The winning photo from the annual hair freezing contest
at Takhini Hot Pools in Yukon is receiving international
attention.
Owner Andrew Umbrich says the contest for photos of hot springs
users' frozen hair has been running for years, but he
says 2015 was a standout.
"Our winners really surprised us with their amazing pictures and
video," he says.
Umbrich says the winning picture has already been
shared more than 400 times on Facebook. Wednesday morning he
woke up to emails from media outlets in Germany and the United
Kingdom wanting permission to use it.
Miléna Georgeault and her winning
teammates also posted a video on Facebook. Georgeault says she was
surprised to see that has more than 18,000 views.
The Yukoner worked with her partner
Maxime Gouyou Beauchamps and their friend
Fanny Caritte, who was visiting from France, to create their
winning 'dos.
"We put a lot of work into our hair," says
Georgeault.
She says her frozen hairstyle took about half an hour to
sculpt.
Umbrich thinks part of the contest's success is due to its
uniqueness.
"We're never heard of anyone ever doing it anywhere
else," he says, noting the contest was started by the previous
owners of the hot pools.
Umbrich said he thinks Yukon's climate
creates the right combination of steam coming off the water
and cold temperatures to freeze hair nicely.
The contest is held in association with the Yukon
Sourdough Rendezvous festival, but Umbrich says
he runs the contest the entire month of February
to account for unpredictable temperatures.
He says -20C works for hair
sculpting, but -30C is ideal.
"It just takes 10 minutes to a half hour to make a pretty
incredible picture," he says.
One strategy, according to Umbrich, is to lay the hair on the
edge of the pool to freeze.
"As it freezes, they'll slowly fashion it or sculpt it into
something," he says. "Once it's frozen it becomes a lot easier to
move and shape."
Umbrich says about 20 people entered the contest
this year. With all the attention, next year's participation
might be higher and so might be the prize.
This year's winners took home $150 but Umbrich is
talking about increasing the payout in 2016.
