Interest in the group’s hand-cut ice blocks faded fast, however, and the guys brainstormed on how to add interest to the fruits of their labors. Another concern was the time and trouble involved in bringing the ice to the onlookers… why not instead bring the onlookers to the ice? Five virtual light bulbs suddenly lit up and thus the idea of Icehenge was born!
The group made their first attempt to cut and build Icehenge-worthy ice blocks during the frigid winter of 2013-14. Unfortunately, ice harvesting requires a Goldilocks-like precision regarding the thickness of lake ice and thanks to the Polar Vortex, Rock Lake’s frozen surface was far too thick. Luckily, this winter conditions have been near-ideal and it took the guys just two weekends to erect a very respectable Icehenge.
While certainly not as large as Stonehenge and destined to last a mere fraction of the original’s age – blame Global Warming or, er, just warming – the Rock Lake Icehenge is pretty darn impressive in its own right. It’s hard to judge scale from these images but we can tell you the vertical pillars weigh around 300 pounds each and the horizontal lintels check in at about 200 pounds each.
“We are stunned by the popularity of these images,” stated Kevin Lehner, President of Environmental Compliance Systems, Inc. in Lake Mills, “and the Icehenge is a great example of how a small group of folks can collaborate to make something magic.” Sadly perhaps, Icehenge has been taken down due to the potential of safety issues arising when Old Man Winter finally relaxes his icy grip. At least we have these images of Icehenge to enjoy and, odds are, the guys’ll be out on Rock Lake next year carving out Icehenge v2.0. (all images via WENN.com)


