Ottawa Daily Foto

Snow Skates

Normally they would be called ice skates, but since this larger-than-life pair are made from packed snow, they are called Snow Skates. Every year ten teams, each representing a Canadian province, compete in the National Snow Sculpture Competition as a part of Winterlude Celebration that takes place in Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau. This amazing sculpture with its life-like textures, was created by the Alberta team and won both First Prize and the People's Choice Award. The theme this year was "Winter Fun" and there were entries featuring ice fishing, mountain climbing, and of course, tobogganing. Teams of carvers work in blocks of snow and create sculptures that are of epic proportions. These skates, for example, were carved from a block that stood 16 feet (4.9 metres) high and weighed approximately 40 tonnes!