YELLOWKNIFE - "This is a good vantage point for a lot of things," SnowKing says.

Standing on the top of his snow castle, the SnowKing is hauling metre-tall blocks out of the Ever Good Lift to finish off the castle roof. He can see all the bustling activity below.

The SnowKing descends in the Ever Good Lift from the top of this year's snow castle on Yellowknife Bay. SnowKing and his crew were trying to get the castle perfect for this year's carnival, which starts tonight. - Adam Johnson/NNSL photo

The SnowKing's crew, a half-dozen strong today, are shovelling, scraping and carving in preparation for tonight's grand opening of the Winter Carnival.

"As per usual, we've got five days of stuff to do for the remaining four days," he says, dragging the block into place.

From the top of the castle he can also see the occasional tourist, clad in tell-tale blue rented parkas, waving at him through the blowing snow below.

"It's pretty steady this time of year," SnowKing says, warning readers that parking is limited this year; walking from shore is recommended.

He scales down the wooden insides of the Ever Good Lift, a crank-powered elevator secured to the side of the main tower. He says the lift has been a boon since being finished last year, but it has some problems. The term "farm-fixed" pops up a lot.

After the King helps a reporter down a ladder off the roof, he points him towards "Snowbank Frank," who is hard at work on his Royal Cafe, an expanded feature this year.

Offering tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soup and snacks, the enclosed cafe, complete with vaulted ceilings and ornately-carved walls, is meant to be a refuge at the castle.

"It's something we thought people wanted," Frank says. "People get cold and they need something to warm up."

He said at the annual Frozen Dog Film Festival (March 10) in particular, "cold bums" tend to be a problem.

Frank is entering his third year as a "SnowKing alumnus" and while he is working hard, he doesn't consider it "work" ñ more of a fun hobby.

"It gets me outside," he says. "It keeps me healthy."

Across the courtyard from the cafe, Shiverin' Sam carves away at the wall of his creation, the Dead Man's Slide.

Between shovel strokes, he says the slide has a spiral staircase up through the centre of a monstrous block of snow. At the top, you enter a tube slide that circles around the staircase and shoots you out of the castle.

"It's just fun," Sam says of the Winter Carnival, which he has been a part of since "day one."

"If you can't have fun doing this, what can you have fun doing?" he asks, quoting the SnowKing.

"It makes people smile."

Back at the front entrance, SnowKing is still hard at work, shoving blocks of snow into the lift.

"Think it'll be sunny tomorrow?" one worker asks.

"No way! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," SnowKing sings with a laugh as he climbs to the roof.