An ice throne awaits royalty. Nearby, a waterfall rushes. Tykes slide through an ice passageway.

The 12,000-ton frozen ice castle with shimmering glacial blue walls reaching 25 or so feet up to the sky is the first of its kind in the east and is found at Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Though branded as an ice castle or ice palace, the Big Freeze is more like an open air fortress complete with chambers and an incredible array of icicles growing down from ceilings.

Not only can skiers and snowboarders take a break from the slopes, those who like to fly through the sky can do so on a zipline spanning the East Branch of the chilled Pemigewasset River and soar between a pair of ice towers.

The castle even creeps up an outdoor climbing wall.

“Basically it’s formed entirely from running water,” said communications representative Greg Kwasnik. “A sprinkler system runs through the entire castle.”

The castle sits on about an acre of land and opened in late December. Plans call for keeping it open until mid-March.

The castle is the brainchild of Utah-based artist Brent Christensen. Last winter, Christensen constructed castles in Steamboat Springs in Colorado and the Mall of America in Minnesota. Those castles played host to a myriad of marriage proposals, professional photo shoots, and untold inspiration. The frozen structures were featured on Good Morning America, The Weather Channel, and other national and local media outlets.

“At night, we run that system and it coats the walls and builds it from the ground up,” Kwasnik said. “We grow icicles every night. During the day time we have a crew of workers that takes those icicles and plants them on top of the walls. When the sprinklers run at night it coats all those icicles, which is how we grow the castle.”

It also takes some upkeep.

“A lot of maintenance goes [into] keeping the castle in top form,” he said. “Running the sprinklers at night makes everything icy and the walkways are icy in the morning. We have a tiller that goes through there, chops everything up, and makes it a safe walking surface.”

Visitors might come across a snowman or some sort of ice statue.

“We have a great crew of guys,” he said. “They’re really creative. They just love making different things. They love making a snowman, making a throne, whatever strikes their fancy they’ll create it. That’s what is so great about ice. You can do what you want as long as it’s cold enough.”

Once the sun sets, the ice is yet another spectacle.

“We have a number of LED lights embedded in the ice,” he said. “They pulse from red to green to yellow. It’s pretty amazing. It looks totally different at night.”

And if all goes well, those palatial stalactites and stalagmites will be back again next season.

Images by Marty Basch