|
The
company behind the displays has expanded since its first
installation in 2011. This year it has operations in Utah,
Minnesota, two locations in Colorado and New Hampshire, where
the site includes a snow tubing hill and ice bar. After a mild
winter last year, officials were thrilled that temperatures were
cold enough to open earlier this season.
“It's one of the biggest ice castles we've ever built,” said
Jared Henningsen, the company’s vice president for operations.
“We're looking at about 25 million pounds of ice spread over two
acres.”
As a winter storm brought biting cold and wet snow to the South,
visitors to the New Hampshire castle bundled up to explore its
twists and turns Friday.
Julia Jones of Gloucester, Massachusetts, said she travels to
northern New Hampshire several times a year but had not
experienced the ice castles until her opening-day visit.
“I've never seen anything like this before,” she said. “Honestly
I didn't think it was gonna be this big.”
Jessica Sullivan, of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, also was
surprised, and not just by the frozen environment. Her
boyfriend, Brian Jacques, proposed to her during their visit.
“It's a beautiful place,” said Jacques, who got the “yes” he was
hoping for. “I definitely thought, this is the time and place to
do it.”
By day the walls and other structures shine with a pale blue
hue. After darkness falls, lights embedded within the ice glow
pink, purple and green.
“Once you enter into an ice castle, you're transitioning into
something that's totally immersive and unlike something that
most guests have ever seen,” Henningsen said. “I think it
inspires people.”
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
