LAKE GENEVA — After a change in theme, an icy winter experience in Lake Geneva is dealing with the same worries this winter season.
Warmth.
via GIPHY
Winter Realms, formerly known as the Ice Castles, is set to open Friday at the Geneva National Resort & Club. The impressive winter wonderland is months in the making.
“We started making snow in October," Wally Bullard, Regional Event Manager said. “We started stockpiling snow and then we’ve used these cold nights we had a few weeks ago to really use our fan gun and make a lot of snow and ice and then we’re just making it pretty from there.”
However, the forecast is spelling potential disaster in the form of a castle killer. If temperatures remain in the mid to high 40s and low 50s for a week or longer, it could cut the Winter Realms season short.
Again.
“We kind of learned a hard lesson last year,” Bullard said. “We ran for three days. We built for three months.”
Last year, the Ice Castles opened up on Feb. 4. By Feb. 9, it was all over. It forced Bullard and his team to figure out another strategy to combat an unrelenting Mother Nature. Eleven months of preparation set them up for this.
“This is our three meter igloo,” Bullard said. “It’s really a feat of building experience. It kind of keeps itself cold. It’s well insulated and that’s what we’re working with.”
In the Winter Realms, there are more igloos built with giant blocks of ice with snow and ice shavings gluing them all together. Then, on the outside, layer after layer of snow cakes the structure, acting as a cooling blanket against whatever temperatures are thrown its way.
“The thermal mass just cold blocks together,” Bullard said. “It’s like when the power goes out, you don’t open your fridge, right? It’s cold in there and if you keep it cold, it will stay cold.”
But the crew with Winter Realms isn’t giving up on the more traditional ice castles fans have grown to love. Towards the back of the experience are a half million individual icicles, illuminated with LED lights from the inside, twinkling with a spectrum of colors. It looks a bit different than prior years. Rather than building up, Bullard built out, making a wider but equally as impressive structure of ice.
“We went wider, beefier, so there is more thermal mass to keep it cold,” Bullard said. “We’ve really done our best to design a new event that’s really weather resilient.”
It’s a strategy that is actively being put to the test. Thursday night, a slow but steady drizzle pelted the ice structures. Tiny H2O pellets, millions at a time taking aim at a castle built to withstand their assault.
It’s a challenge Bullard is taking by the horns.
“That is a challenge,” Bullard said of the rain. “Sometimes, it’s helpful. It kind of adds ice to it because it’ll freeze when it hits it. A night like tonight, it kind of just slides right off it. If it were much warmer, we’d have a little bit to be concerned about but this is perfect for us.”
But the best defense is a good offense for Bullard’s team. It’s why they’re encouraging people to come out sooner than later.
It’s why they added another day they did not previously schedule. The Winter Realms will be open on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Additionally, those who bought tickets for February, they can switch to an available date this weekend at no additional charge. Please visit the Winter Realms website for more information.
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