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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Anyone driving, skiing, or walking on Yellowknife Bay lately may have noticed that the Snowking castle is looking more and more impressive as it nears completion.

Myka Jones, a.k.a. Lady Icicle, sits inside Snowking's office Sunday while taking a break from carving the snow castle's walls. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

Yellowknifer spent part of the day last Sunday at the site, observing the Snowking, Anthony Foliot, and his subjects constructing the ultimate snow fort, and had a chance to speak one-on-one with one of Snowking's crew – Lady Icicle.

Lady Icicle, known during other times of the year as Myka Jones, is the mastermind behind the wall carving, window designs, and doorways of this year's castle.

This is Jones' second year working at the castle. She started out volunteering as a line carver last year after moving here from Edmonton in early February, 2011. The job that she had lined up initially fell through, so one day she wandered down to the castle to say hello and ended up pitching in.

"I wasn't in a rush so I thought, why not get outside and stay busy while looking for other work?" said Jones. "And everything has worked out beautifully. I feel really lucky that I can take the time to work on the castle."

While constructing a life-size snow castle sounds like a child's dream come to life, it's demanding work. The Snowking construction crew has been working full time since January, and Snowking himself has been organizing the building and sawing ice pretty much since the lake ice was thick enough to stand on.

The crew works five to seven days a week. Major structural components in the castle are made of packed snow, formed much like concrete by being blown into wooden moulds and then left to set. Ice carved out of the lake is used as windows, to form the bar, and in other detail work around the castle.

Jones has been carving snow since the beginning of February, for five to six hours per day. She is paid for her time, along with about four other members of the Snowking crew, and has also had help from multiple volunteers, she said.

While this, the 17th Snowking castle, will have about the same square footage as last year's structure, the design is more intricate, said Jones.

"It's going to have some pretty neat ceilings, some neat walkways, a couple special rooms, and again a great area where people can come sit and enjoy hot cocoa or cookies," said Jones. " And, obviously, you want the stage to be front and centre in all the activities."

In terms of Jones' carving work, there is no overarching theme for the year, she says, but she drew inspiration from Russian architecture and from studying different European buildings.

"A lot of the shapes I saw, I just wanted to play with them, so I've just been trying a few different styles and techniques," she said.

The castle is on track to be finished for the March 1 opening, said Jones.

Jones is hosting a gargoyle-carving workshop, scheduled for the last Saturday and Sunday in February before the festival officially begins.

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