Massive snow castle brings joy to Saskatoon neighbourhood kids

By Jeffrey Meskens, Global News Saskatoon 

A giant snow castle has appeared in Saskatoon’s Willowgrove neighbourhood.

The 15-foot-tall castle features a full snowslide and 20-foot-long castle walls.

Jason Greer built the castle for his three kids to play on.

It has become an annual tradition for the Greer family to build something in their front yard.

Greer has built snow sculptures in his yard in the past and in recent years he has built snowslides for his kids. This year he decided to add something extra to the slide — namely a giant castle with a tower and walls.

“I took a measurement, and the tower is at least 15 feet tall,” he said. “The walls surrounding the slide are both 20 feet long and 10 feet high.

“I just keep building new ones every year and making them bigger. It is the biggest one I have built so far.”

Greer got all the snow by shovelling his own driveway and his neighbours’ driveways as well. He then let the ice compact over the winter and cut it into bricks, which he piled on to make the castle.

Greer says the neighbourhood reacted very positively to the structure, especially since all the neighbourhood kids are allowed to come and play on it.

“The pressure is on, though,” he said. “All my neighbours are asking if the next one will be bigger. I mean, as long as the kids have a blast, I will keep building.”

With spring approaching, the castle will not be around for much longer, but Greer will have plenty of time to draft plans for next year’s construction.