The sculpture will depict cartoon characters Calvin and Hobbes bobsledding down a large, slanted "D". A snow version of the Olympic torch will serve as the spine of the "D," and the inside of the sculpture will honor past and present Olympic athletes.
The design of the structure is more complicated this year than in the past, chair of the snow sculpture committee Dan Schneider '07 said. The committee includes a studio art major and a number of engineers.
Bill Waterson, author of the now-retired comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," is notorious for refusing to grant outsiders the right to use his comic creation, but the sculpture's plan was approved because it is a temporary work of art.
Sculpture-builders will erect the structure around a wooden base, which is currently sitting conspicuously on the Green. The base, constructed by Eric Klem '08 and five other students this past weekend, will be removed at the completion of the sculpture to make the opening in the center of the "D".
"We start with the wooden structural elements, and then we build up the snow in layers of four feet, hose down the snow, remove the plywood panels, and add another layer," Schneider said. "Then we start carving it down."
Constructing the 24-foot-high sculpture will require roughly 7,000 trash cans of snow and will take about 12 days.
The sculpture committee expects the help of 100 to 200 people, including varsity athletic teams and Dartmouth Outing Club groups.
Although the snow on the green was trampled by the most recent school-wide snowball fight, new snow has already been shipped in from the Scully-Fahey lacrosse field. The committee can also get ice and snow shavings from the local Campion skating rink and Thompson Arena, if the Green can not provide enough snow.
Although the sculpture is made of snow and ice, it will not be a static structure, Schneider promised.
"Last year we had a pirate ship with exploding cannons," Schneider said. "If you missed the opening ceremonies last year, you won't want to miss it this year, because it will be just as cool."
The opening ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 9 on the Green.
