Not exactly the road to parad-ice

Near the Cathedral of St. Paul, workers began building the icy course for the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships starting on Feb. 26. The course takes the form of a track of about one-third of a mile in length with a drop of 12 stories. For the past four freezing-cold winters, St. Paul has played host to the ice cross downhill competition, featuring skaters competing in four-man heats in a race to the bottom of the long ice track filled with obstacles. The event is expected to draw 100,000 spectators.