A head-turning winter attraction is starting to take shape in the hills west of Colorado Springs.

The Ice Castles company on Monday circulated a photo showing a wall of stacked icicles building along a knoll overlooking downtown Cripple Creek.

Tensions flare in effort to revive lift at old ski area in southern Colorado

Eventually, with enough freezing nights, “ice artists” will achieve the soaring, colorful complex of throne-like walls, tunnels and slides embedded with LED lights that all together “create a magical guest experience,” read a news release Monday. Sculptors are said to fuse some 10,000 icicles together by spraying water when frigid conditions allow.

The news release included the hope to open “the frozen fairytale playground” in late December or early January.

With locations elsewhere in the country, Ice Castles aims to open for Christmas, company founder Brent Christensen told The Gazette

“We’d love to have Christmas,” he said. “But that’s only a hope. We always hesitate to say any projections.”

That’s especially in the case of a first-year location.

8 memorable dive bars across Colorado ski country

Cripple Creek is hosting Ice Castles after the attraction’s two-year absence in Colorado. The immersive display was previously in Summit County, catching visitors off Interstate 70 and families on skiing vacations.

If elements allow for a full season lasting from December or January into March, Ice Castles have reportedly attracted 100,000 visitors. Christensen said he does not expect that volume in Cripple Creek’s more remote location.

Though, “I think for Colorado Springs, it’s going to be awesome,” he said. “Who knows,” he added, “we might be surprised.”

First responders are guarding themselves against surprises.

At a Teller County commissioners meeting at the end of September, Sheriff Jason Mikesell said his department and medical staff were bracing for more winter traffic than usual. Mikesell said ambulances and officers were strapped as it was, per previous Gazette reporting.

Mikesell noted Ice Castles joining the popular, first-year troll sculpture in Victor and the Cripple Creek Ice Festival returning in February.

“Don’t want to push these things out, but they are going to have an impact on citizens and first responders throughout the community,” Mikesell said.

Commissioner Dan Williams expected there would be some reflection at the end of the season.

“I get that it’s all about business,” he said, “but if there are costs associated with it, we’re going to have a discussion with the cities about the cost-sharing burden.”

Cripple Creek courted Ice Castles in efforts to boost the town’s winter economy.

Between land, water, power, parking and other logistics over the past few years, “Colorado has been a tough place to get,” Christensen said. “The really good thing is the town is so behind it.”

Tickets for later dates are expected to go on sale Nov. 29. Weekend prices are listed online at $22 for children ages 4-11 and $27 for ages 12 and older.