This Olympic-inspired ice sculpture in Banff aims to 'defy gravity,' say artists

If you go to the Lake Louise ski resort, you'll find some ski jumpers who aren't making their way down the mountain, but who are frozen in flight.

Standing eight feet tall and 10 feet wide, the sculpture of two skiers and the Olympic torch was carved from 15 large blocks of ice. It's not an easy task to make that amount of ice look as though it's gracefully soaring through the air.

"We tried to do some really challenging things," Andrew Zoller, one half of the team behind the sculpture, told The Homestretch on Friday. "Part of ice carving is about creating elements that just defy logic, defying gravity."

He and Scott Harrison represented Alberta at the National Ice-Carving Championships last weekend, when a team of two in each province worked over a span of 20 hours to create sculptures inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic spirit.

Zoller remembers watching ski jumping in-person at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. That was part of the inspiration for the piece created last weekend, which the sculptors have called Pinnacle.

"We really wanted to focus on the dedication and just drive that our Canadian athletes do every day when they're training and when they compete," said Zoller. 

Their timing and choice of subject couldn't have been better. Canada's ski jumping team, all four of whom are from Calgary, won a historic bronze medal in Beijing on Monday.

Zoller has an art and design background and said he tries design pieces that represent something or tell a story, so it was exciting for him to see the athletes bringing that story to life — and for proud Albertans and Canadians to watch.

He's newer to ice carving and has been working with and learning from Harrison for about five years. Harrison has been carving for more than 20 and "brings the expertise" to their partnership, said Zoller.

This was their first competition together, but Harrison said it wasn't stressful — for the most part. Each team worked alone in their own province, instead of all at the same location.

"It was definitely relaxing compared to, you know, the hustle and bustle of a regular competition." said Harrison.

That's even with the shorter time frame. Most competitions allow 28 to 34 hours to create a finished work, rather than 20.

Weather woes

On Sunday afternoon, the sun shone clearly in Banff and temperatures crept above 0 C — not ideal for a frozen art form. The sun refracts in the ice, causing it to crack from the inside out, the sculptors said.

"[The UV rays] absolutely eat the ice apart and destroy it," said Harrison.

But they were able to avoid that, thanks to a support team holding pieces of cardboard and a tarp for about three hours to shield the sun from hitting the ice.

Now that the creation of the sculpture is over, Harrison and Zoller are waiting to hear how they did in the competition. 

People can view photos of all the sculptures from across the country and vote for their favourites online until Feb. 20 to determine the winners.

With files from The Homestretch.