What do you get when you take a bored Finnish man struggling to survive winter and give him a chainsaw?

An Ice Carousel

What is that I hear you call, well let me tell you.

First you need a frozen lake, many places don’t have those but Finland has them in abundance this time of year. Then, take a chainsaw and a length of wood long enough to mark out your circumference. Work your way around cutting through the ice until there is a small gap that will allow the circle to rotate.

Keep hold of that chainsaw, you’ll need it again. On the outside of the large circle you have created cut a small hole, slightly away from the edge, and remove the ice. Here you will insert a boat motor.

Next. Gather all your friends and stand over the edge of your newly formed carousel. With one foot push off from the surface of the lake until your carousel begins to turn, turn on the boat motor to assist you and keep the carousel moving continuously.

Voila, now you have your very own ice carousel. Invite your friends over and have a sauna, which of course you set up in the middle of your carousel.

Over this winter many Ice Carousels have been set up throughout Finland. This one I visited was actually two carousels created on töölönlahti in the center of Helsinki to celebrate Finland’s 100th year of independence. From the sky it read the number 100 with the carousels representing the 0’s and solar panels used to power the sauna and the motor lined up as the 1.

Check out the video below and see the Ice Carousel turn through its Helsinki surroundings.