Winter Carnival 2008

The end of January signals the beginning of the Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake, and one of the sure signs is the construction of the ice palace...a colossal castle made out of huge blocks of ice cut out of Lake Flower and formed, by an army of volunteers (and some prison-workers from "Camp Gabriels") over a couple of magical days...I love driving by twice each day and watching the Ice Palace take shape...

I found these slide-shows online, and thought that I would share them with you...

Another part of the Winter Carnival season is the separate, but related, Winter Carnival that occurs in Nearby Lake Placid, where I work, and involves the public school...it is the oldest high school carnival held continuously in the United States...

As a part of the celebration, nearby Whiteface Mountain, an Olympic venue from the 1980 Olympics, invites all of the middle and high school students (and teachers) to come for a day of free skiing and snowboarding...



It was a snowy day, but a wonderful time was had by all, and unlike last year, we had no serious injuries...



This is one of my students, trying out snowboarding for the first time...in addition to lift-tickets and rentals, Whiteface gives lessons to all of the kids who need them...



After skiing for awhile, my 6th graders had a great time warming up and fooling around inside the lodge at the base of the mountain...