Though winter is finally beginning to subside, it's still coming in the world of Game of Thrones. Season six of HBO's hit show is arriving in April, and that means more bloodshed, treachery and dragons are on the way.
To celebrate the show's impending return, Sky Atlantic (which broadcasts Game of Thrones in the U.K.) hired snow artist Simon Beck to craft a piece of work worthy of Westeros. The result? A massive House Stark sigil carved into the snow, along with the now iconic House Stark motto of "Winter is coming."
It's no small feat. Beck traveled to the French Alps for the job, and took 64,800 steps in the snow in order to create the massive direwolf head. It took the artist more than 13 hours to complete the piece, walking day and night in the freezing temperatures.
As you might imagine, creating a super-sized drawing like this in the snow isn't exactly easy. It requires a whole lot of planning and precision, which Beck talks about in the video below. When it's all said and done, Beck says he isn't even sure what the final product will look like.
"The following day, I don't really know what it's going to look like," Beck says. "There's always a feeling on anticipation. As I walk towards the edge, and look over, there it is in front of me. You see it for the first time. You never forget that feeling of anticipating."
The level of detail in the final image is impressive. It's a near perfect replica of the iconic direwolf sigil fans have seen since season one. Perhaps the fact that Sky Atlantic choose to promote House Stark has some secret meaning for the upcoming season?
Game of Thrones season six premieres on HBO April 24, and there are already plenty of rumors swirling about the show. In any season of Game of Thrones there is always a high body count, so fans have already been attempting to decipher who won't make it to the end of the season. That being said, it looks like a number of characters previously thought dead may be returning to the land of the living in season six. You can read up on what we know so far about the upcoming season here, but be warned, there are spoilers to be had.
