Photo Gallery: Hoofers Winter Carnival
Even Wisconsin’s harshest winters haven’t stopped students at its flagship university from outdoor antics. A tradition since the early 20th century, the UW’s Winter Carnival grew into a popular place for students who like to ski, skate or sculpt — ice sculptures, that is. (For more, read “Winter Carnival.”) Scenes from carnivals held throughout the school’s last several decades show how students have made the best of the coldest months on campus.
Broom hockey: A group of women students lunge for the puck in a fast-paced game of broom hockey during UW-Madison’s winter carnival of 1950. UW Archives S03827
Ice diving: In a chilly tradition known as ice diving, three men donned scuba gear and took the plunge into frigid Lake Mendota during the 1982 winter carnival. UW Archives S03616
100 years of ice fishing: A quick-witted artist packed together this majestic mermaid in the winter of 1948, the year Wisconsin celebrated its centennial birthday. UW Archives S16691
Car on Mendota: Even in 1922, Wisconsin drivers could drive on any surface and in any weather — pictured here, students cruise across Lake Mendota during that year’s winter carnival. UW Archives S16755
Winterama program: The Wisconsin Hoofers took over UW-Madison’s winter carnival in 1940, prioritizing cold-weather activities like ski meets, skating on the frozen lake, and ice sculpture contests. If you’d been a student in 1955, here’s the program for the “Winterama” you could have used to pick which activities to attend. UW.UWArchives.dn04050702.bib
Two women: UW students Ruth Anderson and Irene Spiker smiled for a photographer during the 1920 carnival. In its earliest stages, the event was referred to as the “Ice Carnival.” UW Archives S16729
Mendota Millie: Students from Tripp Hall were hard at work putting the finishing touches on their ice sculpture, “Mendota Millie.” Millie stood tall in front of Memorial Library for the 1956 carnival. UW Archives S11836
Old ice carnival: In one of the first images of the university’s Ice Carnival, students who attended in 1916 raced across the frozen lake. The sails in the background belonged to ice boats, fitted with skis or skates to glide over the lake’s surface. UW Archives 23/15, M51-204
Snow Ball: Winter week used to end with an all-campus Snow Ball, as carnival participants donned their best flannels and danced the night away. In 1950, a several-piece band serenaded the students. UW Archives S03838
Skiing up Bascom: Near Music Hall, a skier shows off a trick on his way up Bascom Hill in 1984. The Hoofers Winter Carnival ski competition has been a staple of the event since its inception, whether it took place on Muir Knoll, Bascom, or today’s location — Observatory Hill. UW Archives S03807
Published in the Winter 2017 issue
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