The snowman, or figure at least (see cover image), has been completed at Nõo, southwest of Tartu, and is 11 meters in height.

The Minecraft-esque edifice was built in three large blocks, and required some smoothing off at the end – which in turn required the services of a chainsaw operator, given the low temperature which had rendered the edifice rock solid.

Janar Saviir, who oversaw the project, told AK the weather had wrought havoc with the process, not least the recent freeze-thaw which had brought rain a few days ago, only for temperatures to plummet again.

"It seemed like the right time now. It's essentially frozen solid and is, I think, safer than would have been the case before. In any case I think it will last even longer," he continued.

Local residents have been coming by daily to watch the building process, by the side of the Veskijärv lake, and even helped out with build.

"I have made my contribution, a very small small one, because I am small in stature and was born some time ago," Piaa, one of Nõo's more senior residents, told AK.

"Then again on the first day I placed my fingerprint on it. And I am very happy about this and the good people who would do something like this," she continued.

The chainsaw operator, an acquaintance of Saviir's, volunteered to do the smoothing off job pro bono given the worthy cause, he said, mentioning the company's name (Reintal OÜ) in the process.

That operator, called Rein, said: "This is the first time I've done something anything like this /.../ But it's quite interesting; you can always try out fresh challenges."

The project started around a month ago, meaning the original planned work time of a weekend was missed by a mile, thanks to all the various obstacles needed to be overcome, Saviir said.

Loading equipment capable of lifting the heavy blocks was needed, for one thing.

"The numbers have not been added up, but everyone brought something and that's how the major tasks got done," Saviir continued, noting that contributions included items as small as nuts and bolts.

The original AK segment is here.

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