Question: What do you do on a quiet Davis long weekend? Answer: Build an ice bar.
It started out as a random idea, and came to fruition with the help of six expeditioners, one Hägglunds, one JCB (telehandler), two chainsaws and a variety of hand tools.
Using the chainsaws (qualified operators only) we cut out sections of ice from a blizz tail that has formed out of snow downwind of a building and then thawed and re-frozen over several years, this gave us our basic building blocks for the bar. With the use of the vehicles we then transported the ice blocks to the living quarters landing for assembly. Water was used to freeze the blocks together and to create the icicles that have formed over the bar.
The letters were then created using hand tools and colored with food dye, and coloured lights bring the bar to life.
A well-earned drink at the bar was had by all concerned (although we only had about three minutes to finish our drinks before they were frozen in the −28 degree conditions) to open the bar in readiness for the midwinter celebrations and beyond.
Scott Visser