Regina family and friends build ice castle on Echo Lake
CBC
While the cold weather in recent weeks has not been very inviting for people to spend much time outside, a Saskatchewan family has been embracing the outdoors in a royal way, no matter the temperatures.
Sean Frisky and his family have created an ice castle in front of their cottage on Echo Lake.
Now the group from Regina can enjoy drinks in their own Saskatchewan palace, including a fireplace and bar.
"That particular day [when we made the castle] was not fantastic," said Frisky.
"The morning started off at about minus 27 plus wind chill…. But we were done by 3:30 p.m. and cracked our first beverage."
This year's structure is not the family's first shot at building an ice structure like this.
Years ago the idea to create an ice bar quickly turned into an ice castle project, said Frisky, thanks to a neighbour who owns a special saw from the 1950s.
The machine was originally used to cut logs out of the ice for refrigeration.
"We've played around a lot with different ice features on the lake just to create something to get family and friends together and be outside and kind of embrace what we have here," said Frisky.
Today's castle is about 12 feet wide, 35 feet long and about seven feet high, according to Frisky.
The bar counter top alone weighs around 3,500 pounds.
"I don't know for certain, but it may be the largest privately-owned ice castle, if not in Canada, possibly in the world," he said.
"We moved about 65,000 pounds of ice."
LISTEN | An Echo Lake ice castle:
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