The top spot in the month-long snow statue competition during Michigan Technological University’s 2024 Winter Carnival went to a snow-sculptured representation of famous locations from the Upper Peninsula’s Copper Country.

Taking first place out of eleven entries, the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was recognized for their regional landmarks, such as the Lower Entry Light of the Keweenaw Waterway and the National Park Service vessel Ranger III, which transports tourists to Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park.

After winning the yearly competition for five years running, Phi Kappa Tau, located in Hancock, was given second place for its Gilligan’s Island-themed installation, “Just Sit Back and See a Tale, A Tale of a Fateful Trip.” With their entry, “Step Out Your Door and Explore the vAST Outdoors,” Alpha Sigma Tau Gamma secured the third position.

With this year being the 102nd year of Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival, the snow statues have come to symbolize the event. Winter Carnival, one of the largest winter celebrations in the country, is a warm and inviting community event hosted by the school’s Blue Key National Honor Society.

The month-long snow statue competition, which features intricate, larger-than-life creations made by Michigan Tech’s fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations, and a “All-Nighter” statue-building competition that begins one evening and is judged the next morning, are the sources of inspiration for the wintry sculptures.

The overarching Winter Carnival theme this year was “From Forests to Shores We Love the Outdoors,” which inspired teams in both categories to create snow and ice sculptures.

This year, however, Mother Nature threw a few curveballs at the student sculptors, with erratic snowfall, unusually warm temperatures, and even rain during the competition to build the largest statue overnight.

“A lack of early January snow meant competitors in the monthlong division got just over three weeks of construction time — but in usual Husky Nation mode, they made the most of their available materials, engineering skills and ingenuity.” “Even the spate of rain at 8:30 p.m. during the All-Nighter did not deter Huskies from making the most of a 102-year Tech tradition.”

The competition judging panel used words like “creative,” “resilient,” “adaptive,” and “did not give up” to describe statue builders in all divisions this year, the story added.