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But no one should have been surprised at the outcome: Thais have done well before in this annual contest, boosting the Kingdom's reputation for exquisite craftsmanship by capturing a host of top awards over its 36 editions.

The three victorious Thai representatives, Kusol Bunkobsongserm, Kritsana Wongtes and Rerkchai Kaewchinda, told The Nation that working in the deep freeze of Japan after the heat of their homeland was the biggest obstacle they had faced on their icy quest.

"We were desperate to win and make Thailand champions two years running for the first time," said an exultant Kusol. Last year Kusol and Rerkchai along with Kritsana's younger brother won with their sculpture of a family of elephants.

Journalists still seem surprised at this year's win though, and the Thai team faced the same questions as to how they had come by their skills that their prize-winning countrymen have heard since 1990.

The trio learned the basics of ice design and carving from working in hotels and used their experience of carving snow in past contests to create the Thai-style Garuda fighting with a Naga that caught the judges' eye. The mythic beasts were chosen for their special place in Thai art and because the details needed, especially for the Garuda, would display their skill.

Kusol works as assistant culinary-art director at the Shangri-La Hotel, Rerkchai is chief culinary artist at the Conrad Bangkok, and Kritsana has just swapped his post as assistant culinary-art director at the Peninsula Hotel to open his own coffee shop in Bangkok.

Kusol recalls the scene back in 1990 when he made his first trip to compete in Japan: "It was very difficult for us to carve the snow. We had to bring our own tools, but we had no idea what sort of thing would work. And the team members didn't know whether the clothes they had would be warm enough for the freezing temperatures." He and his two team-mates managed to overcome the odds though to become champions at their first attempt.

This time round, Kritsana, Kusol and Rerkchai began work on February 4, shovelling and carving from 9am to 9pm until the night of February 7 when they finally stepped back examine their finished creation.

"We were really tired at the end of each day, and we had to drag our aching bodies out of bed each morning," said Rerkchai. "The more we carved, the worse the fatigue and muscle pains got. Carving an ice sculpture back in the hotel takes two to three hours, but in Sapporo we had to work all day long for four days to get the snow sculpture finished." While Kusol confirms that the freezing temperatures and fatigue were discouraging factors, he points to another, potentially disastrous problem. As they carved, the team had to keep constant watch for small cracks in the fragile material. If they developed it could mean the end of their challenge, or even injury if a large part of the sculpture broke off.

In spite of many problems faced, they never panicked. Teamwork, patience and intense focus, they say, were their keys to success.

"We had to listen to each other's opinions before doing anything to the sculpture because there was usually more than one way of progressing," said Kritsana. "At the end of each day, we discussed the problems we faced and made plans to tackle them the next morning."

It won't be long before the three begin planning for next year's contest, where they hope to make it a hat-trick for Thailand.