CLARKS SUMMIT - With a look of intense concentration, Mark Crouthamel warmed his hands, revved his chain saw and carefully began to cut.
His target: a stack of six blocks of ice. His goal: turning that ice into Batman.
"It takes a lot of patience," Mr. Crouthamel said. "But I've been doing this for a long time."
Dozens gathered outside Everything Natural on Saturday afternoon to watch Mr. Crouthamel's live ice carving. Hundreds more meandered South State Street to see the 50 other creations the craftsmen of Sculpted Ice Works of Paupack Twp. had made for the ninth annual Clarks Summit Festival of Ice. This year's theme is "Subzero Superheroes," so each of the sculptures relates in some way to comic book culture.
Barry Kaplan, festival chairman and Abington Business and Professional Association president, said that the weather has mainly been cooperative. On Friday, relatively warm temperatures meant organizers needed to delay putting out the ice sculptures by a little bit, but Saturday was perfect.
"We always hope it's warm enough for people and cold enough for ice," Mr. Kaplan said.
Clarks Summit resident Bill Walters, 47, spent the day walking around town with his two children Jacob, 6, and Evelyn, 7. Jacob said that Wonder Woman was his favorite sculpture while Evelyn said that Underdog was hers.
Each time he came to a new sculpture, he made sure to snap a picture of it for his wife, Evelyn Walters.
"We're taking pictures because Mommy isn't feeling well," Mr. Walters said to his children.
Mr. Crouthamel works fast. Roughly an hour after he began, Batman's typical icy scowl, made even colder by subzero temperatures, was taking shape.
"Never seen anything like it before," said Scranton resident Kenny Warunek, 36. "It's nice but it takes a lot of work."
The festival continues today. In addition to the ice sculptures on display, visitors can take horse-and-carriage rides through town from noon to 4 p.m.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter