Early in the night, trucks hauled snow around campus, replenishing the supply for statue builders in need of it.

All-nighter builders were hard at work incorporating detail into their statues despite the conditions. With above-freezing temperatures had ruled out one tactic — adding water for fine detailing. But the Society of Women Engineers were still crafting the flames of a campfire.

“It’s been hard to find the snow to actually build it, and then now that we’re starting to do the shaping, all the snow around us is really hard, so it’s hard to do our final touches,” said SWE member Shelby Rohwetter.

Her favorite part of Winter Carnival is “the vibes,” which remained intact even in an atypical year.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Winter Carnival statue, “The Lighthouse Shines The Way As the Ranger Heads to Bay” earned them first place in the Winter Carnival snow statue competition, snapping Phi Kappa Tau’s five-year win streak.

“Everyone’s out still, even though it’s not the good weather,” she said. “It’s really no different than it has been in past years. Everyone’s just making the best of it. It’s super fun.”

The scattered menagerie of Douglas Houghton Hall started with a detailed turtle, and went in all directions from there according to each member’s whims.

Colin Fuecht made “comically dead rats.” In another statue, a super-jacked squirrel crushed a real can of Coca-Cola with its pecs.

“It certainly is a unique experience,” said DHH member Kevin Hock. “But I think we’re getting used to it pretty well. That’s the Michigan Tech spirit.”

Monthlong statue builders had adjusted the scope of their designs and adjusted their work schedules to ensure judges and the public saw the statues at their peak.

Garrett Neese/Daily MIning Gazette Members of Michigan Technological University’s Society of Women Engineers chapter work on their all-nighter statue Wednesday, which won first place in the women’s division.

Jacob Ojala was ironing on letters for the Guardians of the North’s statue. It had been a challenging time, but they’d persevered, he said. He invoked an Air Force maxim: “Flexibility is the key to airpower.”

With the high temperatures in mind, they held off on finer details until the all-nighter.

“We canceled a lot of statue building times and just waited for everything tonight because we know it’s going to melt,” said Shannon Mattson.

“Currently, the head to our guy is sitting in a freezer upstairs,” Ojala said.

Alpha Sigma Tau had used most of the snow on their site, and gotten more hauled in. Some of the features had melted in warm weather. But conditions were good enough that they added more features on the spur of the moment Wednesday, like an Alpha Sigma Tau sign and a bear.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Jacob Ojala of Guardians of the North works on their statue during Wednesday’s all-nighter.

“I’m super-proud of the girls for being able to persevere in this challenge that we haven’t really had before,” said statue chair Emily Taylor.

On the sidewalk, the sorority set up a stand selling hot dogs and hot cocoa, with the proceeds going toward statue construction.

Revelers had their choice of foods on-campus, with vendors on either side of the walkway hawking deep-fried Oreos and grilled-cheese sandwiches.

Preparing for a hungry crowd, the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers booth had prepared 140 arepas, 30 pounds of ground beef for tacos, more than 100 cookies and 5 gallons of Mexican hot chocolate. By 11 p.m., they’d nearly sold out.

That money goes back into the club, such as an upcoming trip to a conference in Indianapolis.

“We just have a great time,” said Tania Bernal, president of Tech’s SHPE chapter. “Definitely we’re here selling, but also we have members going around. They don’t have to be here the whole time. We want to be on campus and enjoy the festivities.”

Across the bridge in Hancock, students at frequent winner Phi Kappa Tau were up on scaffolds working on their statue, later revealed to have a “Gilligan’s Island” theme.

In a tough building climate, the Hancock community has been behind them, with people coming up and volunteering snow from their backyard, said statue chair Dan Raper.

“The mid-30s to 40 degrees has not been helping us at all,” he said. “We can’t get anything to stick. But we have a lot of hardworking and creative guys out here. So we’re trying to put something together to show the community.”