3X3X3 METRES SNOW CUBE
Most of the snow competition is based on 3x3x3 meters high cube compacted snow.
In February 2015 me Patricia from Canada, Elisabeth from Norway have attend a snow competition and festival in Changbai Shan, north west of Cina at the border with North Corea.
We only have 3 days for carving this big block, no chainsaw, no power tools , only hands tool are allowed.You get a leather and you start cutting digging..white amazing material.
I have to say snow it is not the same everywhere.In special natural snow in good low temperature, when compacted in block is a “soft”, dense and smooth stuff that remind me marble.
Those winter the weather had been good and cold, they had natural snow and cold as -5 degrees in the day.The all scenario covered in white, create a blast of light affordable only with sunglasses .We had to work one night till late to finish our sculpture and that was hard. It was -15 degrees with a bit of wind: you better move, scratch, cut, hard to keep warm.
The ceremonial parade of the opening day, was a nice flow to be part of. Even over coated with more and more cloth layers, local people recognize you are western, European. They like to have a picture with you. It is so funny: you barely see my face: nose, mouth and the front, all the rest is hidden warm.
It must be my nose, to show i am not Chinese.
Drummers, dancer with colorful shaking fans walk around the town and reach the snow exhibition and We follow behind them. Chinese hospitality is wonderful and they take good care of us: you feel like a very important person.After the ceremony they took as on a famous hot spring thermal bath.
Yes, i never saw something like that. you undress yourself out in bikini and jump fast as you can in hot bath outdoor. The way out from the warm water is also kind of challenging.You run fast without slide on the icy wet floor trying to reach the bathrobe on hanger, till you sadly discover it is frozen hard as wood’s board.
Before i left Changbai Shan i asked Lin the translator to write me some essential sentences to survive in Cina with no speaking chines and not much people talking English.
With those notes i took my way to Begin.
It is one of the most impressive and charming city i ever visited. The narrow Hudong where i sleeps for 3 nights, the crazy drive on tuctuc, the surprise to see what you just ordered for dinner..
Special memories can not be fully impressed on pictures…
