Ice cross downhill charges into Niagara Falls for a thrilling 2013 season opener on December 1st, 2012. Red Bull Crashed Ice promises to rock and awe with its epic features and proportions. Running 460 metres (1,509 feet) in length, an average width of 4.5 metres (15 feet), the Red Bull Crashed Ice course unfurls into a massive total of 2,500 square metres (26,910 square feet) of ice! The race will start under the gaze of the world’s famous 775-feet tall Skylon Tower and will conclude by one of the seven natural wonders of the world – Niagara Falls. The start gates are the first and last chance for skaters to enjoy the spectacular views of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York, as they’ll quickly be storming down Murray Street to the cheers of thousands of screaming fans.

A crew of hundreds will spend four weeks constructing this discipline-twisting course, spreading over 50 boxes (4ft x 4ft x 4ft, 1700 pounds each) of—you guessed it, crashed ice—across the streets of Niagara Falls. To ensure a smooth ice surface, a cooling system featuring chiller machines will help produce the right temperature throughout the build of the course. Polymer boards are used to keep competitors on the track and fans from harm’s way. But with an amped Saturday night crowd, they’ll also serve as the rhythm board for the thousands of fans cheering the next heat of racers. Combined, crashed ice and boards alone are not enough to hold the course up to the pounding from fans and skaters alike. Hundreds adjustable steel legs and a couple thousand large wood screws provide foundational support to the infrastructure.