Ice castles: From hobby to multimillion-dollar business

  • 31/01/2016
Ice castles: From hobby to multimillion-dollar business

What began as a backyard treat for his kids has now become one man's multimillion-dollar business.

You would have to admit, Brent Christensen has one of the coolest jobs in the world. He makes a living making ice castles.

It began as a hobby for Mr Christensen seven years ago.

"The kids and I would go out and build igloos and ice rinks, and I just was fortunate enough to stumble upon the idea of using icicles and spraying water as a way to build these structures," he says.

From his backyard to now a $2 million business, this year four crews are creating ice parks in Canada, Utah, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Warm weather forced a late start in New Hampshire. His team of 20 artisans worked 14-hour days for three weeks, spraying 5 million gallons of water in temperatures as low as -16degC. 

A park that opened last weekend offers chills and thrills for all ages.

"We've got slides; we've got mazes made out of ice, and slot canyons and little crawl tubes," says Mr Christensen.

The park is open day and night, with the help of thousands of embedded LED lights.

"They go from a white to a blue to a green, and we even have them synchronised to music periodically," says Mr Christensen.

Work continues on the sculptures throughout the season. Some will grow to as high as 12 metres.

"To actually share it with other people and to also make a living from it, it's -- I can't think of anybody I'd want to trade places with," says Mr Christensen.

He's the king of ice castles, even if his reign only lasts as long as nature allows.

CBS News