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Ice Palace going strong

Joe Plumb, left, guides an ice block to the top of a tower at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

SARANAC LAKE — The towers are up, the facade is solid, and the ice UFO has landed.

Despite some nasty weather and a shorter workday Saturday, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace is looking good.

Ice Palace Workers 101 Director Dean Baker said all that’s left to do is a round tower and some carvings, including the thrones.

“Today, we hit it real hard and we’re doing well,” he said in a phone interview Sunday. “We had no problems.”

Baker said Saturday’s precipitation cut that workday in half but didn’t severely damage the Ice Palace.

Volunteers build the Ice Palace Sunday, Jan. 26 for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which begins Friday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

“It didn’t affect us as much as we thought it was going to,” he said. “It was just mostly wet snow, which actually sticks things together.”

Baker didn’t have an exact day for when he expects the Ice Palace to be finished.

“We have to be done by Friday, and hopefully we are,” he said.

This year’s palace is a departure from the traditional box design. It takes up more space and is more angular than usual. Some of the carvings include Bigfoot, an Easter Island head and a sea serpent.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival runs from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9.

A UFO made of ice sits Sunday in front of the Ice Palace for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which begins Friday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

An inflatable unicorn adorns a tractor used for moving ice blocks cut from Lake Flower as volunteers build the Ice Palace Sunday for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which begins Friday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Volunteers unload ice blocks at the Ice Palace site Sunday for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which begins Friday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

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