Have you ever made a snowman, or even a snow fort? How about a snow shark as big as your garage?! Or a snow turtle bigger than a minivan?! Every year some teenage boys in Minnesota make a snow sculptures that are mind-bending.
Depending on from where you hail, chances are pretty good you have, as it’s seemingly a rite of passage for the youths of snowy places (we at Ever Widening Circles are from Vermont, USA, so the winter months are riddled with six-inch to two-foot snowstorms all through late November into sometimes April!).
Before we get started, take a listen to an interview Dr. Lynda did with one of the boys this past January. As you’re listening, scroll through the photos below.
So while I’m betting many of you have made a snowman of some sort, how about a snow sculpture? You know…something like this:

The Bartz brothers – Austin, Connor, and Trevor – and their enormous Shark Snow Sculpture.
Source: Bored Panda
…even a lifetime, snow-covered Vermonter like myself has to admit: that’s no snowman. That’s a snow sculpture, a downright work of art!
Introducing the Bartz Brothers!
As noted in the caption of the image above, these three gentleman are Austin, Connor, and Trevor Bartz, three brothers living in New Brighton, Minnesota, each with a penchant for creating gigantic works of art out of snow. For 2015, the brothers three decided upon a sea turtle, in typical grandiose fashion:

Source: Bored Panda
Standing at over 12-feet tall, the Sea Turtle snow sculpture might not be their largest overall sculpture (see the Shark above), but it was perhaps their best work: clocking in at over 300 hours (!!), the craftsmanship is, I think we can all agree, simply stunning.
Even more snow sculptures from the Bartz Brothers!
Along with the previous two sculptures, the Bartz boys have done a wonderful job each year for now four years running in wowing the crowds of onlookers… including national media coverage like The Today Show and other popular syndications. Let’s take a look at a few more of their incredible creations!

“We first got the idea when I caught a pufferfish in Florida one year, after we got back we decided to make it out of snow,” Austin Bartz said.
Source: Bored Panda

Source: Bored Panda

Source: Bored Panda

Source: Bored Panda

Source: Bored Panda
Keep up to date with the Bartz Brothers by following them on Facebook!
Lastly… Here’s an television interview with the brothers after their very first sculpture 4 years ago:
We hope you enjoyed this little adventure into the wonder of regular teens doing great things just for the love of the task! We need more of that. They are teachers to us all in some ways.
Stay open, curious and hopeful.
~ Dr. Lynda
Notes:
- “Snow Puffer Fish: WCCO Interview.” YouTube. Bartz Outdoors, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtzDALF7CvE>. ↩