The balmy temperatures in Edmonton may be a nice break to a frigid winter, but organizers at the Ice of Whyte Festival say the melting proved to be a big challenge on Saturday.
The thermostat hovered around 7 degrees Saturday making it difficult for carvers to make precision cuts into the ice.
"Its difficult for the carvers to get past the effects that the sun and warmth have. The ice softens up a little bit and you're not able to do as great of welding when you're putting on attachments to the ice carvings," said chief judge Glen Motley.
The warm temperatures also forced the closure of the ice castle due to safety concerns.
The judging however, continued on with the Ice Dancer taking the first place prize. Frozen Memories took the second place spot and the rookie team from Edmonton behind the Stagosaurus took the third place prize.
"We work carving Styrofoam...this is basically a switch in medium," said rookie sculptor Chris Annett.
The Ice on Whyte Festival continues until January 26th.
