Judges' results in the Fur Rendezvous Snow Sculpture Competition were announced Sunday as sculptors finished a week of frigid weather and fun. Mostly fun.
Ernie Hall, president of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous board, watched the camaraderie and joked, "The greatest part is the humor; everyone has a great time. While they are freezing."
The Rondy contest started Feb. 20, when competitors began carving something out of 8-foot-tall cubes of packed snow. That's about eight tons of snow in all. About 15 designs were completed.
Robert Duckett, a three-year veteran of the snow sculpting competition, used the event as a time to travel back to his younger years.
"This is one of the only times that it is socially acceptable for a grown man to play with snow," Duckett said.
Duckett, a member of the Anchor Baptist church, also wants to spread a message with his sculpture, creating a likening to the biblical giant Goliath.
Depending on the complexity, it can take about 20 to 40 hours of planning before shovel or pick comes anywhere near snow. Duckett expected to take 20 to 26 hours to implement his plan -- by far the shorter part of the contestant's work.
Steve Lukshin, a first-timer to the event, took third place in the three-member team category. Lukshin started Feb. 22 and spent about four hours a night working on his sculpture.
"There is really steep competition, but I'm still here enjoying the weather," Lukshin said with a laugh.
Sculpted images included another biblical reference, an angel blowing on a trumpet and a crown of thorns made from snow and icicles in a detailed depiction of the entombment of Jesus.
On the whimsical side, there was a bear on skis, a giant piggy bank, a big baby, a rather hairy caveman, an Egyptian design inspired by temple statues.
Alaska themes were also represented. One carefully detailed sculpture entitled "Qasida," Aleut for "go fish," showed a fisherman in a kayak hooking an enormous halibut.
Animals made it into many competitors' designs. A crowded coral reef sculpture captured the rainbow of life found in the sea, with eels hiding, fish swimming and turtles resting. Another team, the Zoo Crew, sculpted a pair of bears, one standing and shading his eyes as he looks into the distance.
The three-member team competition was judged as a tie between Team Green and Three Dudes; the judges planned to meet later to settle on a victor. Service High School took the high school and middle school division and Winterberry Charter took top honors in the elementary school division. Tandy Wallack and Jon Eric Thompson won the family and solo divisions.
One prize remains to be awarded. The people's choice will not be announced until after Fur Rondy. To many competitors, that prize means more sculpting.
At press time the cold-dependent art was holding up, but just barely. With temperatures predicted to hit the 30s this week, one can only hope that the sculptures last through the end of Rondy.
Felix Rivera is a liberal studies major from Alaska Pacific University and an intern at the ADN.
By FELIX RIVERA
Special to the Daily News