McCall Idaho Headline News

A massive frozen depiction of an Old West cattle drive earned its builder his third straight grand prize at the 2008 McCall Winter Carnival local snow sculpture competition.

"The Cattle Drive," at The Holiday Inn Express - The Hunt Lodge, earned sculptor John Schulz the top prize from a team of judges among more than 40 sculptures featured in this year's carnival, which carried the theme "Wild, Wild West."

Schulz earned $950 for his creation and also created a new dynasty among local snow sculpture builders.

Schulz won the grand prize in 2007 for the intricate "Great Barrier Reef," also at the Hunt Lodge. In 2006, he won his first grand prize for "A Bear's Den," built at Super 8 Motel.

He is approaching the gold standard set by the sculpting crew at Krahn's Home Furnishings, which won the top prize four tunes in a row from 2001 to 2004 and has won the grand prize eight times overall.

This year's Krahn's sculpture, "Ride "Em Sam," won fifth place.

Winter Carnival 2008 Snow Sculpture Winner "The Cattle Drive" A cattle drive on a scale epic enough to humble Cecile B. DeMille took the Grand Prize in the 2008 McCall Winter Carnival snow sculpture contest Friday. The massive work, located at the Hunt Lodge, features eight head of cattle, two cowboys on horseback and two Indians planning an ambush.

In "The Cattle Drive," two horse-mounted cowpokes are herding eight head of cattle over a bridge and down a slope. Little do they know, two Indians are hiding under the bridge, apparently intent on mischief. Nearby, a coyote howls at the moon.

Schulz is a professional chainsaw carver by trade and is the owner of McCall Mountain Accents.

The entire structure was carved down from massive blocks of ice formed by slush-packed plywood boxes, he said. Very little slush, the stable of most snow sculptures, was used in the project, he said.

Layers of chicken wire strengthened the span over the bridge to make it safe. Otherwise, the sculpture contains no other hidden armatures.

The horse and rider on top of the sculpture were made on the ground, and the finished 3000 pound figure was then hoisted into place with a forklift just two days before Friday's judging.

The shimmering clear-ice sign was plucked from Payette Lake near its outlet at the North Fork of the Payette River and the title carved into it with a router.

The sign was carved into the shape of a flame rising from a frozen campfire. The "firewood" was made of icicles broken from the roof of The Hunt Lodge.

Schulz credited the sculpture's success to the cold weather in the days leading up to judging. There was also the addition of his brother Carl of Spokane, who is also a chainsaw sculptor, who shared the work load.

Also assisting were Hunt Lodge General Manager Elizabeth Driebergen and her husband, Jeremy, who helped with details. About 90 man-hours were spent on the piece, with about 60 percent of the effort using chainsaws, 20 percent using power sanders and 20 percent using hand chisels.

"Everything went right; the weather really cooperated well," Schulz said.