Local Snow Sculpting Team
Local talent is all around us and it is our privilege to let tell you more about what some of our neighbors have been doing with their talents. If you know local woodcarver John Zipprich you probably have recognized his works in the South Wasco County Library, the Imperial River Company and at Timberline Lodge.
I met him for the first time last fall at the Wasco County Fair where he was exhibiting one of his relief carvings in the open class building. As a woodcarver myself, I was eager to learn about his woodcarving projects but he never mentioned snow carving. I was surprised to hear, this last month that John has formed a local snow sculpting/carving team and has been competing for some time now.
The team which includes Phil Black, John Zipprich and Dick McCumber was awarded 1st place at the Idaho Snow Sculpting Championships. I spoke with John recently and he said that the team is going to try and get to nationals this next winter. Below is an excerpt from the the Oregon Carvers Guild’s March newsletter where John’s writes about his experience in snow carving. If you are interested in learning more about carving feel free to email John at jpzipprich@gmail.com.
Excerpt from Oregon Carvers Guild’s March 2023 newsletter:
I did the design and was team leader. The elements of the design bear no relationship to each other; I just like the shapes - industrial and natural. I called it Improbable Juxtapositions.
The whole idea of snow sculpture is to have suspended weight, held together only through frozen snow, so the colder the better. Because of the unsupported areas, these large sculptures can be fragile. A sunny day can bring one down. You have to push the limits of the material if you want to win. I’ve seen sculptures collapse because the artists went too far.
The tools are just like wood carving tools only larger. I made my own gouge from a posthole digger and chisels of various sizes from old shingle hatchets. The hatchets make great chisels because one side is flat. I weld on a chunk of pipe for a handle socket.
A saw is made from 1/8" cable. I slide rivets with the center nail removed onto the cable, alternating direction with every rivet then smashing the rivet body to secure it to the cable. It saws through frozen snow like a champ.
I made a sander from nail plates used in home construction. The finish sander is the expanded mesh from the drywall industry. I enjoy making my tools I've got a bunch of them.
I've been into snow sculpture since 1990, competing in Russia, Finland, Colorado, and Idaho. Great fun and great people. Maybe I’ll do the Nationals next winter.
The Idaho piece was carved out of a packed block of snow 8'x5'x5'. Organizers make the blocks with a form, a loader, and grape stompers to get it all packed tight. In Breckenridge, Colorado, their blocks are 10'x10'x10', over four times the size as Idaho, but they let four-man teams do it. That is truly a lot of snow to move. Most contests are done in 8x8x8 blocks. Rules vary with events, but power tools are never allowed. My team won in Breckenridge in 1991.
You can read more about John’s work at Timberline and his history in the October 2021 Oregon Carvers Guild newsletter.
