Team Ice Carving Competition 1st Place: $2,500 2nd Place: $1,500 3rd Place: $750 Carver's Choice: $750 People's Choice: $500 One Carver, One Hour, One Block 1st Place: $1,000 2nd Place: $300 3rd Place: $200 People's Choice: $250 www.banfflakelouise.com/Area-Events/Festivals/Winter/Snow... So, a wonderful day trip for us all in breathtaking surroundings. I am especially appreciative, as I don't drive to the mountains, so rarely get to see them. Many thanks to FLC for doing such a great job of organizing this most enjoyable day for us. Thanks to Anne Belton for taking some of us on the beautiful hike through the forest. Definitely a day to remember.

A movie sequel, Santa Baby 2, is being filmed in Calgary. A few days ago, they were down in Fish Creek Park, filming at the Bow Valley Ranch. I missed that event, but when I went over there a day or two later, all that was left to be seen were two ice sculptures - this Reindeer and a sleigh. I did watch the original TV movie, Santa Baby (2006), which had Jenny McCarthy starring in it.

Finally, the snow is melting, so I thought I'd better post this shot taken earlier in the winter, before spring arrives. LOL, actually, I've probably got plenty of time yet : ). I wonder if every spot of snow will get a chance to melt this time before more snow falls. This winter, we have had snow covering the ground for months on end - what happened to all our usual (and, oh, so welcome) Chinooks this winter?? Can never resist stopping for a moment, though, to capture Nature's little gifts.

Aother of the beautiful ice carvings seen at Lake Louise on 30th January 2008. The Chateau Lake Louise can be seen in the background.

This Ice Castle, built on frozen Lake Louise, is part of the 2008 Ice Carving competition held at Lake Louise, in Banff National Park. To me, it is a strange mix of man and nature. Intrepide98, this one is for you, if you happen to notice this photo. Hope it brings back more good memories. Did you ever get to see any Ice Sculptures?